IMPRESSIVE POLE POSITION FOR G-DRIVE RACING’S ORECA 07
- 9 ORECA chassis in the Top 10 at the end of the qualifying
- 2016 best lap improved by 10 seconds
- ORECA’s 3rd back-to-back pole position in the 24 Hours of le Mans
- LM P2 pole record (3’32.301/Porsche RS Spyder/2007) improved by 7 seconds
ORECA chassis have shone, not to say dominated, in these thrilling qualifying sessions. Occupying the first nine positions – and thirteen of the fifteen first rows – in the LM P2 rankings, it is a great satisfaction for the French manufacturer. In addition to this great result as a whole, there was also some panache as several teams of the ORECA delegation regularly battled in the lead and Alex Lynn completed a lap under 3’26, offering the pole position to G-Drive Racing. A third back-to-back pole for an ORECA chassis in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, clinching a record performance at the same time!
No bad weather whatsoever in the end, the qualifying sessions of the 2017 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans were hot in many ways, literally and figuratively. Wednesday’s hot weather conditions slightly cooled down this Thursday night, which explains the important improvements in terms of lap times during Q2 and Q3. With a 3’25.352, Alex Lynn – G-Drive Racing driver – managed to go 6’’5 faster than the day before. At around 240Km/h on average, the ORECA 07 entrusted to the 2014 GP3 Series Champion has been invincible so far, since the beginning of the season; it sealed its 3rd consecutive pole position in the FIA WEC tonight.
At the end of the qualifying, the Russian team supported technically by TDS Racing came in front of Chinese teams CEFC Manor TRS Racing (#25) and Jackie Chan DC Racing (#38) which both achieved lap times under 3’26 too. Vaillante Rebellion’s two cars (#31 and #13) completed the Top 5. With provisional pole on Wednesday night, TDS Racing ended up in the 6th row, in front of the CEFC Manor TRS Racing’s second car and Team Signatech Alpine Matmut’s first Alpine A470, also designed by ORECA Technology, the drivers of which said to have been disturbed by traffic on each of their attempts.
With the results achieved by all of those chassis, the ORECA camp can only feel positive at the end of these qualifying sessions. Yet the French manufacturer from Le Var remains humble in a great challenge such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even more so with a car which will be making its first entry in the race. But following on two wins in Le Mans (2015 and 2016) with the ORECA 05 and Alpine A460, the goal is to retain the title and each team within ORECA’s family is going to make the most of the upcoming hours to finalise their preparation for this twice around the clock.
Alex LYNN (G-Drive Racing / Pole Position LM P2)
“We’re really glad to have posted this pole position in such a big challenge. We’ve worked progressively since the Test Day to determine the best basic setup possible. I had great sensations straight away, as soon as I took to the track. I didn’t achieve a perfect lap, though I didn’t have to complain about the traffic, but it still went well. Everybody says that the new ORECA is very fast, but I don’t think that anyone expected us to achieve such lap times. Each member of the team did the perfect job and contributed in delivering such performances, we need to say thank them all. We’ve still got a lot to do before the race because we really want to best prepare the car. But, for my first go in Le Mans, achieving this 3rd back-to-back pole position, and so the first one for me here, makes me super happy.”