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American LeMans
ALMS: 10 Questions With Hugues de Chaunac
Team ORECA boss discusses Petit Le Mans entry, the ACO’s proposed Intercontinental Challenge and Formula Le Mans in the latest installment of ’10 Questions’.
John Dagys  |  Posted September 08, 2009   Chicago, IL
The Hugues de Chaunac-led ORECA squad also has programs in the World Touring Car Championship with Seat, FFSA GT with the Audi R8 LMS and runs the Formula Le Mans Series. (ORECA)
Team ORECA has been one of the leading sportscar teams for nearly two decades. From steering Mazda to its first-and-only overall victory at Le Mans in 1991 to multiple championships with its ultra-successful Dodge Viper GTS-R program at the dawn of the decade and continued wins and titles with Audi and Saleen, this French squad knows the keys to success.

Led by team boss Hugues de Chaunac, ORECA took a giant leap in 2007 when it took over the assets of fellow French prototype constructor Courage Competition, transforming the small squad into one of Europe’s top LMP1 teams.

Now with its first self-built prototype chassis, the ORECA 01, the team continues its expansion by making its first U.S. appearance in nearly a decade at the 12th annual Petit Le Mans later this month. Going up against the mights of Audi, Peugeot and Acura, ORECA may appear to be the underdog, but given their past success, don’t be surprised to see the colorful AIM-powered prototype near the front of the LMP1 grid.

SPEEDtv.com’s John Dagys recently spoke with de Chaunac, discussing the team’s Petit Le Mans entry, the ACO’s proposed Intercontinental Challenge, plus the growth of Formula Le Mans and more. It’s all part of the latest installment of ’10 Questions’.

DAGYS: What was the team’s motivation for entering the Petit Le Mans?

DE CHAUNAC: There’s two main reasons. One, we feel we’re going to learn much more in this type of race, being longer than 1,000km, on a difficult track and with stronger competition from Peugeot, Audi and Acura. All of this helps us learn much more than just doing a normal European event. It better prepares us for Le Mans next year.

The second reason is the event itself. We feel it’s important to participate in the top races worldwide, such as Sebring, Le Mans and now Petit Le Mans. This is where you have major TV and media coverage, many spectators, etc. They’re all big events. We’re doing ‘good’ events in Europe, but the Petit Le Mans is the third biggest sportscar race in the world. We want to be part of that.

DAGYS: In what ways is the 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans good preparation for Le Mans?

DE CHAUNAC: Because it’s a long-distance race, we’re able to test the reliability of the car. Also, you’re under a lot of pressure because of the track’s nature. It’s smaller and packed with other competitors. Plus, frequent safety cars adds another challenge. With these three thoughts in mind, you end up stronger after completing a race like that.

DAGYS: You’ve decided to only bring one car over and have named Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre as drivers. Who will be the third pilot?

DE CHAUNAC: Our final decision on a third driver will come in the next week. It could be one of our existing drivers in the team, but it could also be a driver who knows ALMS racing and prototype racing quite well. This is another option that we’re currently looking at.

Team ORECA Matmut's ORECA 01-AIM has been one of the leading prototypes in the Le Mans Series. (LAT)
DAGYS: Many are already saying that this year’s Petit Le Mans could very well be a race for the ages, with Audi, Peugeot, Acura, ORECA and Drayson Racing’s new prototype all battling for LMP1 honors. How do you think the team will stack up to the tough competition?

DE CHAUNAC: Our main target will be to see how we are in comparison to Acura because they also have a petrol car. For us, we’re very excited to be in front of Acura. We realize they know the track and have many advantages, but our goal will be to get as close to them as possible.

We’re very realistic about our chances. We’re coming to learn the most we can, as our target is to compete at Sebring next March. This means it’s necessary to do this race in preparation for next year.

We’re going to run our own race, which means our first priority is to be there at the finish and not have any problems. By staying out of trouble, we feel that we can be on a good pace to the Acuras. It will be a tough race against the Audis and Peugeots, as normally, we’d be about two seconds per lap behind them.

DAGYS: The ORECA 01, the team’s first-ever self-designed prototype, launched in May and ran it’s first race at Spa-Francorchamps. Since then, it’s collected podium finishes in Le Mans Series races. What have been the major areas of focus in the development of the new car?

ORECA has battled Aston Martin Racing all season in the LMS and at Le Mans, but will face the equally strong Acura squads for the first time at the Petit Le Mans. (LAT)
DE CHAUNAC: At first, we’ve worked a lot on the reliability and I think we’ve achieved that this year. We had some small problems at some races, but we finished fifth at Le Mans, just because of the great reliability. On the other hand, the performance is also improving. At Spa we were quick, and we proved to be the quickest at Algarve in free practice and qualifying. We even led the race before a problem.

We’ve continued to work on the cars, and with new aerodynamic developments for Silverstone this weekend and also for the Petit Le Mans, I hope we’ll get closer. I want to make Aston Martin’s life very difficult at Silverstone! If everything works well, we will do fine. I want to be careful, but I’m confident of what we can achieve this weekend.



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