ILMC
ORECA-Matmut enters Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
© Planetlemans – Marcel ten Caat
For its first year of partnership with Peugeot, the Team ORECA-Matmut has the championship titles to show for it: Le Mans Series driver, team and constructor champions with the French manufacturer. The team, under the watchful eye of Hugues de Chaunac, will tackle the 2011 season with the same ride, the 908 HDi FAP, driven by Nicolas Lapierre and Loi?c Duval in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Team ORECA-Matmut will begin its season at the 12 Hours of Sebring – also the first round of the ILMC, organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest comprising seven races. The team will be making its return to Florida after last competing in the 2000 edition when it took a 1-2 victory in the GTS class with their Vipers! The Team ORECA-Matmut made its American comeback during the 2009 Petit Le Mans where it finished fifth overall, ahead of Honda-Acura.
“It’s always with great pleasure that we cross the Atlantic,” said Hugues de Chaunac. “We especially appreciate the American way of racing and we are excited to once again enjoy the special, even legendary, atmosphere of Sebring. Everyone knows that this event is a trying one! It will certainly be an enriching experience, with a race that promises to be hard-fought.”
For this international campaign, the Team ORECA-Matmut decided to continue with what works: the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. The package is proven and the team knows the prototype inside and out. This means they can hit the ground running, as the drivers are also very comfortable with the Lion: as proven by the fastest race lap during the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours and their performance in the Le Mans Series. Consequently, the team will arrive at the 12 Hours of Sebring at full throttle.
“A new car would have meant a later delivery date,” adds David Floury, Technical Director. “To arrive at Sebring under the best conditions, we are conducting several tests in 2011 configuration, with the new restrictors and boost pressure. As for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the change in regulations (smaller restrictors) we are aiming for reliability more so than pure performance.”
Rendez-vous March 16-19 for the 59th 12 Hours of Sebring marking the launch of the 2011 season for the Team ORECA-Matmut.
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Talking about a lion with a muzzle on. So this will be the fastest car on the grid in 2011, but will have a smaller restrictor so it won’t outgun the newer P1 machines.
Couldn’t peugeot just give them a 2011 spec engine for this chassis?
@Bamba
Maybe later this year, as the 90X’ll prob only just be ready by sebring, and oreca would want to test with it themselves. Does this mean oreca wont be running their own built car this year, because i’m sure peugeot could give/sell them another 908 if they wanted to run 2 cars.
Also, so much for the 908′s last race!
So Oreca Matmut is going to use the 2010 Peugeot while the Official Team Peugeot is going to be using the 2011 brand new car?
@Bamba – A nice idea that putting a 2011 P1 engine in a 2010 P1 chassis is, it’s not allowed. 2010 cars must be grandfathered in their original specification with the addition of a tiny restrictor only. Which means that old P1s will have similar performance levels to the new P2s. It’s that or run a full 2011 spec’ car, there is no half way house.