IDEC Sport Racing’s ORECA 07 confirms pole position at 24 Hours of Le Mans!
After three qualifying sessions, IDEC Sport Racing’s No. 48 ORECA 07 has claimed the pole position in LMP2 class with fastest lap time posted by Paul-Loup Chatin: 3.24.842. On Saturday, the first two rows of the starting grid (LMP2 class) will be monopolised by ORECA chassis with DragonSpeed, G-Drive’s No. 26 car and TDS Racing.
ORECA chassis at the top of the timesheets
ORECA’s LMP2 chassis have been in the lead here in La Sarthe since the first qualifying session, which took place on Wednesday night.
Yesterday’s first night session saw IDEC Sport Racing’s No. 48 ORECA 07 post the fastest time in the LMP2 class (3.24.956) with Paul-Loup Chatin on board.
On Thursday, the second qualifying session kick-started at 7pm. Punctuated by several incidents and red flags, none of the contenders had the opportunity to try to improve lap times. This second session finally got cut short, 30 minutes before the end.
The final session began at 9.30pm and lasted 2 hours 30 minutes (extended by half an hour to compensate time lost in previous session). Paul-Loup Chatin continued with the same momentum and improved its own lap time: 3.24.842. Behind him, Loïc Duval on board TDS Racing’s No. 28 car attacked and the timesheets got shaken up as he posted a lap time of 3.24.816. The rest of ORECA’s delegation kept fighting within the Top 5; DragonSpeed and G-Drive Racing were racing less than a second behind the leader.
Towards the end of the session, as it started raining, there was plenty of movement at the top of the timesheets again. With a penalty, the No. 28 car moved down in fourth place, conceding the pole position to IDEC Sport Racing.
Signatech Alpine Matmut and the Alpine A470 finished just off the Top 5 in sixth place, followed by Graff. Both of Jackie Chan DC Racing’s cars, respectively No. 38 and No. 37, ranked at the bottom of the Top 10. With the No. 40 car, G-Drive Racing will start from the sixth row.
IDEC Sport Racing Director Patrice Lafargue: “I’m really glad! This pole position is a fantastic achievement for the whole team and particularly for Paul-Loup. He’s posted the best lap time, showing how talented he is. We’re a new team, so it’s encouraging to reach such a result, it makes everybody hopeful. After two days of track action, none of us is tired, we’re all in very high spirits. We could move mountains all together with this ORECA 07. It’s a top car, really fantastic, it’s allowed us to progress so much; just like Michelin tyres, which have improved significantly this season.”
As for LMP1 category, Toyota Gazoo Racing topped the timesheets with a double win. Pole position is claimed by the No. 8 car, thanks to Kazuki Nakajima’s lap time: 3.15.377.
Rebellion Racing showed they were competitive with a great performance delivered by Thomas Laurent, whose No. 3 was first among non-hybrid cars before receiving a penalty and moving down to fifth place. The No. 1 sister car will start from the second row.
Coming up to the twice around the clock in La Sarthe, those results achieved by ORECA chassis are more than encouraging. There’s still a long way to go before the chequered flag. In a couple of hours, drivers will take part in the famous parade! “Le Mans is Le Mans”, and once again, let’s see what the future holds.