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ORECA Pleased with Increased U.S. Presence

ORECA considering establishing U.S. base due to increased prototype demand…

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With an Oreca 03 committed for the full season in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, ORECA Technology has put its foot on the American continent. (en Français)

The Oreca FLM09 market is still booming and the French manufacturer will now have Muscle Milk Pickett Racing to show its strength.

Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr will lead ORECA’s interests in the TUDOR Championship, with the goal of the duo taking their third consecutive title.

David Floury, ORECA technical director, is very proud to see an Oreca 03 for the Greg Pickett-led team.

“At present , only Muscle Milk Pickett Racing will be fielding a ORECA 03 for the entire championship,” he said. “We hope to have others but nothing is confirmed yet.

“However, it is expected that other Oreca 03s will enter in some races like the Twelve Hours of Sebring. ORECA continues its development in the U.S. market. The goal for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing is to win the championship.

“Discussions began in the summer and since the announcement of the combined DP/P2 class, we continued our negotiations.

“We are delighted to have been chosen by one of the most professional teams. We’re very motivated to work with Greg Pickett’s team.”

With the U.S. market booming, ORECA could be tempted by having a more permanent presence.

“Having a real base in the United States is part of the discussions for the medium term, I think,” Floury said. “It will take into account the volume of cars but produce parts directly on-site that’s logical.

“We already have an importer in place for LMPC with a dedicated team, so we already have a foothold in the United States. The arrival of the LMP2 closed-top car can make things happen, as well as the evolution of regulations for 2016/2017.”

Meanwhile, final details have yet to be released on the DP/P2 Balance of Performance for next year.

“Of course, there may be some concerns as to the equivalence,” Floury said. “There are ongoing discussions with the ACO and IMSA . There’s been a lot of changes since the cars are of different designs.

“Nothing is finalized yet. Simulation work is underway. For us, this is not a concern because there is a real desire from both sides to have the best balance.

“But it’s not a simple job… We’ll know more after testing in early January. We must pay attention to the overall balance of the class. If P2 is downgraded too much, it will be too close to LMPC and it thats downgraded, then the GT class will be as quick if not quicker.

“Everything must be taken into account and we are confident on the outcome of the discussions.”

Laurent Mercier (@LaurentMercier2) is the Editor-in-Chief of Endurance-Info.com, the leading French-language source for the latest sports car racing news from around the world.

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