Oreca Racing

The AIM Team ORECA Matmut has set itself two objectives on the ORECA 01’s first racing appearance of the 2010 season: firstly, to show the qualities of the prototype designed in the Signes workshops, and secondly to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team fulfilled the first part this Saturday in qualifying. Loïc Duval, Soheil Ayari and Didier André will start the race from the second row alongside Aston Martin, behind the Peugeot and the Audi. 

“The first part of our mission has been accomplished,” confirms David Floury. “We’ve shown the competitiveness of the ORECA 01 even if we’re a bit disappointed not to be in front of Aston Martin. We know where the difference lies.”
After losing time at the start of the weekend due to an engine change, which forced the ORECA 01 to miss a practice session, the trio of drivers and the team did a really great job in the final free session. Despite the lack of running Loïc, Soheil and Didier managed to find a good setup giving them a well-balanced and quick car as proved by the time set in qualifying.

“I think that there were still a few tenths to come on my first lap,” says Duval, back in the seat of the ORECA 01 for the first time since his podiums in the Asian Le Mans Series. “The fastest time overall in the third sector proves that the car is very much at home in long sweeping curves. It’s handling better than yesterday. Despite the lack of running time we’ve really improved it: it’s consistent and nice to drive. We can still go quicker by making a few adjustments. We’ve got the speed but we still need more information about how the tyres will last over the race distance.” 

“Without the engine change the previous day, we could have been even quicker,” adds Floury. “The team did a great job in the morning session. Everybody made the most of the little time we had at our disposal to set up the car. We’ve got room for improvement. Despite everything our aim for the race is simple – prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours. It’s going to be an interesting test for us, in particular concerning the tyres about which we have to gather as much information as possible.”

The ORECA 01 knows the circuit well on which it will start the Le Castellet 8 Hours tomorrow, Sunday, at 11h00.