Senna has accepted Hugues de Chaunac’s invitation to come and have his first outing in a prototype, and he will drive one of the two Courage-Orecas.

“It’s a great pleasure and also an honour to give Bruno a drive in what is a new branch of motor sport for him,” says de Chaunac. “It really is a last minute surprise! Everything was agreed at the eleventh hour. I was in London only a few hours ago, and I’m delighted that Bruno has accepted to come and join us for this test. Everybody knows just how good he is. Last year he was a potential GP2 Series Championship winner. It’s a great opportunity for the Team ORECA-Matmut to have another very talented driver in its ranks. It’s a very important test in view of the Le Mans 24 Hours even if no final decision’s been taken. In parallel to his main aim: namely to race in F1, Bruno’s going to discover what it’s like to drive a prototype, and we couldn’t be happier about this.”

Bruno Senna in a few words

Stéphane Ortelli began the session and then handed over the no.10 Courage-Oreca to Bruno Senna in the late morning. The Brazilian, the surprise guest of the tests, got down to learning about driving a prototype by doing short stints, and continuing the set-up work begun by his team-mate from Monaco.

Senna then initiated the endurance simulation planned for the LM P1 Oreca. After a long stint the driver from Sao Paolo got out of the car delighted with this new experience.
“I really enjoyed driving the LM P1 ORECA. The driving style is very different from what I’m used to; it’s a good experience. The Courage-Oreca is heavier than a single-seater but in certain areas it’s pretty similar; in particular from an aerodynamic point of view. So you have to adapt your driving style and be more conservative with the tyres. I also discovered managing the traffic, which isn’t always very easy. All the Team ORECA-Matmut members have given me a big welcome. The team spirit’s really great!”

Hugues de Chaunac was also very satisfied : “His first run went off very well. I knew he’d have no difficulty adapting, which he confirmed by finding his marks very quickly. Bruno, whose aim is to drive in F1, soon began to enjoy himself, so the first impression’s very positive, all the more so as he seems very interested. He’s played an active role in development and he showed a lot of application when it came to getting to grips with the prototype. His first comments were very constructive.”

Soheil Ayari finished off the morning stint following Stéphane Ortelli and Bruno Senna at the wheel of the no.10 Courage-Oreca. In its sister car no.11, Nicolas Lapierre kicked off its development programme followed by Olivier Panis. The tests will continue this afternoon and then during the night session.