Debora Racing cars is a small French car builder, popular with private racing teams, based in
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...
, France. Teams generally use their chassis to take part in
Le Mans style endurance racing such as
Magny Cours,
Jarama
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...
and le Mans.
Drivers also tend to be French with
Bruno Boccard and
David Dusseau being two of the more famous. Debora use an LMP Le Mans Prototype type 1 body shell over a mid-engined chassis with open driving seat in the bodywork. Their Type 2 LMP with closed bodywork owes much to the Courage and is a truly beautiful piece of engineering.
Engines have been known to come from a 3-litre BMW and a 2-litre
Ford Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
Turbo on the Jarama racetrack 1997.
Sponsored by Waterair in 1998 the Debora two car team did a little better with one of the cars coming in 15th a mere 19 laps behind the winner.
Later in '98 at the ISRS world championships, Debora carried off the trophy for SR2 driven by De Castelli, Jakubowski & Bruneau.
In July 2000 during the US Le Mans series held at the
Nürburgring in Germany, a private driving the Orphee-sponsored Debora car powered by a BMW engine came tenth. Full details of the race finishers can be found here.
In 2001 at the Le Mans series they did not finish as the car overheated due to a water leak after 48 laps. But at ELMS, Debora took the category SR2 with Dussau et Gomez
in Magny Cours 2002
French hopes in SR2 rested with PiR Competition with their selection of Pilbeam and Debora chassis. Team boss/driver Pierre Bruneau hoped that local Sodemo Peugeot power would thrust them towards the front. "We have tested at Magny Cours about six weeks ago with the Pilbeam and got some good results", said the enthusiastic Bruneau. "We also took the Debora to Dijon last week and made a lot of improvements, so we are confident of some good points this weekend."
British racer Paul Daniels also showed well that season and teamed up in the Debora with Frenchman Philippe Hottinguer (who drove with the team at Barcelona) and Italian Ludovico Manfredi (who drove for PiR at the corresponding event in 2001).
More home support came in the way of Didier Bonnet's return to the Championship with his faithful Debora BMW combination.
Cars
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Debora LMP200
The Debora LMP200 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora in 2001 for use in the European Le Mans Series. Initially fitted with a 3.2-litre BMW straight-six engine, it was refitted with a 3-litre BMW straight-six in 2002, and then a 3.4-litre ...
, used between 2001 and 2003.
*
Debora LMP201
The Debora LMP295 and Debora LMP201 were Le Mans Prototypes built by Debora in 1995 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of each type was built, and both cars featured the same 2-litre Cosworth-Ford turbocharged straight-four engine. Both cars were ...
, used in 1995.
*
Debora LMP294
The Debora SP93 was a C3 class sports-prototype built by Debora for hillclimbing and for the French Coupe Alfa Romeo. It was updated to the Debora LMP294 in 1994 for the same event. Both cars were fitted with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine, and bo ...
, used in 1994.
*
Debora LMP295
The Debora LMP295 and Debora LMP201 were Le Mans Prototypes built by Debora in 1995 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of each type was built, and both cars featured the same 2-litre Cosworth-Ford turbocharged straight-four engine. Both cars were ...
, used in 1995.
*
Debora LMP296
The Debora LMP296 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora Automobiles in 1996 for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was originally entered with a 2-litre turbocharged Cosworth straight-four engine, but several other engines were used in ...
, used between 1996 and 1999.
*
Debora LMP297
The Debora LMP296 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora Automobiles in 1996 for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was originally entered with a 2-litre turbocharged Cosworth straight-four engine, but several other engines were used in ...
, used between 1997 and 1998.
*
Debora LMP299
The Debora LMP296 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora Automobiles in 1996 for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was originally entered with a 2-litre turbocharged Cosworth straight-four engine, but several other engines were used in ...
, used between 2000 and 2002.
*
Debora LMP2000
The Debora LMP2000 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora in 2000 for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Sports Racing World Cup. The car was initially fitted with a 3.2-litre BMW straight-six engine, but had a 3-litre BMW straight-six fi ...
, used in 2000.
*
Debora SP92
The Debora SP92 was a Le Mans Prototype built by Debora in 1992 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Didier Bonnet Racing ran the car, which was fitted with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine, in the race. Only one was built, and it was not used again after t ...
, used in 1992.
*
Debora SP93
The Debora SP93 was a C3 class sports-prototype built by Debora for hillclimbing and for the French Coupe Alfa Romeo. It was updated to the Debora LMP294 in 1994 for the same event. Both cars were fitted with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine, and bo ...
, used in 1993 and 1998
References
{{reflist
External links
Debora Racing Official website
French racecar constructors