#LeMans24 2017: Time for the Test Day!
June has arrived and the Group ORECA is always somewhat looking forward to this time of the year which is a combination of racing, pressure and thrills. 2017 will be no exception. On Sunday, all of those involved in the 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be taking part in the official Test Day. An opportunity for the 14 ORECA chassis competing to get their bearings before the race starts on Saturday June 17th.
ORECA more present than ever before
Those last years, the Group ORECA has not gone unnoticed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2015, with the ORECA 05’s win in the LM P2 class, the very year of its first entry in Le Mans, also marking the first win of a Chinese team. In 2016, with the Alpine A460’s strong performance, a car designed and manufactured in ORECA’s workshops in Signes. And already in 2017, with the number of ORECA chassis entering the race – no less than 14 – meaning that the French motorsport company is the most represented manufacturer in La Sarthe.
Following on the great performances delivered since the beginning of the season in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series, the ORECA 07’s success story seems to continue. Yet Le Mans is a legendary and exceptionally tough race. All teams are way too aware of that to arrive overconfident. As Technical Director David Floury says: “The 24 Hours of Le Mans is such a difficult race that it is always very important to approach it with much humility and totally focused. The race’s format, the circuit’s layout and the high-level of competition definitely make it a nonstandard race during which anything can happen. After the hard and significant work that ORECA Technology has put in to design the ORECA 07, manufacture and assemble 21 of them in less than 6 months, it is now time to focus on the final preparations with great attention to detail. This weekend is our final straight!”
For its first entry in La Sarthe’s twice around the clock, the ORECA 07 will have to prove worthy successor to its big sister the ORECA 05. A mission which shall be quite complex considering the high competition it is going to face, David Floury explains: “With 14 ORECA 07s out of 25 LM P2 cars on the starting grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and considering the quality of the teams entering our chassis and the level of their drivers, this aim is realistic on paper. Yet, the so specific nature of Le Mans’s track, plus the introduction, for this challenge specifically, of Le Mans kits by the four LM P2 manufacturers selected by the ACO and the FIA, can change the hierarchy that we’ve seen so far in the first races of 2017. And competition is very high. Besides, all LM P2s are new and this is the first time that they will fight one another on the track in La Sarthe: thus it’s going to be a really great challenge.”
Testing the Le Mans kit
This Test Day is an opportunity for teams to test their Le Mans kit in real conditions, on the so unusual layout of Le Mans. “Le Mans’s track is really specific, with characteristics that are totally different from any other circuits attended by the LM P2s throughout the season, whether in the WEC or in the ELMS. With its long straights, a very high average speed, and its wide variety of curves (ranging from relatively slow ones such as Arnage to particularly fast ones like the S Porsche), this track requires a non-standard operating point. It’s particularly true in terms of aerodynamics.” David Floury explains. “That’s why, for this race only, the FIA and ACO have allowed LM P2 manufacturers to homologate a specific kit which price is regulated and cannot exceed 10,000€. This kit’s main objective is to reduce resistance in order to reach a good top speed and to improve performances in Le Mans. As for the ORECA 07, this kit essentially comprises new aerodynamics elements, both front and rear. They were mainly developed in CFD (digital wind tunnel), got tested and validated on Le Castellet track in November 2016, as part of development tests, and homologated in December 2016, as stipulated by the FIA. Additionally, it is important to note that rules & regulations do not allow to mix Le Mans and Sprint kits.”
This change of rules & regulations is to be taken into consideration and will play an important role in the fight during the Test Day as the LM P2 cars of the four manufacturers have not had the opportunity to fight yet in a Le Mans configuration.
Sunday’s Test Day will enable all teams to garner as much data as possible in order to best prepare themselves for the race and hopefully meet success at this legendary challenge. As for JDC Miller Motorsport’s ORECA 07 in the Uncle Sam’s country, the campaign continues in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, with the upcoming Detroit Grand Prix.