LMPC class
The LMPC class (Le Mans Prototype Challenge) was a motorsport category that was contested with standard cars from the French manufacturer Oreca . The cars are derived from vehicles of the LMP class and were primarily used in long-distance races, in racing series organized according to the regulations of the French association ACO .
Operational device
| Oreca FLM09 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Oreca |
| class | LMPC |
| Technical specification | |
| chassis | |
| Monocoque | Carbon fiber |
| body | Carbon / kevlar |
| length | 4600 mm |
| width | 1990 mm |
| height | 1025 mm |
| Weight | 900 kg |
| engine | |
| engine | GM LS3 6.2 l V8 |
| power | 450 hp |
| Speed limit | 6500 rpm |
| Engine control | Magneti Marelli |
| technology | |
| transmission | X-trac 6 speed |
| Brakes | Brembo 6 pistons |
| Brake discs | Carbon, internally ventilated |
| Pulley diameter | 380 × 37 mm |
| Others | |
| Price (Dec. 2011) | € 260,000 |
Contrary to what the name suggests, the LMPC or Formula Le Mans car is not a formula car ( monoposto ), but a basically two-seater Le Mans prototype . The chassis is based on the Courage LC75 LMP2 , which Oreca further developed under their own direction after purchasing Courage in 2008 into a more cost-effective and more robust variant. With the vehicle, Oreca and the ACO, the French automobile association, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, wanted to create a low-cost entry-level class in Le Mans prototype sport that was closer to the real LMP in terms of technology than the comparable Group CN vehicles, but at the same time at costs comparable to those of the CN. While the Formula Le Mans Series started as a brand cup in the framework program of the Le Mans Series in 2009 , the vehicles have been approved as a separate class in several series, including the LMS and ALMS .
technology
The vehicles with the type designation FLM09 are motorized with a General Motors small block LS3 V8 whose engine management comes from Magnet Marelli and which develops around 440 hp. Since 2010 the engines have been equipped with an air restrictor so that the cars can also be used in long-distance series alongside more powerful LMP classes. The transmission of the cars comes from Xtrac and the car has a sequential 6-speed gearshift, which is operated via a rocker switch on the steering wheel. The cars run on standard Michelin tires and the carbon brakes are sourced from Brembo .
Mission series
Formula Le Mans Cup
In 2009 the FLM09 competed in a one-make cup that was part of the supporting program of the LMS and the 24h of Le Mans. Between 9 and 13 teams took part in the one-hour races with a mandatory driver change. The series was won by the DAMS team. DAMS driver Nico Verdonck won the driver's title. In the following year, the series was discontinued due to the involvement of the teams and cars in the LMS races.
Le Mans Series
In the Le Mans Series season 2010 , the Formula Le Mans Cup was integrated into the Le Mans Series and became fifth class within the series. In the opening season, the LMPC competed in 4 of the European races, while a fifth event was held exclusively for the LMPC. The teams were obliged to bring at least one amateur driver per vehicle to the start in order to establish the class as a junior category. There were championships for professional drivers, amateur drivers and teams. At the end of the season, the winner of the amateur classification was given a test in an Oreca LMP2. In 2012 the class was renamed the Le Mans Prototype Challenge and was held as such in the European Le Mans Series until 2014 .
IMSA / United Sportscar Championship
On August 16, 2009, the IMSA announced a reorganization of the American Le Mans Series class structure and created a new category called the Le Mans Prototype Challenge. The class used the Formula Le Mans rulebook similar to the Le Mans Series and competed in all American Le Mans Series events. After NASCAR Holdings bought IMSA at the end of 2012 in preparation for the standardization of sports car races in North America in 2014, the tires on the cars switched from Michelin to Continental , as the Grand American Road Racing Association had signed a tire contract with Continental.
The class was held until 2017 until the IMSA decided to remove it from the championship at the end of 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ [htthttp: //web.archive.org/web/20120720220744/ http://www.oreca-manufacturer.com/fiche-technique/ LMPC- Fiche technique ]. Technical data of the LMPC on the homepage of the manufacturer Oreca
- ↑ First Formula Le Mans is running . Report on GT-Eins.de about the first LMPC track test, November 12, 2008.
- ↑ Formula Le Mans - Technology . Message on GT-Eins.de about the first technical facts about the Formula Le Mans car, February 4, 2009.
