Hugues de Chaunac now has his commando for the Le Mans Challenge! Bruno Senna and Stéphane Ortelli, the drivers of the no.10 ORECA 01, will team up with Tiago Monteiro for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre will be joined in no.11 by Soheil Ayari in the Sarthe. Tiago and Soheil are a couple of excellent recruits who will back up the usual Team ORECA-Matmut-AIM driver pairings this coming June.

Tiago is from Porto, and he has been racing for the team for the last two years as a works SEAT driver in the WTCC. The Portuguese, who competed in Formula 1 in 2005 and 2006, had his first taste of the ORECA prototype during the winter. He has already raced at Le Mans twice (GTS), and this will be his first time out in an LM P1. “I’m happy to seize such a great opportunity,” he says. “I’m going to make my first appearance in the top category with a superb car and a dream team! When I drove the ORECA 01 I re-experienced very strong sensations, very similar to those of an F1. There’ll be a tremendous battle in 2009 as we’ll be up against the major manufacturers. But we’ve got a lot of hopes pinned on the new car. I’m a born and bred fighter; I never give up!”

Soheil has been defending the team’s colours for several seasons as he won the French GT Championship in 2006 and 2007, as well as the GT1 title in the Le Mans series in 2007 with the Saleen-ORECA.. He has a lot of experience in the Sarthe event in which he has raced seven times finishing eighth in 2008. “I know the team, the car and the majority of the drivers, and that helps me tackle Le Mans in the best possible conditions,” he points out. “Continuity is a crucial factor in motor racing and it’s even truer in endurance. There has to be perfect, natural collaboration between the drivers, which will allow us to progress more quickly. We’ll raise our sights higher this year thanks to the new car developed by the design office.”

Experience, talent, youth and fighting spirit are the predominant characteristics of the trios that will represent the Team ORECA-Matmut-AIM in the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Source : ORECA