The ORECA 05 and KCMG win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LM P2 !

Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LM P2 class, KCMG team and the ORECA 05 have just written a great story together. A story comprising many first. The first win for the ORECA 05 LM P2, a little more than three months after its first roll-out; the first win of an ORECA chassis in the legendary twice around the clock in La Sarthe, and the first win of an Asian squad. A lot of emotion was felt on the finish line after a thrilling race, closely fought up until the very last moments, in a class that has rarely been that competitive.
It is a significant achievement for Nicolas Lapierre, Richard Bradley and Matt Howson who took the lead right from the very first minutes – having started from the pole – up until the last ones. The No. 47’s drivers were at the top of the leader board in class for 23 out of 24 hours, dropping down to the second place “only” at the end of hour one. After many successes on all circuits for the ORECA 03, and its first win at Imola last May, the ORECA 05 has now triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

The other ORECA chassis have also been great contenders in the race. With the second ORECA 05, Thiriet by TDS Racing was ranked second up until the 14th hour when they had to withdraw having been hit by another car. Having fought for the podium for quite a long time, Murphy Prototypes crossed the finish line in fifth place with Nathanaël Berthon, Karun Chandhok and Mark Patterson’s ORECA 03R. With José Ibanez, Pierre Perret and Ivan Bellarosa, Ibanez Racing finished eighth. As for the Alpine A450b, designed and manufactured by ORECA Technology, it unfortunately had to give up having gone off the track when occupying the third place.

What they’ve said.

“It’s a big day for KCMG and the ORECA Group” says ORECA CEO Hugues de Chaunac. “We’ve been waiting for that day since 2011 and since the first laps of our first LM P2. Congratulations to KCMG team and their three drivers. A special ‘bravo’ to Nicolas who we’ve seen growing up in endurance. This win is the greatest award for our manufacturer department as well as our engine department in Magny-Cours. To win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a prototype that is just three-month old, and dominating the race from beginning to end, it’s incredible. We would have never dared dreaming of it, but together with KCMG we’ve done it. It’s fantastic! It’s incredibly motivating for our future projects in the discipline, whether on the international, European or American scenes.”

“I’m very happy and very proud of the entire team, as well as of ORECA!” confides Nicolas Lapierre (ORECA 05 No. 47/KCMG). “The work we’ve done since Spa is just impressive. We’ve worked all together in order to move forward and to be here today. We felt very good half-way into the race, then we encountered a couple of obstacles on the track and lost some time. In the first part of the race we’ve avoided the crest, but in the remaining quarter we really changed method and started attacking to the maximum. It was tough, especially with a quintuple stint for me at the end, but we held on. It’s incredible to be in the lead from beginning to end. It’s a great win, a very important one for me. I wanted to fight for the first place and I thank KCMG for allowing me to do so. I started in endurance with ORECA, therefore to win here in Le Mans, with this car, it’s really something. We’re just enjoying it now!”

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say! Congratulations to all ORECA’s teams which have worked on this project” says Director of ORECA’s design bureau Christophe Guibbal. “I’m proud to be a part of that team. This victory is down to an entire squad, because all of ORECA’s departments have been involved in it, working as a unit. This success is a testament to a project which started several years ago and it stands as a real fulfilment. With this win, the ORECA 05 is allowing us to take an extra step forward. It shows the quality of the project and the know-how behind it. It’s still such a young car and we weren’t necessarily expecting that result, especially leading every single of the 24 Hours! Congrats to the whole KCMG team which has developed very quickly and has managed to deal with this challenge very well, becoming stronger and stronger as the days passed. We’re all so pleased!”   

“We’ve fought for the podium for a long time” explains Nathanaël Berthon (ORECA 03R n°48/Murphy Prototypes). “We had made the decision to preserve the car and to manage the consumption. A strategy which paid off. We settled in the third place throughout the night. We made a couple of little mistakes and having to change the rear bodywork due to a contact did cost us a better result. Personally I’m satisfied to have crossed the finish line for the first time. I was behind the wheel for more than half of the race, particularly with the quadruple stint I completed, I went through the night and I ticked many of the endurance driver’s boxes. The pace was good. We were hoping for a little more than this fifth place, but the overall outcome is positive. It’s very enriching.”

“We’re very disappointed to have had to withdraw, all the more in those circumstances” admits Thiriet by TDS Racing Director Xavier Combet (ORECA 05 No. 46). “A GT car that had just changed its brakes hit us. We’re wondering why us, we’re clearly really unlucky. But we have no other choice than accepting it. The team did its best to repair. We had managed to catch up with KCMG which was racing at a faster pace at the time, and we tried to put pressure on them. After having changed the chassis we had an outsider’s role. The team had not slept for two days and an hour later, there we were in the lead: that was fantastic, almost surreal actually considering the circumstances. The race was unravelling smoothly: the car wasn’t suffering from any damage, drivers were doing a good job. It’s frustrating. But that’s it. Le Mans is the project of the year, but now we’re already thinking about what’s coming next. We want to do great things in the ELMS.”

Race report.
#47. On Saturday, at 03pm, the ORECA 05/KCMG started from the pole and stayed in the lead of its class up until the first refueling. Throughout the second race hour the car regained the first position and never let go of it anymore. Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Nicolas Lapierre did not make one slightest mistake and deepened the gap with their opponents. But after a drive-through because of an infraction during a pit-stop and a repair of the regulatory number illumination, the cars chasing them had managed to catch up by early in the morning. After going straight on into the gravel, the ORECA 05 had to fight facing Ligier’s and Gibson’s prototypes. That battle lasted up until the chequered flag, with a couple of rain drops which spiced up the end of the race even more. KCMG and its drivers stood firm and perfectly managed their strategy in terms of tyres/drivers/fuel. They went onto winning a mind-blowing twice around the clock, with just an over 50 seconds’ gap.

#48. Murphy Prototypes started from the eight row with the ORECA 03R. The Irish team opted for a wise race, relying on a good management of tyres and a reduced fuel consumption. Those tactics paid off as Nathanaël Berthon, Karun Chandhok and Mark Patterson progressively caught up with the leading cars. Actually the three drivers even took part in the battle for the podium up until early morning. Following on a contact, the No.48’s rear spoiler and diffuser had to be changed during hour twenty. Though that intervention was led very efficiently, the team took to the track again in 6th place, having lost 6 laps. It managed to gain back a position towards the end of the race and achieved a well-deserved Top 5.

#45. For its first participation under its own name, Ibanez Racing did finish the legendary race. After a stop-go in the first moments, José Ibanez, Pierre Perret and Ivan Bellarosa delivered a solid performance, avoided many obstacles. The ORECA 03R No. 45’s drivers moved up in the rankings as the hours passed. In the Top 10 half-way into the race, they finally crossed the finish line at a honorable eighth place.

#46. Having started from the sixth place, the ORECA 05 entered by Thiriet by TDS Racing quickly moved up in the hierarchy and became the leading car by the end of hour one! Then in second place, all went well for the French team for several hours, Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey and Tristan Gommendy brilliantly taking turns on board of the No. 46. Having come back less than a minute away from the leaders during the night, the three men had to give up after having hit a GT in hour 14. Damage was too important and made it impossible to take to the track again under satisfying safety conditions.

#36. As the brand celebrated its 60th anniversary unveiling the Alpine Célébration shortly before the race began, the Alpine A450b made a good start into the challenge. First solidly hanging onto the Top 5, the car then progressively made its way up and reached the leading trio in class. Consistent and reliable with the Chatin/Panciatici/Capillaire crew, Signatech-Alpine could have good hopes but during the eighth hour, the No. 36 severely went off the track in Mulsanne. “Les Bleus” had no other choice but to withdraw.