The 2015 Le Mans endurance season coincided with the introduction in competition of the category of cars created by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the LM P3s. This prototype is the first step on the endurance pyramid put in place by the ACO. Its aim is to bring new teams and young drivers to endurance, as well as attracting gentlemen drivers who want to start racing prototypes. The philosophy behind this car is to reduce constraints to a minimum whether in terms of budget, technology, driving and running costs.
This new category met with immediate success among constructors wishing to develop the car. Four chassis constructors, Ginetta, Onroak Automotive, Riley Technologies and Adess AG, were homologated by the ACO. In July faced with the number of demands it received the ACO decided to limit the number of chassis constructors to five. Thus, the fifth and final chassis constructor accepted is the Japanese company, Dome.
The number five was decided after various studies to avoid too much competition, which could prove destructive for the series, as well as offering a viable and profitable economic model to the constructors, and enabling the entrants to take advantage of economic conditions and a competitive level of service thanks to economies of scale resulting from this limitation.
The ACO is delighted to welcome this new constructor to ensure the development of LM P3. Dome, founded in 1978 in Kyoto, is a Japanese constructor with first-class infrastructures, technical competences and industrial capacities, which has become a benchmark on the international scene. It has already demonstrated its know-how in LM P for many years with 18 participations in the Le Mans 24 Hours, and it has also taken part in all the major branches of the sport, GT 500, GT 300, FIA F4, etc. It is a leading constructor in Asia and opens up wide-ranging perspectives on this continent, particularly in the Asian Le Mans Series.
Oreca looks after the whole client-service back-up for the single engine, which is the same for all teams. It is a normally-aspirated 420 bhp V8 developed by Nissan/Nismo. X-Trac supplies the gearbox and Magnetti Marelli the electronics.
At present 7 LM P3s are entered for the European Le Mans Series, with the season finale taking place at Estoril in Portugal on Sunday 18 October, and three for the Asian Le Mans Series. The first round of the 2015/2016 season will take place this coming weekend in Japan, proof the interest already generated by this new series in its first year of existence.