Oreca prepares Le Mans 2010

Fifth of 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Panis crewStone-Ayari, Oreca is competing, on the Portimao circuit, in its first race since the legendary Sarthe event. On this occasion, the Var team shared its end-of-year program to best prepare for the 2010 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a true cornerstone of the season for teams competing in endurance.

This is how Oreca decided to go to the United States to compete in the American Le Mans Series round, at Petit Le Mans. And, for budgetary reasons, the fourth round of the Le Mans Series, the 1000 km of the Nürburgring (August 21-23), was removed from the Oreca program. The boss of the Var team, Hugues de Chaunac, talks about the reasons which pushed him to make these choices.

« Two of our partners, Easydentic Group and Huntsman Advanced Materials, are very motivated by a challenge across the Atlantic. Furthermore, on a technical level, we also find great interest in progressing more quickly, over a 10-hour race. For budgetary reasons, we had to make a choice: we will go to Petit Le Mans, but unfortunately, we will not be at the 1000km of the Nürburgring. It is with pleasure that we will return to the Le Mans Series at Silverstone, for the championship finale. »

After Portimao and Silverstone, Oreca will therefore compete in a longer event, in order to test its prototype in conditions different from LMS races. “ It is longer, confirms Hugues de Chaunac, 1000 miles or 10 hours, on a demanding American circuit, and we are going to face Acura there. This will be a good indicator since it is a manufacturer that operates on equal terms. As its name suggests, Petit Le Mans will be perfect preparation for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans. »