Rally – Oreca’s R4 kit enters the approval phase

The Oreca group continues its process of creating the R4 kit. After the end of testing in the south of France this summer, then an out-of-classification participation during the Rallye du Var at the end of November, the kit was inspected by technicians from the International Automobile Federation (FIA), with a view to its approval by 2018.

In the premises of Signes (Var), the FIA ​​delegates examined each component with a fine-tooth comb, starting with the engine compartment (1.6 liter turbo) before tackling the chassis. “The two days with the FIA ​​members went very well”, rejoices Matthieu Bassou, technical project manager for Oreca. “We followed a traditional approval procedure. Taking the approval regulations for the R4 kit as a basis, the engineers dispatched to Oreca checked each part of the kit point by point. »

The inspection should lead to a final approval form by the start of 2018. This form, a real logbook of the kit's gestation, was completed week after week by Oreca, and must be approved by the FIA. “The first feedback has been very positive. The federation's engineers were delighted to see that the design of the kit corresponded to the philosophy that the FIA ​​wanted to implement with the R4 category. underlines Matthieu Bassou. “Now, we must refine the result of this first step by finalizing the parts catalog, the technical tutorials as well as the technical support. »

Some teams did not wait for approval to acquire the kit, like RMC Motorsport in Spain. As a reminder, the R4 kit can be adapted to production cars as long as they exceed 2 copies over a year. The purchase price of a kit, for rallies on asphalt or dirt, is 500 euros, excluding taxes.