Oreca 01 AIM: 1st gasoline objective

This year it only made one small appearance in a race, during the 8 Hours of Le Castellet. Despite some setbacks that prevented her from thwarting Lola's plans-Aston Martin official, the Oreca-01 powered by a V10 AIM proved that it had lost none of this velocity which allowed Nicolas lapierre and Olivier Panis to triumph at the 1000 km of Silverstone, the last round of the Le Mans Series 2009.

Main change on the car: it is now fitted with Dunlop and no longer Michelin. In recent seasons, the British tire manufacturer has shown itself to be more and more efficient, but the Var team has not really had time to acclimatize to it. But the Le Mans week is long, and there will be no shortage of hours of driving.

“We have new tires and unfortunately the winter tests were disrupted by the weather, says Technical Director David Floury. After recent tests at Paul Ricard HTTT we will work on this point again during the week. The sessions will allow us to continue to investigate the potential of gums. We will also give the drivers some driving time.”

Fifth last year, it will be difficult to repeat such a performance this year, but the beauty has its strengths.

“We must keep in mind what we did in 2009, says Hugues de Chaunac. The instructions are simple: be perfectly reliable and not make the slightest mistake. Consequently, the objective of the Oreca 01 will be to finish first among the gasoline engine prototypes.

At the wheel, will take turns the Frenchman Soheil Ayari, road captain and already present in 2009, his compatriot Didier André, whose first double lap in Sarthe dates back to 2000 already with Oreca, and the Briton Andy Meyrick, Dyson driver in ALMS and who will compete in his first 24 Hours. Three fast drivers who can count on a car that has reached maturity.

“Last year, we received the aero kit at Spa and we carried out very few tests before Le Mans, underlines David Floury. Since then we have made good progress, particularly in understanding the car. We are able to further exploit its potential. From now on, we know the car perfectly and we have a solid working base. We have the experience of last season on our side: that's a good thing for an event like Le Mans.

At the head of the race, the fuel oils should be untouchable. Regularity and reliability will therefore be the key words in order to achieve a good final result.

“We will rely on wisdom, continues David Floury. It is not on one lap that we will make the difference. We know it will be difficult to finish in the top 5. In essence, the competition will be tough but we have arguments to make! »

Rude, a term which suits this honorary category of petrol LMP1s perfectly (to which we must add the AUDI R10 TDIs from the Kolles team). Because in addition to the official Lola-Aston Martins, we will have to overcome the model entered by Signature Plus, and be wary of the Lola-Rebellion, cars which have shown a great burst of speed since the start of the season.

Don't miss our 24 2010 Hours of Le Mans Guide, currently on newsstands, so you don't miss anything from the 78th edition of the Le Mans classic.