An Oreca 03 Sébastien Loeb Racing in ELMS

At the beginning of December, Sébastien Loeb and his friend Dominique Heintz formalized the creation of Sébastien Loeb Racing. For a first year in competition, the team announced that it wanted to field two cars in Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup and especially an Oreca 09 FLM in the LMPC category in the European Le Mans Series. The objective: participation in 24 Hours of Le Mans in the next two years. “We want to go as high as possible, as quickly as possible! » the eight-time world champion then declared. And once again, the Alsatian took everyone by surprise. Alongside its presence in LMPC, Sébastien Loeb Racing will be present in the premier category of the LMPC.ELMS, namely the LMP2, with an Oreca 03-Nissan. “We decided to anticipate our arrival in LMP2, explains Dominique Heintz, the team manager. Hiring an Oreca 03 from 2012 represents an excellent opportunity to learn more quickly. This will allow us to be more ambitious in 2013 and arrive better prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which remains our priority objective. Our desire is to be a major player in 2014 and aim for category victory. Fighting for the scratch is very exciting. We will be expected. We may be taking a risk. But we are convinced that this is the ideal solution to progress. It also represents a particularly motivating challenge for all members of the team. We also want to form a crew capable of winning. »

For the moment, only the Frenchman Nicolas Marroc has been announced. “Nicolas simply brings together all the criteria, continues Dominique Heintz. He is young, efficient and already has some experience thanks to Formula Le Mans. It was not easy to find a “silver” driver with so many qualities at that age. Nicolas showed his burst of speed: he has the perfect profile. » To repeat the words of the press release, he will be supported by two “very experienced” pilots.

From this year, the Soultz-Sous-Forêts team will therefore be able to compete against much more experienced teams, and with experience of the sport.Endurance like Greaves Motorsport or Oak Racing. Respectively due to Rally of Mexico and Rally of Portugal, the Citroën Racing resident will not be able to support his team during the official ELMS tests on the weekend of March 9-10 and during the opening round, the 6 Hours of Paul-Ricard, the 1st of April. But it's a safe bet that he will come and watch his troops evolve as soon as he has the opportunity. Perhaps he will even be present on June 3 for the test day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Day in which the team decided to participate.

Before even starting in competition, the Alsatian team is already climbing the ranks. Once again, Sébastien Loeb will have been faster than everyone?