TheOreca 03 is aLe Mans Prototype built byOreca in 2011. It is built within the revised 2011ACO regulations for the24 Hours of Le Mans. The car made its début at the12 Hours of Sebring run by Signatech Nissan and set to race at the2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the third car that Oreca has produced after the01 andFLM09. 24 Oreca 03 were built.
To meet the new regulations brought in by the ACO for endurance racing, the 03 has been cost-capped along with all 2011 LMP2 cars with a price of €345,000. The engines used in LMP2 cars for 2011 are production-based and there is a wide variety of engines to choose from that can be put into an 03. The five teams racing it in 2011 have chosen two of these engine. Most of the teams, including Oreca themselves, have chosen the Nissan-powered 4.5 L V8 powerplant which is similar to the engine used byNismo inSuper GT. The Swiss team ofRace Performance have opted for a Judd BMW-powered 3.6 L V8 engine based on theBMW M3. Both engines produce a limited 460 bhp (343.0 kW). The 03 is built around a lightcarbon fibremonocoque chassis with an open top bodywork. Suspension is by double wishbones and push-rods on all four corners. Stopping power is provided by carbon-ceramic disc brakes.
The Oreca 03 uses the same body and aero package developed by Oreca's chief-engineer David Floury for the LMP1 car campaigned during the 2009 and 2010 season by the works team. The blade-shaped roll-over structure is still a direct descendant of the original Courage LC70 design.
French car manufacturerAlpine raced the Alpine A450 in the2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. This car is technically identical to the Oreca 03, using the same chassis and internals with Alpine branding.
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Five 03's have been built, four of which have competed in races. Team Oreca have not entered a race yet but plan to race at the 1000 km of Spa and Le Mans. The first race the Oreca 03 competed in was the2011 12 Hours of Sebring, the first round of theAmerican Le Mans Series andIntercontinental Le Mans Cup, where the French team of Signatech Nissan competed for ILMC glory in the LMP2 class with driversFranck Mailleux, long term Oreca driverSoheil Ayari and 2009GT Academy winnerLucas Ordoñez. The trio had been quick throughout practice and took pole at theSebring International Raceway, almost four seconds quicker than the next nearest LMP2 class car. Unfortunately, because the car was brand new, problems occurred including continuous gearbox problems. In the end, the No. 26 car finished 30th overall and second in class as there were very little LMP2 entrants.[1]
The next race on the calendar was the6 Hours of Castellet, round one of the2011 Le Mans Series season. There were three 03's present at this race withTDS Racing,Boutsen Energy Racing andRace Performance competing in their respective chassis'. It was the TDS Racing team ofMathias Beche,Pierre Thiriet andJody Firth that took pole position in the LMP2 class with the Boutsen car qualifying second in class and Race Performance qualifying fourth. Once again the 03's encountered mechanical issues with the TDS car retiring after 91 laps. The other two cars finished the race with the Boutsen Energy drivers ofDominik Kraihamer andNicolas de Crem finishing fourth place in class and the Race Performance drivers ofMichel Frey,Ralph Meichtry andThor-Christian Ebbesvik finishing sixth.
Many Oreca 03 chassis are active in historic racing competitions throughout Europe and the USA. In theMasters Endurance Legends series, based in Europe, an ex-Sébastien Loeb Racing chassis, used in the 2014ELMS and24 Hours of Le Mans, previously No. 24, now 74, competes in the championship as well as an ex-Thiriet by TDS Racing model, numbered 46.
In the USA-basedMasters Endurance Legends USA, multiple Oreca 03 examples have competed, aJudd-powered chassis previously entered by Race Performance No. 34, an ex-Boutsen Ginion Racing model numbered 40, an-exMurphy Prototypes 03 numbered 48 also competes as well as a fourth chassis numbered 8 with a Thiriet by TDS Racing scheme.
