Oreca 07
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The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA/ACO LMP2 regulations.[3] It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Daytona.[5] The car is the successor to the Oreca 05 and is set to be succeeded by the Oreca 09 to meet the 2028 FIA/ACO LMP2 regulations.[6]
Its performance and reliability versus rival LMP2 sports cars has allowed the 07 to become the de facto number one option for prospective racing teams,[7] finding more buyers every year since its launch, including those switching away from other brands.[8][9][10] Since first launching in 2017, nearly all teams competing in series featuring an LMP2 class or similar have used the Oreca 07.[11] It is the most successful LMP2 designed sports car platform of all time, with over 100 recorded victories and several major class championships since its launch. Over 140 cars have been developed by Oreca in-house.[12]
Development
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The preparation of the Oreca 07 traces back to the development of its predecessor, the Oreca 05. The 05 was developed with consideration of what the factory knew about the new technical rules for the LMP2 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2017. Taking prior knowledge from the Oreca 05's performance into account, Oreca decided to develop a new car and base it around the predecessor, with the goal of maximizing performance by focusing on energy and resource usage. The team opted to use this strategy not only to build a car based on a proven predecessor, but also to allow teams to update their Oreca 05 race cars within financial reason.
The chassis of the Oreca 07 is mainly based on the 05, with its monocoque taking less of a priority to develop. The Oreca 07 came equipped with a Gibson GK428 V8 engine producing 600 hp (450 kW; 610 PS).[3][13] Years later, in 2020, power output was decreased by 60 hp following the announcement of the Le Mans Hypercar regulations.[14][15]
The 07 performed its first factory shakedown test in late October 2016 at Circuit Paul Ricard with Nicolas Lapierre at the wheel.[13] It gave an immediately positive first impression during testing, meeting Oreca's targets set during simulation; technical director David Floury expressed encouragement about the car's potential.[16]
As a result of Oreca's development direction, the 07 quickly became the most dominant car in its class.[17] It has since remained a viable platform, with Oreca continuing to receive healthy demand for the 07, including chassis for the Acura ARX-05, updates for the Oreca 05, and re-badged Alpine and Aurus cars.[18] The 100th chassis, though technically the 99th due to skipping the number 13, was delivered to Cool Racing for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans and later displayed at Oreca's showroom.[19]
Racing history
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Alongside its fellow debutants utilising the new LMP2 rule set, the 07 debuted at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona. It would take its first win at the 2017 4 Hours of Monza.
In the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, it became the first LMP2 sports car to lead the annual endurance event,[20] when Jackie Chan DC Racing's No. 38 entry inherited the lead in the 21st hour with five of the six LMP1 cars running into trouble over the course of the race.[21] They nearly secured an upset victory before repairs allowed Porsche's No. 2 919 Hybrid LMP1 car to reclaim the lead with an hour remaining.[22] Oreca finished with a historic double podium in 2nd and 3rd, courtesy of DC Racing's performance.[23]
The car's significant performance advantage on the field over the course of the 2017 calendar year prompted the Automobile Club de l'Ouest to allow the rival LMP2 brands, Dallara, Ligier, and Riley/Multimatic, to create extensive upgrade packages to match the Oreca 07 while freezing Oreca's own vehicle development, much to Oreca's disapproval.[17][24] Despite such attempts, the Oreca 07 continued to succeed as a chassis and be a favoured option for prospective teams looking to enter the LMP2 class. The 07 is currently used by all participating LMP2 teams in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series.[25]
Since 2017, the Oreca 07 has achieved numerous victories, including winning every year in the LMP2 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has won nearly every class championship available in the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series.[12]
Variations
[edit]Acura ARX-05
[edit]A variation of the prototype, the Acura ARX-05, was created for IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class under the DPi regulations. The car was developed through a partnership between Honda Performance Development and Oreca.[11] The powerplant of the vehicle is a production-based 3.5-litre Acura AR35TT twin-turbocharged V6. Other alterations from the 07 include Acura-specific bodywork.[26]
From 2018 to 2020, Team Penske entered a pair of ARX-05s, winning the title in the latter two seasons. For 2021 and 2022, Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing each campaigned one of the ARX-05s previously run by Penske.[27] The ARX-05 was succeeded by the Acura ARX-06 in 2023 following the series' switch to the new Hypercar regulations.[28]
Rear view of the Acura ARX-05, driven in the 2018 Petit Le Mans.
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Alpine A470
[edit]Ahead of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, Alpine unveiled the A470 to race with alongside Signatech. It carries Alpine branding, but remains internally identical to its Oreca 07 base.[29] It is the successor to the Alpine A460, which itself was also based on a preexisting Oreca chassis.[30] Alpine raced with the A470 for four years, winning the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams with Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão, and Pierre Thiriet.[31] Alpine moved to the new Hypercar class in 2021 using a grandfathered and rebadged Rebellion R13 LMP1 car, which itself was a variant of the 07.[32]
Signatech's Alpine A470 in the 2017 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Rear view of the Alpine A470, driven in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone.
Aurus 01
[edit]Russian manufacturer Aurus Motors entered a partnership with G-Drive Racing in 2019 to compete in the European Le Mans Series using a rebranded Oreca 07, known as the Aurus 01. The 01 carries Aurus branding, but is technically identical to the Oreca 07, using the same chassis and internals.[33] G-Drive and Aurus raced the 01 for three years, scoring four victories, before withdrawing amid sanctions from the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[34]
G-Drive Racing's No. 26 Aurus 01 in the 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone.
Rear view of the Aurus 01, driven in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Rebellion R13/Alpine A480
[edit]The Rebellion R13 was a variant of the Oreca 07, built by Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing to race in the LMP1 class.[35] It would later be renamed by Alpine to the Alpine A480 when it was re-badged to run in grandfathered condition in the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022.[32] Both the R13 and A480 routinely competed against Toyota in four seasons of competition for the overall FIA World Endurance Championship titles, finishing in 2nd overall in all four occasions across both iterations. The renamed A480 variant was succeeded by the Alpine A424 two years later.[36]
The renamed car, known as the Alpine A480 in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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References
[edit]- ↑ "ORECA 07 Media Kit" (PDF). Oreca. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ↑ Pruett, Marshall (23 January 2017). "IMSA 2017 Prototype Tech Profile: ORECA 07". Racer. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- 1 2 3 ""ORECA 07 Media Kit"" (PDF). Oreca. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ↑ "Entry List 2023" (PDF). 24 Hours of Le Mans (in French). Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ↑ ""Oreca 07 Turns First Laps at Paul Ricard"". Sportscar365. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ↑ Kilbey, Stephen (28 May 2026). "United Autosports commits to ORECA for next-gen LMP2". RACER. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ Wane, Ewan (10 June 2026). "LMP2, 2025 Le Mans Preview". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Team Nederland switches to Oreca for 2019/20 WEC". Filip Cleeren. motorsport.com. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ↑ "Inter Europol Competition steps up to WEC in 2021". Jamie Klein. motorsport.com. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ↑ "ARC Bratislava Request Switch To ORECA Chassis". Graham Goodwin. dailysportscar.com. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- 1 2 ""Acura DPi Set to Begin Testing This Month"". sportscar365.com. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- 1 2 Lord, David (24 May 2022). "Oreca 07, 100 Cars Up, All The Teams". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- 1 2 ""Oreca 07 LMP2 On Track At Paul Ricard"". dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ↑ "LMP2 Power Reduction to be Applied Across All Series – Sportscar365". 5 November 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Goodwin, Graham (22 March 2024). "LMP2 Power Boost Confirmed For 2024 ELMS". Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Dagys, John (28 October 2016). "Floury: Oreca 07's Potential "Extremely Interesting"". Sportscar365. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- 1 2 Goodwin, Graham (14 October 2017). "ACO Confirm 'Joker' Changes In LMP2". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Goodwin, Graham (27 October 2021). "Healthy Demand With Two Seasons Remaining Of Current LMP2 Regs". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Cool Racing Set To Race ORECA 07 Chassis #100 At Le Mans". dailysportscar.com. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ↑ "24 Hours Centenary – 2 litres, Group C2, LMP2: variations on the "other" prototypes". 24 Heures du Mans. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Errity, Stephen (18 June 2017). "Le Mans: Hour 21 (11am-12pm), Jackie Chan DC Racing Leads Overall". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Timo Bernhard leads Porsche to dramatic third straight win at 24 Hours Le Mans race". Los Angeles Times. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Burt, Matt (22 June 2017). "How Jackie Chan DC Racing and Jota Sport stunned at Le Mans". Autocar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Kilbey, Stephen (16 October 2017). "ORECA Responds To LMP2 'Joker' Upgrades". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ Klein, Jamie (3 July 2025). "ORECA Welcomes Competition for Next-Gen LMP2 Rules – Sportscar365". Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "Acura Selects Championship-Winning Teams for 2021 DPi Effort". IMSA. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ↑ "Acura Confirm 2021 DPi Programmes With Wayne Taylor Racing & Meyer Shank Racing". www.dailysportscar.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ↑ Pryson, Mike (26 January 2021). "Acura Added To LMDh Class List For 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship". autoweek.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ↑ "Alpine unveils its new car and driver line-ups for the WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ↑ Panait, Mircea (28 March 2017). "Alpine Takes On The World Endurance Championship With A470 LMP2 Racecar". autoevolution. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ↑ Kilshaw, Jake (16 June 2019). "Signatech Alpine Clinches LMP2 Title With Class Victory – Sportscar365". Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- 1 2 Thukral, Rachit (30 December 2021). "Alpine resigned to another "compromise" season in WEC". Autosport. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ↑ Goodwin, Graham (2 April 2019). "G-Drive Racing Confirm Aurus 01 Gibson Effort In 2019 ELMS & Le Mans 24 Hours – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ↑ Dagys, John (7 March 2022). "G-Drive Confirms Withdrawal From WEC – Sportscar365". Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ↑ "ORECA Confirm Rebellion R13 Moniker For New LMP1 Contender – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ↑ Kilbey, Stephen (9 June 2023). "Alpine Unveils A424 Beta Hypercar". Retrieved 11 August 2025.