At Oreca, the 24 Hours of Le Mans for plastics manufacturers

If there are places in the paddock where teams like to go, there are others that they prefer to avoid! For the teams lined up in LM P2 with an Oreca 07, i.e. 26 cars, any visit to the plastics manufacturers installed within the circuit is not excellent news. This means that there was some damage. “ It all starts upstream, explains Eric Florin, one of the structure's plastics specialists. Throughout the year, we manufacture parts for competitors who compete in different series. For a rear cover, it takes 3 days of work. Then, the elements that need to be glued require an additional day. Finally, you will have to add what is used for the fixings on the car and there will still be a few hours of preparation to adapt it to the car. »

Get the cars moving again as quickly as possible

This whole process can be ruined in no time with a slip or throw. “ We have tried to encourage teams to stock up, but that is not always enough, reveals the one we nickname Caramel. On these carbon parts which sometimes incorporate a little Kevlar, we try to repair as many things as possible, but sometimes it's not enough. For Le Mans, we had taken 20 sets of diveplanes, these kinds of shovels located in front of the hoods for aerodynamics, and by Thursday noon there were only 7 left... and we weren't feeling well! » Before the actual launch of the event, the team must adapt to to work in the field. “ On the circuit, we work in the wet process because we are not equipped to make prepreg, because we do not have an autoclave, specifies the plastics manufacturer. However, we have an oven that allows us to place the size of a pontoon or a diffuser to cook it at 80 C°. It is at this temperature that the resin polymerizes. In ambient air, this takes between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes. We can also do it with infrared or with this oven. Our watchword is: efficiency, compliance and resistance… and let the car leave as quickly as possible! »

Even if they are capable of miracles, there still comes a time when repairs are no longer possible. “ During the race, we lack time to complete them, he confided. This really has to be very light to do. At this time, the teams are more looking for advice to know if a hull can continue or if it is impossible. » Oreca's plastics manufacturers followed the latest free tests with interest and immediately started their ovens to heat up...