
Photo : Nicolas COUSSEAU - ACO/Nikon
The three drivers, and the Oreca owner and team manager gave their impressions Oreca after winning the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Hugues de Chaunac, team manager of Team Oreca: “It’s a historic result for us. It’s a race that we built step by step. We finished just in front of the manufacturers. We avoided any mistakes. It was a perfect job from the team and these three drivers. It was not easy because I asked them to be quick and patient. We won because we did not make any mistakes. e won this, not because everyone else failed, but because we earned this victory. We were really under pressure with the safety car. I am delighted for several reasons. The main one is that of the endurance races, the two largest are Le Mans and Sebring. We were under pressure because we always had the threat of a safety car (in the last hour). We really were not the favourites, but today we are the victors. "
Nicolas Lapierre: “It was a great race. Everything went very well. The plan was to stay on the same lap until three or four hours into the race. Then we started to push. We were quite fortunate that the pace car didn’t come out anymore after we decided to push. "
Loic Duval: “It was strategy to make the splash. After that, the car was perfect and I was able to keep the gap between us. I think we didn’t expect to be in this position. We were building and building and at the end the car was perfect. It’s a pleasure
to be here on the podium. "
Olivier Panis: "I have not driven much, but I did my job. I am delighted for the team after the bad luck of last year. We have a good team to continue the season. The capabilities of the car are incredible. "
Interview by Cécile Bonardel
Photo: Sebring (Florida, USA), 12 Hours of Sebring, March 18, 2011. Hugues de Chaunac and Nicolas Lapierre did not imagine winning before the race.