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Chrysler Team ORECA continued to field two of the most successful
endurance racing drivers of all time in 2001, as Olivier Beretta and
Yannick Dalmas sign to drive the new Mopar-powered 6.0-litre V8 prototype
in the 69th running of the Le Mans 24Hours. The news comes as ORECA
unveils the Dallara-penned LMP prototype that it hopes will allow it to
challenge the likes of Audi and Panoz at the head of the sportscar grid
this year.
 
The team intended to build on the success that it achieved with
Chrysler's Viper GTS R/T, the car that won three consecutive FIA GT
championships, three class victories at Le Mans, two American Le Mans
Series titles and outright victory at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in
2000. The development of the Chrysler LMP is a progression from the
high-volume production car GTS class to the specialised LMP900 prototype
division as Chrysler and Team ORECA seeks, for the first time, outright
victory at Le Mans against some of the largest and most prestigious
manufacturers in the world.
The 2001 Le Mans prototype has been designed and developed by
Chrysler's engineers in Auburn Hills, Detroit, in association with the
Signes-based French ORECA Team and with significant input from Italian
chassis specialists Dallara. Chrysler's performance parts division, Mopar,
has been instrumental in the development of the 6.0-litre V8 engine,
utilising design and manufacturing facilities in Detroit. The 6.0-litre
Mopar V8 engine has already achieved success in its previous guises, first
as a 1,800bhp drag-racing engine, and then in an 800bhp version for the
World of Outlaws dirt track series. The unit won championships in both
disciplines before a plan was conceived to develop it into an endurance
engine. In association with the engineers of Mopar, Chrysler's performance
parts division, and ORECA, engine tuner John Caldwell became involved in
developing the 6.0-litre V8. The engine shares the same aluminium block as
its two predecessors and hit the track late in 1999 in preparation for the
2000 Le Mans 24 hours.
 
The team of engineers set about producing a 5.0-litre engine before it
was decided that rule changes would better suit a 6.0-litre. The changes
were swiftly implemented and the engine was tested, producing around
585bhp with the necessary Le Mans restrictors. The early engine formed a
basis to make swift progress with a redesign making it more compact and
technically simpler in time for its race debut at Le Mans. The team of
engineers redesigned the front of the unit to reduce the number of belts
and thus the size of the unit. The engine was reduced in weight from
400lbs to 380lbs and this year's unit is another 5lbs lighter.
 
At Le Mans itself, one engine ran right through the 24 hours,
completing nearly 4000kms, and took the flag together with the three
Chrysler Viper Team ORECA Viper GTS R/Ts, needing just a throttle and
alternator repair. The other engine suffered an oil pressure problem early
in the race at the daunting 13.6-mile circuit near the Loire valley. The
fact that last year Chrysler's LMP900 completed nearly 4000kms at Le Mans,
a significant achievement on its open-top prototype debut, provided
Chrysler's motor racing programmes with a platform on which to base
development for high performance production car parts.
 
Beretta, the reigning American Le Mans Series GTS-class drivers
champion, has renewed his contract with ORECA, the team with which he has
won four prestigious titles in the last three years on both sides of the
Atlantic, at the wheel of a Chrysler Viper GTS-R, while Dalmas, a
four-time winner at Le Mans with Peugeot, McLaren, Porsche and BMW, in
2001 signed a two-year contract with Chrysler Team ORECA at Le Mans.
Spec
- Engine - V8 - 6.0 Litre
- 0 to 60 3.0 Seconds
- 0 to 100 6.0 Seconds
- Top Speed 230 Miles Per Hour
- 6 Speed sequential Gearbox
- 585 Brake Horse Power
- Power Train Layout - Front Engine/Rear Wheel Drive
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