Lapierre: “Victory or podium at Le Mans”

Nicolas lapierre, what does riding with Oreca in 2011 mean to you?
It?s a very good thing to be able to continue the adventure with Oreca. In recent years, the team has only progressed. Either way, I'm committed to them for the long term. It?s continuity. I am happy to extend, especially since I will be riding with Loïc. This season, he showed himself to be very fast despite his lack of driving in the 908. Being associated with him throughout the season will be great.

Loïc duval, like you, it?s continuity and experience?
With Loïc, we have known each other for a long time, we get along very well. We were teammates F3 at Signature. We were certainly competitors but we got along well. Then we stayed in touch. As he drove a lot with us, we obviously got closer in 2010. Since his F3 days, he has changed a lot because he has matured by moving to Japan. On a sporting level, he has excellent speed. He achieved very good performances with the 908 even though it was not easy to drive and he had little experience behind the wheel.

Did you hesitate before extending the adventure with Oreca?
I had a contract until the end of 2011 so I never had to worry. It was logical for me to continue with Oreca as long as they offer me competitive equipment.

Were you worried when the Oreca 02 project (car to succeed the Oreca 01 and adapted to 2011 regulations) was frozen?
Worried, no because Hugues (de Chaunac, president of Oreca) is an entrepreneur and I knew he would have another equally good solution. However, it is a shame that this project was frozen because Oreca could have provided an innovative project, which could have worked. But, in such an economic context, Hugues could not afford to take such risks.

Following the end of the Oreca 02 project, did you obtain the guarantee that you would be able to drive a competitive car in 2011?
I have guarantees simply by being an Oreca driver because I know that the team does not want to make up the numbers. But it was important to see how the partnership was going with Peugeot This year. I wanted to see if we were going to have an important role, with a 4th car integrated into Peugeot's strategy. That was the case, it went very well and there was a real exchange. So that really reassured me.

But the competition will be tough in 2011. Audi notably presented an R18 which seems very aggressive. Are you not afraid of suffering in the face of this competition?
The Audi is very beautiful but they have always made beautiful cars. It's certain that the fight will be close. The closed prototype is new for Audi but they are very good and will quickly adapt. They will already gain in performance because it is clear that it is now an aero advantage to drive at Le Mans with a closed prototype. But the Peugeot will go very quickly. Peugeot has know-how and will be able to keep up with Audi.

What is your goal for the coming seasons?
The medium-term objective is clearly a podium or a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Can you already aim for victory at Le Mans in 2011?
We must first see the level of performance of the Peugeot. With Loïc and the 3rd driver, we will have a great crew, with a mature team. We will have good cards in hand. But it?s always difficult to predict a result. With what happened to us in 2010, we are well placed to know.