24H Le Mans, H+5 : The ORECA 05s dominate the first racing hours in LM P2!

The first hours of the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans were quite successful for the ORECA chassis. For its very first start, the ORECA 05 is shining in LM P2! It is clearly at the lead, monopolizing the first two places with KCMG’s team and Thiriet by TDS Racing, who respectively started from the pole and the sixth place. Five hours into the race, with several caution periods already, Signatech-Alpine and its Alpine A450b was settled within the Top 5, while Murphy Prototypes and its ORECA 03R, with an offset strategy, oscillated between the fourth and sixth positions.

What they’ve said.
“It was great to start from the pole, an amazing feeling” confides Richard Bradley (ORECA 05 No. 47/KCMG). “I made a good start and then went onto a great and fair play battle with the Ligier No. 26. The other ORECA 05 managed to pass me because I accidentally turned the safety car mode on. It’s a shame, but I managed to get in front again when the race resumed. We weren’t sure whether we’d be able to triple our stints that’s why I was careful throughout my first one and then picked up the pace. I remained safe making sure not to go over the kerb. I kept a good safety margin. The car is easy to drive, it’s just fantastic!”  

“The car got better lap after lap” says Tristan Gommendy (ORECA 05 No. 46, Thiriet by TDS Racing). “It was quite tough with the Alpine at the start, then I progressively caught up with the two leading cars: for a moment I just observed them, then I saw that I could pick up my momentum and so I started really chasing them. We weren’t sure whether it would be possible or not to have a triple stint so we’ve taken the time to analyze the situation. The car remained very well-balanced. Unfortunately because of bad traffic towards the end of my stint we lost a little bit of time. But the car behaves very well, even better than in the qualifying.”      

“Despite the fact that I didn’t take any risks we managed to move up places” explains Nathanaël Berthon (ORECA 03R No. 48, Murphy Prototypes). “I really tried to save tyres and fuel, I also avoided going over the crest in order to preserve the car as much as possible. We were able to keep the same tyres over three stints, our fuel consumption is interesting and the pace is good. Thus it’s a positive start. We have to continue like that.”

Race report.
In pole position with the ORECA 05/KCMG, Richard Bradley stayed in the lead of the LM P2 class as the race started, resisting the authority of the Ligier No. 26. Starting in 6th position, the ORECA 05/ Thiriet by TDS Racing moved up quickly in the hierarchy, reaching the 2nd place half an hour later, constantly overtaking lap after lap. Behind the wheel, Tristan Gommendy even took the lead just before the first refueling! One hour into the race, the safety car came out and as the race resumed Bradley went in front, overtaking Gommendy, while Signatech-Alpine maintained itself within the leading quintet. 8th on the starting grid, Murphy Prototypes moved up towards the front of the race combining pace and consumption management.
Hanging onto a high pace, the two ORECA 05 were still in the lead throughout the following two hours, with Nicolas Lapierre and Ludovic Badey on board. The safety car took to the track again just before the third hour and that caution period lasted over 45 minutes. On the green flag, Lapierre was about thirty seconds in front of the Ligier No. 34, who found a small gap to overtake. But Badey did not give up and was going to regain his second place again throughout the fourth and fifth hours, staying forty seconds away from Lapierre, before Pierre Thiriet sat inside the bucket seat just before 8pm.
Consistent and cautious, the Signatech-Alpine’s Alpine A450b and Murphy Prototypes’s ORECA 03R are occupying the fifth and sixth rows. As to Ibanez Racing’s ORECA 03R, it is after receiving a stop-go penalty for a jump-start.