Endurance – Oreca’s 2015 results in LMP2

With the arrival of its new closed cockpit prototype, the ORECA 05, but also the still relevant presence of the ORECA 03R and its twin the?Alpine A450b, ORECA left its mark on the 2015 endurance season. This year will even remain historic with the victory of the ORECA 05 from the KCMG team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, first success in the most prestigious race in the world for a Le Mans Prototype entirely designed by the French group.

?Building a completely new prototype is always a real challenge. We must meet all the objectives, with requirements in terms of reliability and performance, all within a reduced financial framework and within a very short time frame. I am happy to see that the ORECA 05 has fulfilled its mission,” explains Hugues de Chaunac. “2015 was a very busy year, marked by numerous successes and major battles on the track. Victory at Le Mans is a great satisfaction. Competitiveness in FIA WEC and ELMS Also. This is also valid for the ORECA 03 and the?Alpine A450b, which prove that they are still up to par. Before a new stage in 2017, the 2016 season will be very ambitious, with more teams and a desire to win with our teams. Since 2011, we have been building our successes together, this will still be the guideline next year. »
 
Particularly anticipated, the ORECA 05 had a successful first year. In a total of thirteen races, eight in the FIA ​​WEC and five in ELMS, she finished on the podium ten times. Above all, she achieved no less than four successes, two pole positions and five fastest laps in the race. The two customer teams which owned a copy, the Hong Kong team KCMG and its French counterpart Thiriet by TDS, also finished second in their championship, respectively in the World Championship.Endurance FIA and European Le Mans Series.
 
Leaving the Signes workshops at the end of winter, the ORECA 05 quickly revealed exceptional capabilities, combining a burst of speed and remarkable reliability. In its first race, just six weeks after its first run at Paul Ricard, the LM P2 chassis scored its first podium, after dominating the opening round of the ELMS for a long time, at Silverstone, on April 11. His first victory was not long in coming, coming on May 17, still in ELMS with Thiriet by TDS Racing, during the 4 Hours of Imola.
 
Barely a month later, the 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend made the ORECA prototype a legend. With Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Nicolas lapierre at the wheel, KCMG took the LM P2 pole position in the Sarthe double-clock race, before winning the race and an unprecedented success on June 14. The ORECA 05 subsequently scored two other victories, at the end of August, in the 6 Hours of the Nürburgring, again with KCMG in the FIA ​​WEC, then in mid-October, during the 4 Hours of Estoril, with Thiriet by TDS Racing in ELMS.
 
Always as efficient throughout the seasons, the ORECA 03 and Alpine A450b, fielded by the French team Signatech-Alpine, continued to play leading roles in 2015. To its impressive collection of successes established since 2011, the open-cockpit LM P2 prototype added three more this year, bringing its total to 26. On November 1, with the?Alpine A450b, Signatech-Alpine took his first FIA WEC victory at the end of the 6 Hours of Shanghai. The other two successes were acquired in Asian LMS by the ORECA 03R of the Swiss team Race Performance, winner of the 3 Hours of Fuji in October, then the 3 Hours of Sepang in November. Added to these triumphs were two pole positions, two best race times and four other podiums, works of Signatech-Alpine in FIA WEC (2nd at the 6 Hours of Fuji), Murphy Prototypes in ELMS (2nd at the 4 Hours of Imola) and Eurasia Motorsport in Asian LMS (2nd at the 3H of Fuji, 3rd at the 3H of Sepang).
 
After this new successful year, the ORECA LM P2 chassis will see the family of their customer teams grow significantly in 2016. One of the most renowned teams in the world, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014 and second in 2015, the British JOTA Sport team will field an ORECA 05 in the FIA ​​WEC next year. Also purchasing an ORECA 05, the American team Dragon Speed ​​will take its first steps in LM P2 during the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, before taking part in the ELMS season.
 
One of the most dynamic Asian teams of the moment, Eurasia Motorsport, established in the Philippines, will move from the ORECA 03R to the ORECA 05 to compete in its second season in the European series. Other acquisitions of the latest prototype made by ORECA are preparing to be made official in the coming weeks. In total, around ten chassis will be built and delivered by the end of February with a view to competing in the various World Endurance series in 2016!

Chronology:
 
-March 02: 1st run of the ORECA 05 on the Circuit Paul Ricard
-April 11: 1st race of the ORECA 05 during the 4H of Silverstone (ELMS), 1st podium with Thiriet by TDS Racing (3rd)
-May 17: 1st victory for the ORECA 05 during the 4H of Imola (ELMS) with Thiriet by TDS Racing
-June 11: 1st pole for the ORECA 05 at Le Mans with KCMG
-June 14: 1st victory in the FIA ​​WEC World Championship and 1st victory for an ORECA chassis at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
-October 10: victory of the ORECA 03R during the 3H of Fuji (ALMS) with Race Performance
-November 1: victory for the ORECA 03/Alpine A450b during the 6H of Shanghai (WEC) with Signatech-Alpine
-30 wins in LMP2 since 2011
-4 different winning teams this year (Thiriet by TDS Racing, KCMG, Race Performance, Signatech-Alpine)
-6 nationalities represented in 2015, on 2 continents: France (TDS, Alpine), Philippines (Eurasia Motorsport), Hong Kong (KCMG), Ireland (Murphy), Switzerland (Race Performance), San Marino (Ibanez Racing)
-At least 7 nationalities represented in 2016 on 3 continents: France (TDS), Philippines (Eurasia Motorsport), Hong Kong (KCMG), Ireland (Murphy), Switzerland (Race Performance), USA (DragonSpeed), Great Britain ( Jota Sport).

2015 balance sheet:
 
ORECA 05 
4 wins
10 podiums:
2 pole position:
5 best times in the race  
 
ORECA 03R / Alpine A450b
3 wins
7 podiums
2 pole position
2 best times in the race