The latest prototype from ORECA Technology proved to be in great shape, having taken the lead in both races. The ORECA 05 was in a good position to win the 4 Hours of Silverstone on Saturday before being hit right at the end of the race. Fortunately, the ORECA run by Thiriet by TDS Racing claimed a podium place all the same! The next day, KCMG finished the 6 Hours of Silverstone in 5th place in LM P2.

The new ORECA 05 LM P2 was up against some impressive contenders at Silverstone: Gibson, Morgan and the ORECA 03R in the ELMS and Dome, Ligier and Alpine in the FIA WEC. Fresh out of the workshop, the ORECA 05 proved to be worthy of such a challenge. Six years after the first win for an ORECA chassis in endurance – the ORECA 01 at Silverstone – the 05 very nearly clinched victory in its first race. The top spot was but five minutes away. On Saturday, having notched up the third best lap time in qualifying, the ORECA 05 entered by the French squad Thiriet by TDS Racing lead the race from the beginning of the last hour up until four laps before the finish. A mere four laps away from the chequered flag, the 05 had a brush with the winning car and had to wave goodbye to victory. On Sunday, having started in the third row on the grid, the ORECA 05 entered by the Asian team KCMG took the lead at an early stage. In third place throughout most of the first stint, its progress was hampered due to a radiator issue. However, the little hitch did not prevent the car from revealing its potential.

“The overall outcome regarding the ORECA 05’s debut is positive” says ORECA Group’s CEO Hugues de Chaunac. “We did not consider this first weekend to be a full-scale test. It was for the teams to score some important points in the quest for the title. Considering how young the car is and how competitive the race was, it clearly wasn’t an easy mission, but it has been partly successful. In the ELMS, Thiriet by TDS Racing showed a glimpse of the car’s potential, its excellent reliability and competitiveness. It was only due to race circumstances that the ORECA 05 was not able to claim a first win. This weekend confirms that the ORECA 05 is every bit as good as its predecessors. It has not revealed its full potential yet because everybody, the teams and our manufacturing department, is still in a learning phase. There’s certainly room for improvement. That is part of the normal development process. We expect a lot of this prototype and with what we’ve just seen in Silverstone, our goals for the next rounds are clear: to win! In fact we’re going to work on it, starting tomorrow.”

(Courtesy of Oreca press release)

Photo : TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UK), SILVERSTONE, 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015, FREE PRACTICE SESSION. One Oreca 05 came within a hair’s breadth of winning the European Le Mans Series race with Thiriet by TDS Racing and the other, KCMG’s Oreca 05, had a convincing qualifying round in the FIA WEC.