3H Imola : The ORECA 03 LM P2 looking to continue it’s good form !
The ORECA 03 LM P2 began the 2013 season in full force : a second place at Silverstone for the opening round of the European Le Mans Series, then two poles and two wins for the first two FIA World Endurance Championship races ! Joined by an Alpine, built and developed by ORECA, the four ORECA 03 on the grid for the start at Imola will be logically ambitious for the second round of the ELMS. Boutsen Ginion Racing, Murphy Prototypes, Race Performance and Thiriet by TDS Racing will be on track.
Race Performance’s thirst for success
One of the most faithful teams to the European Le Mans Series, Race Performance began their 2013 season perfectly with a second place finish at Silverstone. The young Patrick Niederhauser and Michel Frey were able to avoid the trouble presented to them from the British event and the team boss is looking to continue on that positive note. « We’re in a good position in the championship and we’re going to try to stay there » explains Michel Frey. « We’ll certainly be more certain about the competition’s level at Imola, but our objective is to stay in the top two. The team has experience and everyone knows what to do. Patrick is discovering the philosophy of endurance racing, but he’s very quick. In addition, we’re already in a prep phase for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s important to put everything into place for the coming weeks. »
Thiriet by TDS Racing : victory is the goal for Mathias Beche and Pierre Thiriet
Long time leaders at Silverstone and in the top position to taste success when the safety car arrived on track, followed by the shortening of the race, Thiriet by TDS Racing finally finished in the third position in England. For Imola, the French team will be entering a car for a shuffled driving squad in the No. 1 ORECA 03: Pierre Thiriet will be joined by Mathias Beche, his teammate last year for the championship-winning season.. « Mathias, who is now a REBELLION Racing driver in LM P1, is back with us for the ELMS. It’s of course a pleasure » admits Xavier Combet, team manager. « We’ll pick up old habits that aren’t really that old. As is always the case with Pierre and Mathias, we’ll be aiming for victory. »
Defending ELMS champions, Thiriet by TDS Racing is already familiar with Imola, having run there in 2011. « We were unable to capitalise on our race last time, but we have good memories from Imola. » said Xavier Combet. « We were leading the race with a good margin : the team was in a good position and had found the right setup on this track that suited the drivers. We’ll be starting from this good base. »
Final preparations for Boutsen Ginion Racing
Fifth in the first round of the championship, Boutsen Ginion Racing will rely on the same trio of drivers for the No. 4 ORECA 03 : John Hartshorne, Bastien Brière and Thomas Dagoneau. Although the driving squad will change for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it’s the legendary twice-around-the-clock classic that the Belgian team will be preparing for in Italy. « We see this round as final preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. » confirmed Olivier Lainé, team boss. « It will be a chance for the drivers to gain as much experience as possible, for Le Mans or the rest of the season. The goal is to avoid trouble and to lead a smart race in order to take advantage of attrition. We saw at Silverstone that even making the simple decision to stay on the track could pay off. »
Murphy Prototypes aiming for the podium
Leading the 3 Hours of Silverstone before an off course excursion, Murphy Prototypes showed very good potential including the fastest lap of the race. This time, on the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, the British squad will be looking to taste success. Mark Patterson will again be joined by Brendon Hartley in the No. 18 ORECA 03. « I’m rather confident» said the New Zealander. « At Silverstone, we didn’t get the result we were looking for despite our level of performance. We were the quickest, but under very difficult weather conditions, I made an error. The staff has changed over the off season and I must say that I’ve been impressed with how the team has performed, already at Silverstone. I have no doubt that we’ll be in the fight for top positions at Imola : we’ll be battling for a podium finish.The other objective will be to give seat time to Mark Patterson : it will be his first time in the car and it’s important that he be prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. »
Three of the four ORECA 03 chassis will be powered by Nissan V8 engined prepared by the ORECA engine department based in Magny-Cours. The Alpine will also be racing with a Nissan V8.