Oreca 07 - 2017

In 2004, the FIA introduced the LMP2 class to replace the LMP675, the junior class to LMP1, which comprised lighter but power-limited prototypes and was mainly reserved for private teams. In 2017, the FIA radically changed the rules for the LMP2 category by allowing only four manufacturers to build the chassis and only one, Gibson, to supply the engine. The maximum permitted power was increased to 600 hp and the LMP1 construction safety standards were imposed.

Of the four selected manufacturers, France's Oreca was the one that made the best use of the new regulations by developing the 07 on the basis of the 05, which already met most of the requirements, so that it did not need to start from scratch. The 07 has the same monocoque structure made of carbon and composite materials, double wishbone suspension with springs and shock absorbers operated by push-rod arms, and composite brakes. The bodywork was made of carbon.

At the start of the season, the 07 made its mark during practice at the Daytona circuit, where three units were entered by the Rebellion, JDC-Miller and DragonSpeed teams, with the latter setting the fastest time. Over the following months, other cars performed well during tests at Monza, while in mid-April, the Oreca 07 from the Jackie Chan DC Racing team finished fourth in the 6 Hours of Silverstone. A month later, the G-Drive team achieved the 07's first victory by winning the 4 Hours of Monza.

There were 12 Oreca 07 cars on the Le Mans starting grid, spread across seven teams, complemented by two Alpine A 470s that were partly based on the Oreca car. The fact that only six cars were competing in the top category, that of the hybrid LMP1 prototypes (which was abandoned by multiple champion Audi at the end of 2016), including three Toyotas and two Porsche 919s, further fueled the ambitions of the private teams to attack the top of the category, especially now that the “ champions” were dropping out one by one. Jackie Chan's team was the most persistent and took advantage of the misfortune of the Porsche driven by Heel Jani, Nick Tandy and André Lotterer on lap 318 to take the lead with car no. 38, driven by Ho-Pin Tung, Thomas Laurent and Oliver Jarvis. At that point, the dream of overall victory was already within reach. However, it was also the dream of the crew of the No. 2 Porsche (Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber), who took the lead and won by just one lap. Apart from first place in their category, Chan's team could console themselves with third place overall for the second car, No. 37, driven by David Cheng, Tristan Commendy and Alex Brundle. This result was not achieved on the track, where the 07 No. 13 car of the Vaillante Rebellion team finished third, but is the result of a decision by the race officials based on the fact that the Swiss team had made unauthorised modifications to the bodywork.