LeMans24: ORECA to run customer Peugeot

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ORECA will have its best shot yet of an overall victory at Le Mans in 2010 with a Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP. Hugues de Chaunac (L), Olivier Quesenel (R). (Peugeot)


Ever since Team Peugeot Total’s breakthrough victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, the Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP was suddenly in high demand. No less than six teams expressed interest in campaigning a customer version of the Le Mans winner, and speculation ran rampant over who would end up with the coveted diesel-powered prototype for 2010.

Teams such as DAMS, Signature Plus and even de Ferran Motorsports were rumored to be in the running, not to mention Pescarolo Sport, which ran Peugeot’s ill-fated customer entry in 2009. But in the end, the honor has gone to veteran sportscar squad Team ORECA.

"ORECA and its director Hugues De Chaunac have a proven winning record in several motorsport disciplines over the years," said Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel. "We have consequently chosen this team which we believe is the best qualified to defend Peugeot's colors. Team ORECA MATMUT will run a 908 HDi-FAP in the 2010 Le Mans Series, as well as in the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours where its support will be invaluable. I am convinced that our collaboration will be a fruitful one, and that there is every chance it can be extended in the future with the supply of Peugeot engines in 2011."

The Hugues de Chaunac-owned squad is no stranger to success, both at Circuit de la Sarthe and in various other endurance racing championships. Winners at Le Mans in 1991 with Mazda, ORECA was later charged with the factory Dodge Viper GTS program in the late '90s, claiming three class victories at Le Mans, plus an overall win at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, not to mention titles in both the American Le Mans Series and FIA GT Championship.

Following stints campaigning an Audi R8 and a brace of Saleen S7Rs in the LMS, de Chaunac purchased the assets of French constructor Courage Competition in 2007, focusing efforts once again to the premier prototype ranks, and with a long-term vision of becoming a manufacturer-affiliated team.

ORECA’s first step came in 2008 when it ran two evolution models of the Courage LC70, before construction of the ORECA 01, its first self-built chassis, which debuted earlier this year. The team racked up a win at the LMS season-ending Silverstone
1000km and enjoyed successful debuts in both the ALMS and Asian Le Mans Series with the AIM-powered LMP1 machine.

A new era now begins for Team ORECA, not only with the supply of a customer Peugeot 908 for 2010, but also for a technical partnership that will likely blossom in the years to come. De Chaunac revealed that Peugeot will supply engines for ORECA's new self-built prototype in 2011.

“I’m happy, proud and enthusiastic,” said de Chaunac. “Since the launch of our challenge, our aim has been to join up with a major manufacturer with whom we can develop a long-term program. And now, thanks to the decisive help of our four main partners, it’s done!”

ORECA will campaign the 2010-spec Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP in the five-round LMS season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it will run alongside the three factory 908s.

“It’s a program that will provide us with a great deal of useful information at every level,” de Chaunac said. “From a sporting point of view, of course, as we’ll have a prototype with exceptional potential, which has already proved its speed and reliability over the past three seasons. And in the technical field, we’re going to be working hand in glove with Peugeot. It’s the perfect opportunity to develop our relationship.”

As for the future, the team is already busy at work designing the ORECA 02, which will compete in the 2011 season. It’s unknown whether the prototype will an open or closed top at this point, but one thing’s for certain: It will be Peugeot powered.

“Our technical team’s already hard at work and is collaborating closely with Peugeot Sport, all of which is helping us to design our future LM P1 prototype in the best possible circumstances,” de Chaunac said. “It would be difficult to begin this new phase of our challenge in better conditions.”

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