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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: 2012-Spec Oreca 03 Revealed
First renderings of shark fin and louver openings, and other aero developments, on Oreca 03...
The first look at the 2012-spec Oreca 03. (Image: ORECA)
Following a successful debut season, which saw victories in both the European Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, ORECA has forged ahead with developments to its Oreca 03 LMP2 car for the 2012 season.
With manufacturers only allowed to make developments prior to the start of each year, the French constructor has packed numerous updates to its cost-capped prototype, including the now-mandatory shark fin, louver openings above each wheel and revised mechanical components that saw some reliability woes last year.
"We wanted to improve the car on all levels," said Christophe Guibbal, Director of the Design Bureau at ORECA. "A lot of work has been realized to improve reliability and to optimize the car. Most notably, this means the redirection of the exhaust system, and also several mechanical elements such as the suspension."
One of the biggest visible changes, as revealed in the provided renderings, has been the louver cut-outs. Measuring 7.87 inches by 9.84 inches in size each, the holes were implemented following a FIA safety study on the recent series of accidents where prototypes have caught air.
"The openings on the front and rear covers lead to a loss of finesse," Guibbal explained. "It means more drag and more downforce. Logically, the first goal was to rediscover the aerodynamic balance by introducing new aero pieces and we were able to find more stability.
"Visually, the new development that is most striking is certainly the shark fin. But we have solutions that are perhaps less visible than they are effective. For example, the splitter has been particularly redesigned."
While the shark fin has become mandatory on all LMP1 and LMP2 cars, they will not be seen on the Oreca FLM09 LMPC cars.
Despite the car having a drastically different look to it, the 2012-spec Oreca 03 comes as only an update and not a completely new car.
"We looked out for our customer teams’ best interests rather than commercial interests," Guibbal said. "We could have redesigned a completely new aero package and an entirely new car around our monocoque. But that wouldn’t have made sense compared to the spirit of the category."
The revised Oreca 03 is planned to make its on-track debut at the end of this month. So far, six teams - Signatech Nissan, Pecom Racing, Boutsen Energy Racing, TDS Racing, Race Performance and ADR-Delta, will run Oreca 03's either in the FIA World Endurance Championship or European Le Mans Series this year.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
With manufacturers only allowed to make developments prior to the start of each year, the French constructor has packed numerous updates to its cost-capped prototype, including the now-mandatory shark fin, louver openings above each wheel and revised mechanical components that saw some reliability woes last year.
"We wanted to improve the car on all levels," said Christophe Guibbal, Director of the Design Bureau at ORECA. "A lot of work has been realized to improve reliability and to optimize the car. Most notably, this means the redirection of the exhaust system, and also several mechanical elements such as the suspension."
One of the biggest visible changes, as revealed in the provided renderings, has been the louver cut-outs. Measuring 7.87 inches by 9.84 inches in size each, the holes were implemented following a FIA safety study on the recent series of accidents where prototypes have caught air.
"The openings on the front and rear covers lead to a loss of finesse," Guibbal explained. "It means more drag and more downforce. Logically, the first goal was to rediscover the aerodynamic balance by introducing new aero pieces and we were able to find more stability.
"Visually, the new development that is most striking is certainly the shark fin. But we have solutions that are perhaps less visible than they are effective. For example, the splitter has been particularly redesigned."
While the shark fin has become mandatory on all LMP1 and LMP2 cars, they will not be seen on the Oreca FLM09 LMPC cars.
Despite the car having a drastically different look to it, the 2012-spec Oreca 03 comes as only an update and not a completely new car.
"We looked out for our customer teams’ best interests rather than commercial interests," Guibbal said. "We could have redesigned a completely new aero package and an entirely new car around our monocoque. But that wouldn’t have made sense compared to the spirit of the category."
The revised Oreca 03 is planned to make its on-track debut at the end of this month. So far, six teams - Signatech Nissan, Pecom Racing, Boutsen Energy Racing, TDS Racing, Race Performance and ADR-Delta, will run Oreca 03's either in the FIA World Endurance Championship or European Le Mans Series this year.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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