OAK Racing will conclude their 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season at the Zhuhai International Circuit with three OAK-Pescarolo prototypes, two LM P1 and one LM P2.

“The whole OAK Racing team is delighted to be returning to Zhuhai for the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup,” commented owner and driver Jacques Nicolet. “We have fond memories of the circuit, as in 2010 we took LMP2 class victory in the 6 Hours of Zhuhai and thus secured the ILMC title. Hopefully this is an omen for things to come. 

“Speaking more broadly, the team has always enjoyed a special relationship with China,” continued Nicolet. “We were the first to offer a Chinese driver the opportunity to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours when we fielded Cong Fu Cheng in 2008. In doing so we not only gave him his first taste of endurance racing at the wheel of an LMP2, but also helped him to finish third in the famous event alongside Matthieu Lahaye and Pierre Ragues.”

Cong Fu Cheng is now competing elsewhere, but his 2008 Le Mans team-mates who remain with OAK Racing will be on track in China, driving #15 OAK-Pescarolo LM P1 alongside Guillaume Moreau. The team will also field their #24 LM P1 at Zhuhai, with Olivier Pla, Alexandre Prémat and team owner Nicolet sharing driving duties.

In addition to the pair of LM P1 cars the team will also field the #35 OAK-Pescarolo LM P2 at Zhuhai. LM P2 class victory would reward the great consistency displayed this season by Frédéric Da Rocha and Patrice Lafargue, the experienced gentlemen drivers by whom the #35 has been driven throughout 2011.

Julien Hergault – (Source: Oak Racing press release)

Photo : BRASELTON (GEORGIA, USA), ROAD ATLANTA, PETIT LE MANS, RACE, 1st OCT 2011. Oak-Pescarolo LM P1 and LM P2 (LM P2 #35, LM P1 #24).