Hope Racing, an ambitious hybrid

To allow the different manufacturers and teams entered in endurance racing to develop more ecological cars, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest is allowing hybrid-powered vehicles to race. Peugeot has already announced that it will run its 908 Hybrid 4, derived from the 908 that will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

However, Hope Racing, a team entered in the Formula Le Mans category, will be the first to enter a prototype with this type of power unit in the Le Mans 24 Hours as its car was selected by the ACO. The Swiss team presented its hybrid, the Oreca Swiss Hytech Hybrid at the first round of the Le Mans Series. It is based on an Oreca chassis in which a 4-cylinder hybrid engine, developed in collaboration with Lehmann, has been installed.

“It's a huge challenge that awaits us as we'll be the first team to actually race an LM P1 hybrid in 2011!” said Benoît Morand, the team's co-owner. “Our priority aim is reliability! We want to be in a position to battle just behind the works cars to make people notice us and to attract a manufacturer for 2012. To aim for outright victory, we'll need the resources of a factory to be able to take the fight to the big boys!”

This LM P1 took to the track for the first time at the start of the week on the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit after the first round of the 2011 Le Mans Series.