In our interview, the boss of Oreca talks about his company’s role with Toyota, its domination in LMP2 or the future of endurance racing.
The 89e edition of the 24 hours of Le Mans will be a unique moment for Hugues de Chaunac. His company, Oreca, continues its collaboration with Toyota. At the same time, 23 cars manufactured in its workshops will be lined up on the starting grid in LMP2. Not to mention its participation in the Alpine-Signatech project, in the premier category. Discussion with a man in a hurry.
=> Our special page 24h of Le Mans 2021
=> 24h of Le Mans 2021: the entry list
Auto Moto – This year, Alpine is taking the lead with a chassis designed by Oreca. Last year the car finished 2nd, under the name Rebellion R13. How has it evolved?
Hugues de Chaunac – It has not necessarily evolved much, but it must meet regulations reducing its performance compared to new Hypercars, like the Toyota. In motorsport, we tend to look for improvement. There was no development, but an adaptation to keep the balance, while increasing the weight and reducing the power of the car. Alpine only enters one car. In this situation, we are always at greater risk in relation to events that we cannot control: clashes, road trips, etc. There is a big expectation around Alpine, but we must also remain realistic.
The favorite remains Toyota, with the GR010. What is Oreca’s role today with the Japanese brand?
It is a technical partnership on the operation of the car. We are not at all integrated into the design or construction of the GR010. On the other hand, we supply a certain number of mechanics. Our technical director is also fully involved in the race strategy. We have slightly reduced the workforce, which was much more numerous at the start of the program (in 2012, editor’s note). The Toyota team has since ramped up, but we have kept the same principle.
23 copies of your Oreca 07 * will be entered in the LMP2 category, ie more than 90% of the workforce in this class. How to explain the commercial success of your prototype?
One of the keys is in its technical success. But I think it’s also a lot related to the support we provide to our customers. We have a team of technicians who assist the different teams and are extremely responsive to any problems that the teams may encounter. At the start of the current cycle, in 2017, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the International Automobile Federation had selected four manufacturers for the LMP2: Multimatic, Dallara, Ligier and Oreca. On paper, that meant we were each going to share a quarter of the board. The first year, it was the ratio that we found on the track. Gradually, Oreca customers were satisfied and those of our competitors were a little less. You know, in a paddock, we talk about just about everything. Gradually, we continued to sell cars (a little more than 70 chassis at 483,000 € built to date, editor’s note) because a certain number of teams have changed cars. We found ourselves de facto – and it was not planned at the start – supplier of the majority of the teams in the majority of endurance championships, in the United States, as in Europe.
In recent months, we have learned that Ferrari, Porsche, Audi or BMW are returning to endurance racing. Are there still other manufacturers interested?
Others are thinking about it, which does not mean that they will come. The new regulations have drastically reduced costs and budgets are now very reasonable for builders. Even if today we think a lot about electric motors, motorsport remains a passionate sport, very attractive. And to answer your question, other manufacturers are looking at the subject: McLaren, Ford, Mercedes… Not all will come, because at a given moment, all the brands cannot invest in the same discipline at the same time, because there is only one winner, and there are losers.
=> Ferrari: what we already know about the Hypercar of the 24h of Le Mans
=> Where are Peugeot and its 9X8 at?
I imagine you are talking to these people …
You can imagine! (laughs, editor’s note)
Photo : Alexis Goure / Oreca
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