ORECA savors a top 5 for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
In 2000, with the Dodge Viper GTS-R, ORECA became the first French team to win the 24 Hours of Daytona, which remains the only time this has happened. Taking part in the Floridian event for the first time as a constructor, ORECA claimed another first this weekend. With the fifth place finish of the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing ORECA 03, ORECA had the best finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona for a French constructor !
For the opening round of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, the new merged American endurance racing series, ten ORECA chassis were on track : one ORECA 03 LM P2 entered by Muscle Milk Pickett Racing in the top prototype class, and nine ORECA-FLM09 in the « Prototype Challenge » class. With a solid performance, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing finished in fifth place overall with drivers Graf/Luhr/Pickett, and first among the LM P2 entries. Three-time defending champions in PC, CORE autosport took the class victory with drivers Bennett/Braun/Gue/Wilkins. The team finished an impressive ninth overall for the ORECA-FLM09’s first 24 hour event.
With this, the ORECA customer racing program is off to a good start in 2014. Hugues de Chaunac explains and savors the result which he sees as a boost for the coming races in America, in Europe, as well as globally and even in Asia.
« We were looking forward to this return to the 24 Hours of Daytona. It’s no secret that the United States has a special place in the hearts of the ORECA Group, and especially Florida. With Dodge and the Viper, we wrote an incredible chapter in the history of this race and on this famous banking. To return to this circuit as a constructor while being the only French team to have won it, was of course special. It was made even more special because our ORECA 03 was entered by the two-time defending American Le Mans Series champions and we needed to be on our game. In addition, this edition of the race marked the debut of the new American championship with exciting things to come. Over the last few days, the past mixed with the present as well as the future. Our winning Viper was there, at the heart of the track, unchanged from how it looked in victory lane in 2000. To see it again, while other Vipers were on track racing, it was something ! Especially since several members of our current customer racing program were already part of the team back then.
« The ORECA 03 had already finished a 24-hour race, but Daytona is a unique event and therefore would be telling as a race. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing had a very good race even though the team had its first running with the car less than a month ago. I must admit that for a moment I thought perhaps a podium was possible when the team joined the lead lap. It wasn’t easy against the Daytona Prototypes, but the three drivers (Klaus Graf, Lucas Luhr and Alex Brundle) were consistent and finished first among the LM P2 entries. This shows the strengths of this team, in strategy and performance, as well as the driver lineup and crew. Bravo to them for this fifth place overall. I think we can all savor it.
« This top five finish is the best result for a French constructor at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and we are very happy. This performance is complemented by the ORECA-FLM09 entries that make up the Prototype Challenge. This prototype was making its first appearance in a 24-hour race and two of them finished in the top 10 overall, proof that it can race anywhere competitively and at measured cost. Bravo to CORE autosport who opens the season with a victory in PC at Daytona, after three championship titles in ALMS !
« ORECA has begun 2014 like it should. It was an important first race and interesting first steps for the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing ORECA 03. And it was motivativing for the future! It was a step towards our next objective in the USA : win races outright, as a constructor, such as Sebring, Watkins Glen, Petit Le Mans and of course Daytona in just a little less than 12 months from now… The next challenges will be exciting, and not only in the United States ! »