D-2: is Oreca's monopoly a good thing?

Yes

This year, all the teams entered in LM P2 opted for Oreca 07 and Dunlop tires. As Alexandre Pesci, owner of Rebellion Racing, told us, “No excuse will be valid. No one will be able to hide behind a lack of performance of their equipment. » Signatech main team Alpine, Philippe Sinault rightly argues that everything “will come down to details, strategy, settings and drivers. » You will therefore have to be very specific and manage to put your finger on the ideal set-up. The one which allows in particular to preserve the gums as much as possible. At the Prologue, at Monza, the nine LM P2s present were grouped into 1”. This promises some great battles. Hoping that the unreliability of the Cosworth-Gibson package is resolved as soon as possible, so that it does not play the role of referee.

No

A world championship should not offer a single brand. And if Riley wasn't expected, we hoped to see Ligier JS P217s and Dallara P217s. “The only regret I have is that there is only one manufacturer represented. » Gérard Neveu told us when revealing the entry list at the beginning of February. Two reasons for this. The first: the teams that trusted Onroak in 2016 did not continue for various reasons. ESM left to represent Nissan in IMSA and RGR Sport is a victim of the economic crisis experienced by Mexico since the election of Donald Trump in the United States. The second is that Oreca was right in releasing, in 2015, an 05 convertible into an 07, allowing teams to make the transition to the new regulations at “lower” cost. At Le Mans, on the other hand, fourteen Orecas will face seven Ligiers, three Dallaras and one Riley.

Discover the challenges of the 2017 season of WEC in the AUTO Guidehebdo, still available in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.