After the Pescarolo Team, it is Oak Racing who are investing in the Technoparc at Le Mans. More than a move, "it's a fresh start" says the Team Manager.

Since the 3rd of January. activity of the French team is no longer located at Magny-Cours but at Le Mans. The spacious offices and workshop near to the capital have already conquered Francois Sicard (the right arm of Jacques Nicolet) who outlined some of his 2011 programme.

In what way is this a new beginning?
Francois Sicard: "In addition to the move to La Sarthe, Oak Racing has grown significantly during the off-season. We recruited nine people in fields as diverse as technology and marketing. OAK Racing now has thirty-five employees. To grow, we must especially focus on finding partners. This work is bearing fruit as we have two new sponsors, including a well-known name."

What a big dream!
"Yes, we want to run two Pescarolo LM P1 and LM P2 in  the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. A professional driver joins Pierre Ragues and Guillaume Moreau to form a leading line-up in one of two LM P1. The other two teams will mix gentlemen-drivers and promising drivers. We strongly believe in the new series of ACO!"

Your three cars will be ready for the opening round of the ILMC on the 19th of March at Sebring?
"Yes. We'll even have time to go to Vallelunga in Italy for a practice session organized by Dunlop, we are the development partner. However, we will not have time to assemble chassis for other clients. We do not want to rush because it's important for us to make a good first impression at Sebring and at Spa-Francorchamps. It seems more reasonable to wait until the 24 Hours of Le Mans before beginning our construction activity. That said, we are already in advanced discussions with several teams."

What are your strengths to make your "very good first impression"?
"After three days spent in a wind tunnel, the figures are not at all bad! The changes are not very impressive visually, but we have greatly reduced the aerodynamic drag. In addition, we have the advantage of starting from a known base that is already proven and reliable. For the engine, we should continue our collaboration with Judd, even though everything is not finalized yet. In addition, we worked on reducing the cost of our prototype LM P2."

What is your goal this season's racing?
"We want to position ourselves in the wake of factory teams to be able to interest a manufacturer in the near future."

Once the season started, will you continue your development or you quickly focus on 2012?
"We have a car solely dedicated to development, and we intend to use it! In parallel, we continue to think about the future."

This prototype "lab" could it include a system of energy recovery during the season?
"We are just beginning to look at the different recovery systems. It's very tricky because there are many solutions but they are expensive ... we want to get it right. That is why we take our time to study the issue."

This winter, the trend is for closed prototypes rather than open. What do you think?
"This is part of the study we are conducting. For the LM P2 the open prototype offers a budgetary advantage. However, it appears that a closed coupé is the best choice in LM P1."

Julien Hergault

Photo: TECHNOPARC LE MANS, OAK RACING MOVE IN, January 10, 2011. Installation is not quite finished, but the new workshop of Oak Racing takes shape.