#LeMans24 2017: AS THE SUN RISES, JACKIE CHAN DC RACING GETS IN THE LEAD

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18 June 2017 - 1531 views

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Find all details about the first part of the race here.

Jackie Chan DC Racing’s ORECA 07 takes the lead at the end of the night
Two ORECA 07s in the Top 3 overall!
11 out of 14 ORECA chassis still on track 18 hours into the race
Best LM P2 provisional lap time for the ORECA 07 #38 – 3’28.632

The night brought a whole lot of surprises in this 2017 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Some were good ones, while some others were disasters. Both of Vaillante Rebellion’s ORECA 07, which had been the lead since the beginning of the race, have gradually seen their rivals catching up as the sun returned this morning. Six hours to go before the end of the race and Chinese team Jackie Chan DC Racing has taken control of the class with Tung/Laurent/Jarvis’s #38 ORECA 07 currently running 2nd overall!

Taking advantage of the #31’s few hitches, Vaillante Rebellion’s #13 ORECA got into the lead and has now been fighting since the end of the night to stay close to its rival Jackie Chan DC Racing’s #38 first in the LM P2 class. Just after 8 am, David Heinemeir-Hansson had to stay inside the pits for a bit, as the car had to be pulled into the garage for the starter to be checked. The Swedish driver did not lose too much time but has now got to push hard to catch up with the front of the race. As for its sister car, #31, it faced a difficult situation towards the end of the night when Prost’s spin following on a small contact meant that the car required some bodywork repairs, costing a bit of time obviously.

Just behind Vaillante Rebellion’s two prototypes and the leading car, Signatech Alpine Matmut’s Alpine A470 is very near. Panciatici/Negrao/Ragues have stayed off trouble during the night, so they’re now racing close to the leading trio. Jackie Chan DC Racing’s #37 car completes the Top 5.

A little further behind, CEFC Manor TRS Racing occupies the 6th position in class with its only car still racing (#24) as the #25 had to retire after a harsh excursion off track. Very consistent since the start, Graff Racing’s #40 ORECA 07 has raced in the Top 5 for a little while and now maintains itself in the 7th position in class despite having gone off track.

As for TDS, the team also went to bed following on the withdrawal of the #28 after Emmanuel Collard’s accident in the karting corners just before 6 am. Dragon Speed is still running but has lost some time having had to do some work on the front suspension.

As the contenders are about to enter the last quarter of the race, and with the temperature rising on the circuit of the 24 Hours, ORECA’s delegation still counts eleven prototypes on track, seven of which are currently ranked in the first eight positions. This performance is very special as these cars are also within the Top 10 overall, behind the only LM P1 still racing, in the lead!

Oliver Jarvis – Jackie Chan DC Racing #38

“We’re three quarters into the race now and we haven’t encountered any major issues so far, delivering a good performance behind the LM P1. Our car is really great and enables us to maintain excellent pace, even widening the gap. But there’s still the equivalent of a WEC race to do since there’s six hours to go before the finish line. It’s a really crazy challenge! We’re glad with the race so far, thanks ORECA for providing us with such a great car.”