The Oreca 01 AIM in the top 5

The AIM Team ORECA-Matmut, up against an Audi, an Aston Martin and fighting alongside the Team ORECA-Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, kicked off the Le Mans Series with the firm intention of preparing for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The ORECA 01 set a good time in qualifying and confirmed this performance in the race. It proved reliable and competitive as its fifth-place finish in the Le Castellet 8 Hours proved. The ORECA 01, driven by Ayari, Duval and André, held fourth place for a long time after a tyre threw a tread in the first hour. It then had to have the bonnet changed twice because of a broken louvre and being struck by debris in the final hour of the event.

Beyond the result, the first race allowed the team to play itself in in terms of strategy, pit stops and the use of the Dunlop tyres, an innovation for the 2010 season. The drivers, Ayari and André who will race together in the Sarthe, were able to rack up the laps in the AIM-powered ORECA 01 in race conditions, as was Duval who will be in the Peugeot 908 HDI FAP at Spa.

The race

The ORECA 01 made a good start from the second row of the grid and waited in ambush. Ayari had to defend his corner on the Mistral straight. The no. 008 Lola-Aston Martin got past but he fended off the Rebellion Lolas. These three cars battled for fourth place for several laps until the ORECA 01 suffered a thrown tyre tread on lap 8. Soheil rejoined in fifteenth place and began his fight back. Duval took over from him and banged in a number of quick laps before handing over to André for his first double stint in the ORECA 01. No. 8 picked off its rivals one by one and caught the leading foursome. Soheil and Loïc finished the race and had to pit twice more for bonnet changes.

David Floury, technical director: “We’ve accomplished our mission. On the one hand, gather the maximum amount of information by finishing the race, which confirms our reliability and that helps us draw conclusions about the tyres. That was one of the unfamiliar aspects; now we know more and there’s still work to do. On the other, the drivers have confirmed the performance of the ORECA 01. Without the thrown tyre tread and the bonnet changes, we’d have done better.”

Soheil Ayari (ORECA 01 – AIM Team ORECA) 5th: “After a fairly hectic start, I tried to defend my place against cars that had a higher top speed. That was my main problem in my first two stints. The car was handling well in the curves but we lacked top speed. Unfortunately, we had the puncture. It’s a pity as we could have fought for a place on the podium. It’s a good start before Le Mans. The car was consistent as were the tyres. The ORECA 01 is still one of the fastest petrol-engined prototypes around.”

Loïc Duval (ORECA 01 – AIM Team ORECA) 5th: “I had no worries about the competitiveness of the ORECA 01. It was well balanced throughout the race. It was really consistent and easy to drive, and proof of this was that I was going through Signes flat, and I unlapped myself in relation to the Aston Martin. Without the thrown tyre tread, we could have made it onto the podium. The team will learn a lot from the first race, and it’s given them the opportunity to see how the new tyres behave. This is why the races before Le Mans are interesting.”

Didier André (ORECA 01 – AIM Team ORECA) 5th: “My double stint went off pretty well. I didn’t make any mistakes and I was consistent. I didn’t take too many risks in traffic. It was good for me to have a long run as during the official test and free practice I wasn’t able to cover that many laps. It’s obviously very important for the Le Mans 24 Hours. I now understand the car and I can get more out of it. It’s very stable over a long distance, in particular where the tyres are concerned.”