Oreca, a long-awaited win at Le Mans - What the 03 chassis - one of the most reliable and best performing in the LM P2 field these last five years - was unable to accomplish, the new 05 did... and for its very first appearance at Le Mans, this year, at only its fifth race! Solid success which was shared with KCMG, the first Chinese team to win at the 24 Hours, with at the wheel Nicolas Lapierre, Matt Howson and Richard Bradley. Oreca completely dominated the LM P2 class at the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours: KCMG and Thiriet by TDS Racing's 05s led 349 and eight laps respectively, and Irish outfit Murphy Prototypes one lap. While Thiriet by TDS Racing fought until the final round for the 2015 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) title - with two wins - the 03 added to its record by winning the first two 2015-2016 Asian Le Mans Series races, thanks to Swiss team Race Performance.
Alpine, a global victory - After two consecutive ELMS titles, Signatech did well in its return to the World Endurance Championship. With its Alpine A450b, Philippe Sinault's team upheld its solid reputation for reliability by becoming a regular in the top 5, before finishing out the season with a bang with Nelson Pantiatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Tom Dillmann: podium finish at Fuji, victory at Shanghai, pole position at Bahrain. Success achieved with an Alpine chassis largely derived from the Oreca 03. After the design presentation of the Célébration at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alpine's renaissance continues to revive the greatness of French motorsports.
Ligier, a title with G-Drive Racing - After a resounding debut at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Ligier JS P2 won its first title after its first full World Endurance Championship season. Sure the battle was fierce against KCMG's Oreca 05, but, with four wins G-Drive Racing finally secured the crown that had eluded it for two years. Enough to bombard with orders Onroak Automotive - the outfit that builds the Ligier chassis - with of course fond thoughts for founder Guy Ligier who passed away in August.
Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY JUNE 13 2015, RACE. With a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (here with the KCMG team) and three other victories in the World Championship and in the ELMS, the Oreca 05 did very well for its entry into competition in 2015.