ORECA Targeting 2027 Q2 Rollout for New LMP2 Car

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

ORECA is targeting a second-quarter rollout for its all-new Oreca 09 LMP2 car next year according to technical director Remi Taffin, who confirmed they’re well into the design phase despite not yet having a finalized set of technical regulations.

Along with Ligier Automotive, the two French constructors have been awarded licenses to build the next-generation prototype, which will feature a new 3.4-liter twin-turbo engine from Gibson Technology, although few other technical details have been officially communicated.

It is set to debut at the first round of the 2028 European Le Mans Series season, before also being eligible that year in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, rolled out to the Asian Le Mans Series in the winter, prior to a debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2029.

“The LMP2 is coming to race in 2028, so we’re obviously in design [stage] at the time,” Taffin told Sportscar365. “There’s big work on the monocoque.

“I hope we’re going to test the car next year, somewhere in Q2.

“Everyone should remember that it’s a new car. It’s a new everything. That will be something we’ll need to deliver because the car will need to be delivered at the end of next year.”

Taffin said it will be a busy time at the Signes-based company, which is expected to work with at least two OEMs in the converged top-class prototype regulations for 2030, while also continuing to build and support Ferrari’s 296 GT3 Evo as well as the Toyota-based V6 engine in all LMP3 machinery.

“It will be a kind of overlap with any Hypercar program we have for 2030,” said Taffin. “We should not forget that we’re also getting Genesis and Ford into the next three years, so there will still be some work there.

“I have to say that will be the big work at the end of this year, and the beginning of next year, in terms of designing the LMP2.

“Then we will switch on to any [2030] Hypercar that we have to get on for a year-and-a-half or two.

“In the meantime, there will be production that’s flat out making the LMP2 cars, which is a different scenario to Hypercar because you make 30 cars or so, to fill up the grids.

“When we get to Hypercar, it’s one, two, three, four cars, which are different.

“In the end, what we try to do is that any new car we make is a new try for us to be better.

“Whether you talk about GT3, or LMP2 or Hypercar, as soon as you’ve got a chance to make it new, that’s for us the good side of it.”

When asked what they can currently do without the LMP2 regulations rubber-stamped, Taffin said: “I’m not saying we don’t have anything we can work from.

“But you need to close some doors at some point so you can go forward and to the next [level]. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult but we will make it work.”

Taffin: There’s “Nothing Secure” in LMP2

While having been the all-dominant constructor in the current LMP2 set of regulations, which debuted in 2017 and was open to four different companies, Taffin said ORECA is not resting on their laurels.

“There is nothing secure in LMP2,” he said. “Everybody thinks that this is a single-make series. But it’s not. The only reason it has become that is because the Oreca is the quickest car.

“When you’re trying to balance this, at the end of the day, you don’t actually sell your product to the customer. You sell the product the customer wants to the customer.

“If you make a car that they don’t like, they won’t buy it.

“I have to say in our sport, you can even give it for free, but if it doesn’t get you to the objective, which is winning, why?

“For us it’s very demanding because also have to respect what we’ve done up until now.

“Sometimes [people say] we need to make a better car. I would say we need to make an equivalent car. Things are changing but we’re still trying to make the most out of it.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John