Duqueine Engineering’s new D08 LMP3 is one of the three new LMP3 chassis on-site in Portimao for the European Le Mans Series finale, ahead of the three-day customer-focused post-season test next week.
The French constructor, along with Ligier, Ginetta and ADESS, is working hard to sign up customers for 2020, where the new breed of LMP3s will begin racing in Europe.
Prior to this week little was known about the D08 and its development, as the car presented at Le Mans back in June (alongside the new cars from the other brands) was a re-liveried Norma M30 and few details were released when the car began its testing phase last month. But it appears that Duqueine is ready for the task of selling, building and delivering new cars ahead of the new season.
“We’re pleased with the car,” Thibaut Mourgues, Duqueine’s sales engineer told DSC earlier today. “It has a re-designed front-splitter, modified side pods, a new engine cover and rear wing. It has more downforce than the old car.
“The test (at Paul Ricard last month) went well for us, we hit all our targets.”
Currently, just one D08 chassis exists, and it will turn laps in Portugal next week. 15 drivers are signed up to sample the car, which will for the first time test alongside the Ligier JSP320 and ADESS 03 EVO. (The fourth 2020 LMP3 chassis, Ginetta’s G61-LT-P3, is about to begin testing back in the UK.)
As for sales, Mourgues told DSC that Duqueine already has a selection of teams signed for 2020, including some teams currently competing with a rival brand in LMP3. Some existing customer teams have also opted to purchase upgrade kits for their Norma M30s. (40 current-gen M30s were built during its life span)
“We expect to be able to produce 15-20 new cars for Year 1,” continued Morgues. “Upgrade kits will be available before the end of the year, and the first new chassis is expected to be delivered in January.”
How will Duqueine cope with the flood of orders it is aiming for next week after prospective customers see the new LMP3s running back-to-back for the first time? Since purchasing Norma in 2017, it has moved its production facilities to its base in the South of France and is currently building a new, bigger, facility to house its race team and production arms, which is set to open in the next year or so.
Would this new base be used to design, build and service next-generation LMP2 cars in 2022? Right now, unsurprisingly, Duqueine wouldn’t comment and instead stressed its desire to build its customer LMP3 programme. “We are focused on LMP3 right now, we are still a young company,” Mourgues said.
Following the track time at Portimao next week, Duqueine will take the test chassis to Barcelona and Paul Ricard for multi-day tests before the end of the year.
