Just a few days after the Rolex 24 at Daytona where the ORECA 07s demonstrated remarkable potential, the ACO has released the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA Word Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series entry lists. The French car manufacturer will be definitely well-represented in each of these championships!
Announced via an online web conference broadcast from its headquarters in Le Mans, the traditional presentation of the competitors coming to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other ACO labeled competitions, spotlighted ORECA’s imposing presence across these various upcoming championships.
24 Hours of Le Mans: ORECA dominates with 25% of the grid!
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will welcome no less than 15 cars built in Signes, France by ORECA and amongst them, both Alpine A470s of title-holder Signatech Alpine Matmut. Well-known teams in Le Mans such as Vaillante Rebellion, G-Drive Racing, CEFC Manor TRS and TDS Racing will be joined by newcomers in endurance racing like DragonSpeed-10 Star and Jackie Chan DC Racing, along with Graff Racing entering two cars for its great return to the 24 Hours.
Out of the list of 60 invited competitors, the LM P2 grid is the largest one with 25 cars. Consequently, with 15 prototypes in this class, the ORECA 07 has clearly impressed! The newest creation from ORECA Technology will benefit directly from the skills of experienced teams in endurance racing. On the back of this battalion of 15 cars, ORECA certainly intends – after back-to-back victories these last two years – to make history with a third triumph.
World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC): One chassis for all and all for one title!
Unquestionably, teams set to compete on the international stage have proved to prefer ORECA chassis as their weapon of choice. The referendum is such that most competitors have selected this car to further their efforts to win the LMP2 World Champion title. The situation promises stunning battles across the globe between the various teams, throughout the upcoming season.
European Le Mans Series: a very ambitious foursome!
With 13 LMP2 cars announced in the European Le Mans Series, forces will be evenly distributed between three of the four official car manufacturers. ORECA will rely on three teams: American team DragonSpeed, Russian team G-Drive Racing and French team Graff Racing who will be making an exciting return to endurance racing with a two-car entry. Also participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, these three teams will undertake a hefty challenge in the highly competitive LM P2 category.
With no less than 60 cars approved to take part at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, ORECA can certainly be proud to be the most represented car manufacturer at the legendary endurance race (ahead of Ferrari with 11 cars). ORECA president and founder Hugues de Chaunac, who attended the official ceremony, did not want to hide his delight: “The LMP2 category is heading into a new era and we are thrilled to be a major actor with our new ORECA 07. Fifteen of our chassis are on the 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list, that is simply incredible. It is an honor that we can be proud of, and also a great responsibility. Our objectives will be to secure a third win in the class although we know that in a car’s first year, Le Mans is always very special. The 2017 edition will be tremendous and the competition very strong. We have a great respect for Onroak, Dallara and Multimatic-Riley and cannot wait to battle it out on the track. We are grateful to the ACO and the FIA for their confidence as well as to the teams. I am very pleased to see the teams that make up our delegation. We are fortunate to be collaborating with them. Certain amongst them will be making their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut and we are excited to support them in this challenge.”
With these teams from various backgrounds, originating from several continents and with very diverse driver line-ups in which experience and youth synchronize perfectly, ORECA will have excellent qualities with which to succeed throughout the season: everything necessary in the context of extremely tough competition!
