24h Le Mans
Thanks to Thiriet by TDS Racing, the Oreca 05 recently won its first victory at its fourth race. Undoubtedly, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans it will deliver a fantastic duel with the Ligier JS P2, the other big favourite in the class.
After two FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) races and two others in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), the Oreca 05 immediately proved its competitive level. In ELMS, Thiriet by TDS Racing was already in the running for victory in April at the opening round at Silverstone, and confirmed at Imola the potential of the last creation to come out of Hugues de Chaunac's workshops. The other exclusive user of the Oreca 05 in the FIA WEC, Chinese team KCMG, should soon win its first victory. On May 2nd, the result achieved at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps could have been very different without the penality that forced KCMG to start from the pit.
The Ligier JS P2's early FIA WEC season has clearly been successful. After a merciless one-two at Silverstone, Russian outfit G-Drive Racing, second at Spa-Francorchamps, nonetheless pocketed the 25 points of the win: it was overtaken by Jota Sport's Gibson, but as an ELMS competitor racing in the Belgian Ardennes to prepare for Le Mans - it was not entitled to score points. This also allowed KCMG, fourth under the checkered flag at Spa, to score 15 points for the third step on the podium. In June, the two French constructors each have good reason to want to win at the 24 Hours. Ligier, to confirm its supremacy after having led for two-thirds of the race last year; Oreca, to make its mark (for eventual future clients) and definitively set the 05 up in the head field in the LM P2 class. The duel is shaping up to be exciting. The odds seem to favour Ligier with seven JS P2s at the start against two 05s. But it can be argued throughout its history, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has often taken pleasure in shaking things up...
Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: Copyright - ORECA
Photo: IMOLA (ITALY), AUTODROMO ENZO E DINO FERRARI, 4 HOURS OF IMOLA, SUNDAY MAY 17 2015, RACE. The 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the only opportunity to see race the Oreca 05s of Thiriet by TDS Racing (pictured) and KCMG.
