Oreca: Spa, last race before Le Mans

On the evening of the 8 Hours of Le Castellet, the Oreca Matmut team was torn between the disappointment of not having been able to make life difficult for the Audi R15 plus, and the satisfaction of having shown that the team had taken charge of the winner of the last 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With the Le Mans deadline fast approaching, at Oreca we continued to work tirelessly, including a test session on the Paul-Ricard circuit.

“These tests were positive, says Technical Director David Floury on the Oreca site. We were able to work on a certain number of points on which we need to improve: among other things, we trained in mechanical interventions. Have we completed our program? long runs, consumption, night driving? and the drivers were very homogeneous. We are improving our understanding of the car: we are better prepared. And the goal is to be even better after Spa? »

Spa, in fact, is this weekend. The Belgian round of the Le Mans Series is a very important stage for all those involved in the Le Mans series, which is already looming on the horizon. Once again the major objective will be to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We keep the same philosophy, namely learning before Le Mans, continues David Floury. At Castellet, we saw some good things, others a little less so. We must keep the “pluses”, while erasing the “minuses”. With Peugeot and Audi, Spa will be a real Little Le Mans. We expect a heated battle, but we will have to place the cursor in the right place. We want to benchmark ourselves, and this requires a result. On the other hand, we should not get caught up in the game: our first objective is to reach the finish line so that our three drivers can ride as much as possible. Our meeting place is Le Mans. In terms of mechanical set-up, Spa will be closer to Le Mans than Le Castellet was. We will increase our knowledge of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, and as the weather conditions are often very changeable on this track, it will certainly be a very interesting experience from the perspective of the 24 Hours. »

The French team's preparation program for the Le Mans classic is extensive. But the efforts still fail to pay off, and Hugues de Chaunac and his men should arrive ready in Sarthe in mid-June. At the end of this second round of the Le Mans Series, and the confrontation with the six factory cars, the Oreca Matmut team should know a little more about their ability to fight at the front in Le Mans. But with the experience of the Var team, combined with a 908 HDi FAP strictly identical to those of Peugeot Sport and a first-rate crew made up of Loïc duval, Nicolas lapierre and Olivier Panis, there is no reason why mayonnaise should not set.