A Red, 2012, Oreca 03 LMP2, driven by Mark Higson, in the Pit Lane at the 2019 Silverstone Classic Media/Test Day
The Oreca 03 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Oreca in 2011. It is built within the revised 2011 ACO regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car made its début at the 12 Hours of Sebring run by Signatech Nissan and is set to race at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the third car that Oreca has produced after the 01 and FLM09. 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 L V8 powerplant which is similar to the engine used by Nismo in Super GT. The Swiss team of Race Performance have opted for a Judd BMW-powered L V8 engine based on the BMW M3. Both engines produce a limited 460 bhp ( kW). The 03 is built around a light carbon fibre monocoque 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 descendent of the original Courage LC70 design. 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 the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring, the first round of the American Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, where the French team of Signatech Nissan competed for ILMC glory in the LMP2 class with drivers Franck Mailleux, long term Oreca driver Soheil Ayari
Size: 5455px × 3494px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -trac, 03, , 12, 24, 2012, 2019, 6-speed, bodywork, carbon, chassis, circuit, classic, cockpit, damper, day, double, endurance, fibre, gearbox, helmet, higson, hours, lane, le, legends, lmp2, mans, manual, mark, masters, media, monocoque, nissan, open, operated, oreca, pit, prototype, push, racing, rod, sebring, sequential, silverstone, test, top, v8, vk45de, wishbone
