One month since the ORECA 05 LMP2‘s debut, it has won its first race, the second round of the 2015 European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Imola. The Thiriet by TDS Racing team of Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey and Tristan Gommendy piloted the #46 ORECA 05 to victory yesterday in Italy.
By 15 minutes into the race, Pierre Thiriet had moved up to fourth place, and had taken second a few laps later. Ludovic Badey completed a double stint next, and took the lead as the race passed the half-way mark.
With 1h30 remaining, Tristan Gommendy took control of the ORECA, and he soon had a lead of over 15 seconds, helping him to comfortably cross the line in first.
“It’s a fantastic first win, only over two months after our first roll out” says ORECA President Hugues de Chaunac. “The ORECA 05 has very quickly become a competitive car and naturally possesses a strong potential. It was important, before Le Mans, to demonstrate that performance and reliability. It’s been the case since the beginning of motorsport. Just like a baby’s first steps, the first success is a very special moment. Congratulations to Thiriet by TDS Racing which is amongst the best LM P2 teams, today’s performance simply proves it. Despite starting within the pack, the three drivers perfectly managed their race. Congratulations to Murphy Prototypes too ! They showed that the ORECA 03R is still there. It’s a relentless team and I’m very happy for Greg Murphy who is so passionate. Finally, congratulations to all members of ORECA Technology who’ve worked on the ORECA 05 project. It’s a great first reward.”
Finishing second was another ORECA, the 03R of Murphy Prototypes, which had a great race with drivers Mark Patterson, Michael Lyons and Nathanaël Berthon.
The next race on the ELMS calendar will be the 4 Hours of the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria on July 11-12.
