Courage-ORECA LC70

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An LC70 at the 2008 Silverstone 1000km race
An LC75 at the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race in 2009

The Courage-ORECA LC70 is a Le Mans prototype of the LMP1 class developed by Courage Compétition and has been used in sports car races since 2006. In the meantime, however, Courage Compétition has been taken over by ORECA , so that the original name Courage LC70 has been changed. The Courage-ORECA LC75 is almost identical in construction , but was designed for the LMP2 class. Another modification of the LC75 are the Acura ARX-01a and Acura ARX-01b, which have been used in the American Le Mans Series since 2007 . The type designation LC stands for Lillian Courage, the wife of Yves Courage who died in 2004 .

Races

The LC70 has been used since 2006 by Courage Compétition and ORECA itself, as well as teams such as Swiss Spirit and Saulnier Racing . In addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans , the chassis is primarily used in the Le Mans Series . The LC70, equipped with a Judd -V10 in the hands of Swiss Spirit, made its racing debut at the 1000 km of Istanbul in 2006. Courage Compétition itself relied on a brand new V8 unit from Mugen . In 2008, at the second round of the Le Mans Series in Monza, Stéphane Ortelli had a serious accident when his LC70 got under air before the first chicane and took off.

The LC70 also enjoyed success on other continents. An LC70 used by Mugen was able to win the 1000 km of Okayama of the Japan Le Mans Challenge twice . The Courage chassis were also successful in North America, although the LC75 was modified under the Acura banner .

successes

2006

2007

  • 1000 km Monza : 5th overall (5th LMP1)
  • 1000 km Okayama: 1st overall (1st LMP1)
  • 24 Hours of Le Mans : 26th overall (12th LMP1)

2008

technology

The vehicle was developed in accordance with the ACO and FIA rules in force in 2005 , so that it is eligible to start in all sports car races up to and including 2010. Courage officially presented the prototype at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show . The vehicle was designed so that it can compete in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes with minor changes. The LC70 thus also forms the basis for the smaller sister car, the Courage-ORECA LC75 for the LMP2. The six-speed gearbox used comes from Xtrac . The engines are obtained from various suppliers such as AER , Mugen or Judd .

For 2008, the aerodynamics of the LC70 were significantly revised by ORECA. For example, the central air inlet on the front was converted into two side air intakes in the wheel arches. In addition, the front spoiler has been changed significantly. The project brought about further significant changes by students from Tokai University . These modified the entire aerodynamics and only took over the underbody and monocoque for their Le Mans use in 2008. They also used an engine from YGK for the first time .

chassis

Acura ARX-01b from Highcroft Racing

All built chassis of the LC70 and LC75 were numbered consecutively, as they are largely identical. Chassis 2 was converted from LC70 to type LC75. When Acura officially entered the American Le Mans Series in 2007 , three LC75 chassis were purchased, which were used as the Acura ARX-01a and in 2008 as the Acura ARX-01b. In 2008 another chassis for De Ferran Motorsports was added. The chassis were also further developed by Acura itself.

No. year Type team engine Racing series
1 2006 Courage Compétition Development & Tests
2007 LC75 Noel Del Bello Racing AER LMS & Le Mans
2008 LC75 ORECA Development & Tests
2009 LC75 Pegasus Racing AER LMS
2 2006 LC70 Swiss Spirit Judd LMS & Le Mans
2007 LC75 Saulnier Racing AER LMS & Le Mans
2009 LC75 Ibanez Racing Service AER LMS
3 2006 LC70 Courage Compétition Mugen LMS & Le Mans
2007 LC70 Courage Compétition AER LMS & Le Mans
2008 LC70 Team Oreca Matmut Judd LMS
4th 2007 LC70 Courage Compétition Mugen Le Mans
2007 LC70 Courage Compétition AER LMS & Le Mans
5 2006 LC70 Courage Compétition Mugen LMS
2006 LC70 Team Mugen Mugen JLMC
2007 LC70 Team Mugen Mugen JLMC
2008 LC70 Terramos Mugen Le Mans
6th 2008 LC70 Tōkai University YGK Le Mans
7th 2007 ARX-01a Highcroft Racing Acura ALMS
2008 ARX-01b Highcroft Racing Acura ALMS
8th 2007 ARX-01a Andretti Green Racing Acura ALMS
2008 ARX-01b Andretti Green Racing Acura ALMS
9 2007 ARX-01a Honda Performance Development Acura only test vehicle
2008 ARX-01b Fernandez Racing Acura ALMS
2009 ARX-01b Fernandez Racing Acura ALMS
2010 ARX-01b Strakka Racing Acura
10 2007 LC70 Courage Compétition AER LMS
2008 LC70 Team Oreca Matmut Judd LMS & Le Mans
2009 LC70 / ORECA 01 Team Oreca Matmut AIM LMS
11 2008 LC70 Team Oreca Matmut Judd LMS & Le Mans
2009 LC70 Signature plus Judd LMS & Le Mans
12 2008 ARX-01b De Ferran Motorsports Acura ALMS
13 2008 LC70 Team Oreca Matmut Judd LMS
2009 LC70 / ORECA 01 Team Oreca Matmut AIM LMS

swell

  1. ↑ Courage LC70 ( Memento from May 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) from racecar-engineering.com, 2008/05/20

See also

Web links