OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in

sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest-level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are n ...

s based in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

it won the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class. In 2012 the team contested the FIA World Endurance Championship with LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes (including the blue riband Le Mans 24 Hours) as well as the European Le Mans Series, which caters for LMP2 cars only. After a number of successful years in the

class the team stepped up to the premier

LMP1 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were crea ...

category in 2011. The team competes in the famous orange and blue racing livery of

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

in both championships through its partnership with CAR OIL, Gulf Lubricants’ exclusive distributor for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Powered by

Honda Performance Development Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD) is a subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co. which was established in 1993 and is based in Santa Clarita, California. It is the technical operations center for Honda's American motorsports programs and is ...

(LMP1) and Nissan (LMP2) engines, OAK Racing has been the official LMP1 development team for Dunlop since 2009 and uses the company’s rubber in both prototype classes. In 2012 OAK Racing became a racecar manufacturer through its

Onroak Automotive Ligier Automotive is a French company which designs, manufacturers, and sells racing cars, specifically sports prototypes for various international series. Onroak was founded in 2012 by Jacques Nicolet who split the design, manufacturing, and sal ...

division. Following the formation of its Design Office in 2010, the company was first responsible for the updated OAK/Pescarolo LMP1 that raced in 2011 before developing the all-new Morgan 2012 LMP2 to the ACO's cost capped regulations in time for the 2012 season. Privateer outfits have been able to purchase the chassis since December 2011. Since late 2006 OAK Racing has been owned by entrepreneur and racing driver

Jacques Nicolet Jacques Nicolet (born 5 April 1956 in Gigondas) is a French businessman and racing driver. He is the chairman of the Supervisory Board for Altarea SCA, a French real estate investment and development company, which he co-founded in 1994 with Ala ...

via his

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

Everspeed Everspeed is a French holding company for motorsport related companies. The company was founded by Jacques Nicolet as JN Holding. The company was renamed as Everspeed in 2016. History Jacques Nicolet took over Saulnier Racing in January 2007. He ...

History

Founded by

Serge Saulnier Serge may refer to: * Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitch ...

in 1980, the team began life in the French Formula 3 championship as Promatecme before becoming Saulnier Racing in 2000 when it entered the World Series by Nissan and, later, its successor the World Series by Renault. In 2006 they switched their attention to sports-prototypes and the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

, competing in the LMP1 category. Nicolet assumed control of the team in late 2006, remaining in the LMS with a switch to the LMP2 class for the following season. In 2008 OAK Racing embarked on a more ambitious programme by fielding a pair of Pescarolo-Judds, one in LMP1 and another in LMP2. This was rewarded with a third place LMP2 class finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours where the team ran one of the youngest crews ever to contest the race at an average age 24, and also fielded the first Chinese driver ever to enter the event. The team officially became OAK Racing in 2009. A partnership with Mazda Automobiles France was formed at this time with OAK Racing entering two Pescarolo-Mazda LMP2s in the 2009 Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours as well as participating in the two

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

events at Japan’s Okayama circuit. By the end of the season the team had achieved six podiums from eight races, including a top-three LMP2 finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours and a victory in the Asian Le Mans Series. In December 2009 OAK Racing reached an agreement with

Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo Sport was a motorsport team based in Le Mans, France and founded in February 2000 by French racing driver Henri Pescarolo and his friend and partner, French publisher François Granet. They raced in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours o ...

to take over the manufacturing side of its business. Consequently, the development and construction of the chassis, bodywork and spare parts of the Pescarolo prototypes was assumed by OAK Racing, as well as all commercial activities. In 2010 the team fielded two LMP2-spec Judd-powered OAK-Pescarolos in both the Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours whilst also entering the ACO’s new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Their efforts were rewarded with numerous titles and podium finishes, including a third consecutive top-three finish at the 24 Hours in LM P2 (taking second and fourth places), four podiums from five LMS events, the ILMC LMP2 class title and the Michelin Green X Challenge trophy in the LMS and ILMC. On 15 October 2010, during the asset sale of Pescarolo Sport, OAK Racing owner Nicolet and Prestige Racing’s Joël Rivière joined forces to purchase the lots, later presenting them to Henri Pescarolo and thus allowing him to revive his team. ILMC Circuit du Petit Le Mans, 2010

For the 2011 season the team entered two OAK-Pescarolo LMP1 prototypes and capped the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season with a third place overall finish at the

6 Hours of Silverstone The 4 Hours of Silverstone (formerly the 1000 km of Silverstone and 6 Hours of Silverstone) is an endurance sports car race held at Silverstone Circuit near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. First run in 1976 a ...

. OAK Racing entered as well one OAK-Pescarolo, LMP2 in the ILMC and an additional LMP2 for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Meanwhile, the team also finished 2nd overall in the LMP2 class standings. For 2012 OAK Racing split the design, manufacturing, and sales divisions of the team into an independent company named

. Onroak launched a revised LMP2 that, as well as being raced by the team, would be made available for sale to privateer outfits ahead of the 2012 season. Following a partnership with the

Morgan Motor Company The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer owned by Italian investment group Investindustrial. It was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, and employs appr ...

, the car was branded as Morgan LMP2. After a 20-year absence an FIA-sanctioned World Endurance Championship was revived in 2012. OAK Racing initially entered a single car in both prototype classes and saw its #24 Morgan-Judd 2012 LMP2 take pole position and finish second on debut at the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring. A second, Nissan-engined Morgan 2012 LMP2 (#35) was entered at the subsequent Spa, Le Mans 24 Hours, Silverstone, São Paulo and Bahrain rounds in a move that ultimately saw the #24 car also switch to Nissan power from the British round onwards. Meanwhile, numerous engine reliability issues prompted the team to withdraw its LMP1 car from the championship after Le Mans. Following the installation of a new HPD engine the car made its competitive WEC return for the two last rounds in Asia. At the

2013 24 Hours of Le Mans The 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''81e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour automobile endurance racing event for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 19 to 23 June 2013 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close ...

, OAK Racing took the

class victory with a 1-2 finish (7th and 8th overall). Car No.35 first place, drivers

Martin Plowman Martin Plowman (born 3 October 1987) is a British professional racing driver from Tamworth currently competing in the British GT Championship for Paddock Motorsport, which he co-founded with Kelvin Fletcher. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013, he ...

, Ricardo González and

Bertrand Baguette Bertrand Baguette (born 23 February 1986) is a Belgian professional racing driver. In 2013, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class and the FIA WEC LMP2 class title. In 2017, he won the final running of the Suzuka 1000km in Super GT. ...

. Car No. 24 second place, drivers

Olivier Pla Olivier Pla (born 22 October 1981) is a French racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Glickenhaus Racing. His younger brother Jim is also a racing driver Career French Formula Campus and Formula Three Born ...

Alex Brundle Alex Brundle (born 7 August 1990) is a British Auto racing, racing driver and broadcaster who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Inter Europol Competition. He was the 2016 European Le Mans Series champion (LMP3) and ...

and

David Heinemeier Hansson David Heinemeier Hansson is a Denmark, Danish programmer, and the creator of the popular Ruby on Rails web development Software framework, framework and the Instiki, Instiki wiki. He is also a partner at the web-based software development firm B ...

. Car No. 35 covered a total of 329 laps in the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hou ...

. Car No. 24 one lap behind. The race was run in very difficult weather conditions and several serious accidents bringing out a record of twelve safety car caution periods. Morgan Nissan LMP2

OAK Racing earned both titles in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, first and second places in the LMP2 Drivers and Teams Endurance Trophies class. Car No. 35 (Plowman, González and Baguette), first place and car No. 24 (Pla, Brundle and Hansson), second place. For 2014, the team joined the newly formed

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

in the United States with full season drivers Olivier Pla and Gustavo Yacaman, winning their first race at

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

Drivers

1980–2006: Serge Saulnier as president

Since 2007: Jacques Nicolet as president

Racing CV

As Promatecme

* Single-seater 1992: French F3 champion with

Franck Lagorce Franck Lagorce (born 1 September 1968 in L'Haÿ-les-Roses) is a racing driver from France. He participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 November 1994. He scored no championship points. Career Lagorce competed in French Formula Fo ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

: British Formula 3 Championship: 2nd (eight wins)

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

: British Formula 3 Championship: 2nd (six wins)

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

: British Formula 3 Championship: 3rd (three wins)

As Saulnier Racing

* Single-seater 2001: French F3 champion with

Ryo Fukuda Ryo may refer to: * Ryō, a gold currency unit in pre-Meiji Japan Shakkanhō system * Ryō (actress) (born 1973), Japanese model, actress, and singer * Ryō (given name), a unisex Japanese given name * Ryo, Georgia, an unincorporated community i ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

World Series by Renault The Renault Sport Series (formerly known as World Series by Renault) is a motor racing series. The series latterly consisted of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and used to contain the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. T ...

* Endurance Racing

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 4th (two podiums)

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: Le Mans Series, 4th in LMP2 (one podium) - Courage-AER LC75

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 3rd in LMP2 and 12th in LMP1 - Pescarolo-Judd

: 5th in LMP2 (one podium) and 12th in LMP1 - Pescarolo-Judd

As OAK Racing

* 2009

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

: 3rd in LMP2 - Pescarolo-Mazda

: winner in LMP2 (two wins) - Pescarolo-Mazda

: 6th (two podiums) and 7th (one podium) in LMP2 - Pescarolo-Mazda * 2010

: 2nd and 4th in LMP2, 7th and 9th overall — Pescarolo-Judd

: 3rd (one podium) and 4th (three podiums) in LMP2 - Pescarolo-Judd constructors’ title in LMP2

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

: winner in LMP2 (three podiums) - Pescarolo-Judd Michelin Green X Challenge (Le Mans Series and ILMC): winner — Pescarolo-Judd * 2011

: 5th in LMP2 - OAK/Pescarolo-Judd

: 3rd and 5th overall — OAK/Pescarolo-Judd

6 Hours of Zhuhai The 6 Hours of Zhuhai is a sports car endurance race held at the Zhuhai International Circuit in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. The race was first held in 1994 on a street circuit as a round of the BPR Global GT Series. It was held 7 times in 14 yea ...

: Michelin Green X Challenge for the #24 LMP1 - OAK/Pescarolo-Judd

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

: 5th in LMP1 class, 2nd in LMP2 class (team ranking) - OAK/Pescarolo-Judd *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

LMP2 Trophy

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins

References

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:250 PlotArea = left:175 bottom:80 top:05 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1980 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1980 Colors = id:singleseater value:red legend:Single_seater id:endur_p value:green legend:Endurance_(prototype) id:Lines value:black legend:Team_name_change id:bars value:gray(0.9) BackgroundColors = bars:bars Legend = position:bottom columns:1 BarData = bar:FF3 text:"French F3 Championship" bar:BF3 text:"British F3 Championship" bar:WSN text:"World Series by Nissan" bar:WSR text:"World Series by Renault" bar:ELMS text:"European Le Mans Series" bar:ALMS text:"Asian Le Mans Series" bar:ILMS text:"Intercontinental Le Mans Cup" bar:WEC text:"World Endurance Championship" PlotData= width:13 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:FF3 from:start till:31/12/2002 color:singleseater bar:BF3 from:01/01/1996 till:31/12/2007 color:singleseater bar:WSN from:01/01/2000 till:31/12/2003 color:singleseater bar:WSR from:01/01/2004 till:31/12/2006 color:singleseater bar:ELMS from:01/01/2006 till:31/12/2011 color:endur_p bar:ELMS from:01/01/2016 till:31/12/2016 color:endur_p bar:ALMS from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009 color:endur_p bar:ALMS from:01/01/2013 till:31/12/2014 color:endur_p bar:ILMS from:01/01/2010 till:31/12/2011 color:endur_p bar:WEC from:01/01/2012 till:31/12/2015 color:endur_p LineData = at:01/01/2000 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2009 color:black layer:back

External links

OAK Racing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oak Racing French auto racing teams European Le Mans Series teams Formula 3 Euro Series teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams FIA World Endurance Championship teams British Formula Three teams Everspeed WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams French Formula 3 teams German Formula 3 teams Formula BMW teams World Series Formula V8 3.5 teams French racecar constructors Auto racing teams established in 1980