Oreca 07

Oreca 07

Sean Gelael driving the No. 31 Oreca 07 of W Racing Team at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
Category	Le Mans Prototype 2
Constructor	Oreca
Designer(s)	David Floury
Predecessor	Oreca 05
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	Carbon fibre monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbone, push rod operated over damper
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbone, push rod operated over damper
Length	4,745 mm (186.8 in)
Width	1,895 mm (74.6 in)
Height	1,045 mm (41.1 in)
Axle track	front 1,570 mm (61.8 in) rear 1,550 mm (61.0 in)
Wheelbase	3,005 mm (118.3 in)
Engine	Oreca 07 / Alpine A470 / Aurus 01 Gibson GK-428 4.2 litre V8 naturally aspirated mid-engined, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Xtrac P1159C 6-speed sequential manual[2]
Power	603 HP
Weight	930 kg (2,050 lb)
Fuel	Total VP Racing Fuels
Lubricants	Motul Pennzoil
Tyres	Michelin Dunlop Continental
Competition history
Notable entrants	Oreca 07: Current: AF Corse Algarve Pro Racing Alpine Elf Team ARC Bratislava Cool Racing DKR Engineering DragonSpeed Duqueine Engineering Era Motorsport Graff IDEC Sport Inter Europol Competition Jota Nielsen Racing Prema Racing Proton Competition PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Tower Motorsports TDS Racing United Autosports Vector Sport Team Virage Team WRT Former: BHK Motorsport CEFC Manor TRS Racing G-Drive Racing High Class Racing Jackie Chan DC Racing K2 Uchino Racing Mühlner Motorsport Panis Barthez Competition Phoenix Racing Racing Team Nederland Racing Team India RLR Msport Team Penske Ultimate Vaillante Rebellion Future: 99 Racing Alpine A470: Former: Signatech Alpine Elf Aurus 01: Former: G-Drive Racing
Debut	2017 24 Hours of Daytona
First win	2017 4 Hours of Monza
Last win	2023 8 Hours of Bahrain
Last event	2023 8 Hours of Bahrain
Races Wins Podiums Poles 183 161 487 158
Teams' Championships	29 (2017 ELMS, 2017 FIA WEC, 2018 ELMS, 2018–19 FIA WEC, 2019 ELMS, 2019 IMSA SCC, 2019–20 Asian LMS, 2019–20 FIA WEC, 2020 ELMS, 2020 IMSA SCC, 2021 Asian LMS, 2021 Asian LMS (P2 Am), 2021 ELMS, 2021 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2021 FIA WEC, 2021 FIA WEC (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2021 IMSA SCC, 2022 Asian LMS, 2022 Asian LMS (P2 Am), 2022 ELMS, 2022 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2022 FIA WEC, 2022 FIA WEC (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2022 IMSA SCC, 2023 Asian LMS, 2023 ELMS, 2023 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2023 FIA WEC, 2023 IMSA SCC
Drivers' Championships	29 (2017 ELMS, 2017 FIA WEC, 2018 ELMS, 2018–19 FIA WEC, 2019 ELMS, 2019 IMSA SCC, 2019–20 Asian LMS, 2019–20 FIA WEC, 2020 ELMS, 2020 IMSA SCC, 2021 Asian LMS, 2021 Asian LMS (P2 Am), 2021 ELMS, 2021 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2021 FIA WEC, 2021 FIA WEC (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2021 IMSA SCC, 2022 Asian LMS, 2022 Asian LMS (P2 Am), 2022 ELMS, 2022 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2022 FIA WEC, 2022 FIA WEC (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2022 IMSA SCC, 2023 Asian LMS, 2023 ELMS, 2023 ELMS (LMP2 Pro-Am), 2023 FIA WEC, 2023 IMSA SCC

The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations.^[1] It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Daytona,^[3] and its FIA World Endurance Championship debut at the 2017 6 Hours of Silverstone. The car is the successor to the Oreca 05.

Oreca 07 turned out to be the car of choice for LMP2 teams, finding more buyers every year, who switched to the chassis from the previously purchased ones of other brands.^[4][5][6] All 24 LMP2 cars in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans were the Oreca 07. Since the 2019 IMSA season, only two LMP2 entries have not been an Oreca 07.

Development

Oreca 07 with LMP2 Endurance Trophy

The preparation of the prototype traces back to the development of the Oreca 05. The Oreca 05 was developed with the consideration of what the factory knew about the new technical rules for the LMP2 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2017. Taking knowledge from the Oreca 05's performance, the French team decided to develop a new car, and based it around the predecessor. Oreca's goal was to maximize the performance by focusing on the energy and resource usage. The team opted to use this strategy not only to build a car based on a proven predecessor, but also to allow teams update their Oreca 05's within reason to costs. The chassis of the Oreca 07 is mainly based on the 05, with the monocoque being not focused on much with the car. The Oreca 07 internals come equipped with a Gibson GK-428 V8 engine.^[1][7]

The car performed its first factory shakedown test in late October 2016 at Circuit Paul Ricard.^[7]

Current orders see confirmed production until the end of April 2022, at which point well over 90 chassis will have been produced, including 8 chassis for the Acura ARX-05 DPi programme and 9 updates for the Oreca 05, but not including the Rebellion R-One (based on the 05) or Rebellion R13 (based on the 07) – (or indeed the grandfathered Alpine A480). The total does include the renamed but identical Alpine LMP2s and Aurus 01s.^[8] The following month, chassis #100 (though technically the 99th due to skipping #13) was delivered to Cool Racing for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, and will eventually be displayed at the company's factory showroom.^[9]

Alpine A470

Alpine A470 of Signatech Alpine Matmut

French car manufacturer Alpine raced the Alpine A470 in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Team Signatech Alpine Matmut. This car is technically identical to the Oreca 07, using the same chassis and internals, with Alpine branding. This is the successor to the Alpine A460, which Alpine raced and won the LMP2 category for the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season.^[10]

Acura ARX-05

Main article: Acura ARX-05

Acura ARX-05

A variation of the prototype, the Acura ARX-05, was created for IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class under the DPi regulations. The car was developed through a partnership between Honda Performance Development and Oreca.^[11] The powerplant of the vehicle is a production-based 3.5 litre V6 twin-turbo Acura AR35TT. Other alterations from the 07 include Acura-specific bodywork.

From 2018 to 2020, Team Penske entered a pair of ARX-05s, winning the title in the latter two seasons. For 2021 and 2022, Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing each campaigned one of the ARX-05s previously run by Penske.^[12]

Aurus 01

G-Drive Racing competed with Oreca 07 in 2017 and 2018. Russian car manufacturer Aurus Motors partnered with them in 2019 to rebrand it as Aurus 01 and to race it in the European Le Mans Series. This car is technically identical to the Oreca 07, using the same chassis and internals, with Aurus branding.^[13]

Rebellion R13

Main article: Rebellion R13

The Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing.^[14] It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be renamed by Alpine to Alpine A480 when it was rebadged to run in grandfathered condition in the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022.

External links

Media related to Oreca 07 at Wikimedia Commons

References

1. ""ORECA 07 Media Kit"" (PDF). Oreca. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
2. "Entry List 2023" (PDF). 24 Hours of Le Mans (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2023.
3. ""Oreca 07 Turns First Laps at Paul Ricard"". Sportscar365. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
4. "Team Nederland switches to Oreca for 2019/20 WEC". Filip Cleeren. motorsport.com. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
5. "Inter Europol Competition steps up to WEC in 2021". Jamie Klein. motorsport.com. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
6. "ARC Bratislava Request Switch To ORECA Chassis". Graham Goodwin. dailysportscar.com. 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
7. ""Oreca 07 LMP2 On Track At Paul Ricard"". dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
8. "Healthy Demand With Two Seasons Remaining Of Current LMP2 Regs".
9. "Cool Racing Set To Race ORECA 07 Chassis #100 At Le Mans". dailysportscar.com. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
10. ""2017 Alpine A470"". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
11. ""Acura DPi Set to Begin Testing This Month"". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
12. "Acura Confirm 2021 DPi Programmes With Wayne Taylor Racing & Meyer Shank Racing". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
13. Goodwin, Graham (2019-04-02). "G-Drive Racing Confirm Aurus 01 Gibson Effort In 2019 ELMS & Le Mans 24 Hours – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-08. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
14. "ORECA Confirm Rebellion R13 Moniker For New LMP1 Contender – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.