Group

The first chapters in ORECA’s history were written at Magny-Cours…

Hugues de Chaunac created ORECA (the ORganisation Exploitation Compétition Automobile) in late 1972, setting up shop near the circuit at Magny-Cours. After its first wins in 1973 in the French F3 Championship, the team earned its first prestigious title only three years after inception: Jacques Laffite was crowned Formula 2 European Champion. It was the beginning of a stellar sporting era for the company as it developed many young and talented drivers in the next years, such as René Arnoux, Didier Pironi and future four-time Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost.

Very rapidly in the wake of its many victories in single-seaters, ORECA saw the need to diversify. In 1977, it set about participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time, with an Alpine. A true passion for the legendary race was born that weekend, to the point of making it a major industrial development axis for the Group since the 2000s.

The Le Mans challenge

After that collaboration with the German manufacturer, another came to fruition with Chrysler, this time in Endurance. Designed to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the legendary Viper GTS-R allowed the French team to dominate GT Endurance racing through the early 2000s, earning several consecutive titles at Le Mans and in the World Championship between 1997 and 2000, culminating in the overall win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona the final year!

On the heels of that historic time in its existence, ORECA made the decision to create the “Engine” department by purchasing SNBE in 2004, and in the meantime effected a remarkable return to the world Rally stage with Renault, resulting in several wins. Other significant stages in the Group’s development followed. As the French team continued to enter cars successfully for the top manufacturers – amassing victories and titles with Audi, Saleen, the Peugeot 908 (including a decisive win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011) and Seat in Touring – after buying Courage in 2007, ORECA began constructing its own Le Mans prototypes, entering the cars in the late 2000s and marketing them early the next decade. The result is a proficiency that makes ORECA an expert in the niche.

Despite ORECA’s scope and impact, it will never abandon what makes it strong: diversification. A major player in the construction of Endurance prototypes, ORECA continues to provide its sporting expertise on a variety of fronts. The operational support team for Toyota since its return to Endurance racing in 2012, ORECA has also renewed its involvement in Rally these last years by running the Japanese manufacturer’s Junior WRC program – with the exact same end-goal that has driven the Group since its inception: to win!