Ligier Automotive has secured three major teams for its next-generation LMP2 programme, with Algarve Pro Racing, Inter Europol Competition and Panis Racing committing to the new JS P228 from 2028.
The French manufacturer will become one of two chassis suppliers when the category introduces its new regulations, with the JS P228 set to compete initially in the European Le Mans Series and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The three confirmed teams bring extensive LMP2 experience and major endurance racing success, giving Ligier a strong foundation for its return to the front of the category.
Ligier has worked alongside its North American operation on the JS P228 since the ACO and FIA selected the manufacturer in June 2025. The programme now moves forward with three established teams that have all demonstrated the ability to compete for major victories.
Algarve Pro Racing returns to Ligier
Algarve Pro Racing’s decision represents a reunion with the manufacturer. Stewart and Samantha Cox’s team entered LMP2 with Ligier machinery in 2015 before building itself into one of the category’s most successful operations.
Since then, Algarve Pro Racing has claimed two European Le Mans Series titles, six Asian Le Mans Series championships and an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title. Its record also includes multiple LMP2 Pro-Am victories at Le Mans, while its 2026 campaign featured victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The move back to Ligier therefore combines familiarity with a new technical challenge. Rather than simply securing a place on the 2028 grid, Algarve Pro Racing will enter the next regulation cycle with the expectation of competing for titles and victories at endurance racing’s biggest events.
Inter Europol continues rapid rise
Inter Europol Competition brings one of the strongest recent LMP2 records to Ligier’s programme. Wojciech and Jakub Śmiechowski founded the Polish operation in 2010, and the team has since established itself as a consistent contender at the front of international prototype racing.
Its recent success at Le Mans stands out in particular. Inter Europol has claimed three LMP2 victories across the past four editions, including a one-two finish in 2026, while it also secured the 2024 IMSA LMP2 championship and finished runner-up in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The switch to the JS P228 gives Inter Europol an opportunity to carry that momentum into the new rules cycle. Although the current generation of LMP2 machinery approaches the end of its competitive life, the team’s objective remains unchanged: fighting at the front.
Panis Racing strengthens French connection
Panis Racing completes Ligier’s first group of confirmed teams for 2028. Founded by Olivier Panis and Fabien Barthez in 2016, the French operation has established an equally strong endurance racing record.
The team has collected four podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the European Le Mans Series LMP2 title in 2025. It has also remained among the leading championship contenders during the current season.
Its partnership with Ligier carries an additional historical connection through Panis himself. The Frenchman claimed his famous 1996 Monaco Grand Prix victory in a Ligier Formula 1 car, and the new LMP2 project reconnects his racing organisation with the manufacturer three decades later.
VPS Racing, which includes Aurélien Panis among its leadership, will support the programme from 2028 as the team begins another chapter in French endurance racing.
JS P228 leads Ligier into new generation
The JS P228 will become Ligier’s first LMP2 car under the new regulations and continues a prototype lineage that stretches back to the JS P2 in 2014.
That earlier car marked Ligier Automotive’s return to international prototype racing and helped establish the technical base that the manufacturer has subsequently expanded across sport prototypes, single-seaters and GT machinery.
The JS P228 now represents the next major stage of that development. Ligier intends to use the experience accumulated over more than a decade to establish the car as a competitive option immediately when the regulations change.
Competition begins at Le Mans and in ELMS
The JS P228 will make its competitive debut in 2028 in the European Le Mans Series and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Its programme will then expand into the Asian Le Mans Series for the 2028/29 season before the car becomes eligible for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2029. The staggered introduction will place the new-generation car across the major championships that continue to feature LMP2 machinery.
For Ligier, Le Mans will inevitably carry particular importance. The manufacturer will return to the race’s LMP2 category with three teams that already understand how to compete for class victory and championship success.
Three teams provide early validation for Ligier
Securing Algarve Pro Racing, Inter Europol Competition and Panis Racing gives Ligier significant early momentum before the JS P228 even reaches competition.
Each team brings a different connection to the project. Algarve Pro Racing returns to a manufacturer with which it began its LMP2 journey, Inter Europol arrives after establishing itself among the category’s leading modern teams, while Panis Racing renews a longstanding French motorsport connection.
Together, they give Ligier three proven operations with the experience required to develop the JS P228 under race conditions and challenge for major honours from the beginning.
The 2028 season will therefore mark more than the arrival of a new LMP2 chassis. It will begin a new regulation cycle for the category, return Ligier to the fight at Le Mans and place three established race-winning teams behind its latest prototype.
