Sebring 12 Hours race week proved to be a significant one for ORECA’s operations in the USA, as it was the first event for the new-look ORECA North America (ONA) organisation supporting both its IMSA LMP2 and GTD Ferrari 296 GT3 customers.
Previously, ORECA’s presence in the region was managed via a collaboration with Carl Haas Automobile Imports Inc, which saw the American firm store, transport and supply parts to teams competing in the USA with ORECA. However, with ORECA’s customer base in IMSA and SRO America growing thanks to the success of the (ORECA-assembled) 296 GT3 and the expanded IMSA LMP2 class, the partnership – of over a decade – has now come to a close.
In its place is a new set-up from ORECA, which is based in a building in Indianapolis next door to Conquest Racing, with a growing workforce and an increase in resources to provide a more efficient service to its customers.
“ORECA North America was originally a web store, but has been dormant for a few years,” Bart Hayden, ORECA’s LMP2 relationship manager, told DSC. “Now it has been re-awakened in its current guise and as of the beginning of 2024 is essentially overseeing all of the ORECA activities in the marketplace.
“This comes off the back of a successful relationship with Carl Haas Automobile Imports in Illinois. They have been a partner in the true sense of the word for a long time and we are grateful for the support from Mrs Haas and her late husband Carl and the team that they put in place led by Greg (Wrzesinski) over the years.
“But through the natural evolution, with the requirement to support more than just the LMP2s and to support Ferrari 296 GT3 customers, LMP3 engine customers and the Acura GTP cars, we’ve made a change. It has been a perfectly amicable split, it’s a business decision.
“A decision was made at the end of last year to take the LMP2 and LMP3 support in America back in-house. This would then run alongside what was set up last year for the 296 GT3 by ORECA which was based out of Indianapolis.
“We have two trucks and trailers, one for Ferrari support and another for LMP customers. The reality is that in IMSA the car count is 12 ORECA-manufactured cars in LMP2 and if there was space on the grid we’d like to see more in the future.”
This new venture is being led by former Juncos Hollinger Racing IndyCar team manager Vince Kremer, who brings a wealth of motorsport experience to ORECA. He has been serving as the operations director for ONA since December and is currently building a team which is expected to grow over the coming months and years.
To ensure the transition is as seamless as possible, ORECA sent a team from France to support Kremer in Sebring and extended the relationship with Haas through the Rolex 24 Hours back in January.
“The thinking behind that is that it wasn’t the best time to transition from one service provider to another just before Daytona,” Hayden said. “So ORECA France extended the relationship with Haas and sent more staff than we normally would to Sebring to help ramp up the support in North America.
“Vince is building his team ahead of the IMSA race at Watkins Glen (in June) after being a one-man-band for a few weeks.”
So what is the long-term aim? In addition to becoming a more efficient operation, it allows ORECA to explore the possibility of sourcing and developing parts in the region as well as take steps forward in the customer service department.
However, it is too early to say whether or not we could see ORECA manufacturing and assembling cars in the USA in the future.
“We don’t have a specific target,” Hayden explained. “We can’t bite off more than we can chew. It’s all about the level of support we want to supply to our customers and working out what improvements we can bring down the line.
“If we want to get composite panels and bodywork elements produced in the USA, we might want to do that for future cars.
“But there are key components in a car, and the chassis is one of them, where we would more likely stick with established suppliers. There are other areas though where we could consider multiple sources of supply to alleviate supply chain challenges.
“There is scope for sub-assembly work to be done in the USA too. Maybe certain elements could be sourced locally.”
Cost is another factor here. With this change comes an increase in overheads for ORECA in the USA, though Hayden explained to DSC that it shouldn’t have an impact on the cost of parts for teams. In fact, it could result in savings down the line.
“The price of parts is controlled by the FIA, but there is a conversion to Dollars that needs to take place and there’s an allowance for transportation and importation,” Hayden pointed out. “Long story short, the price list from the parts Carl Haas Automobile Imports was selling has been copy-pasted.
“It’s going to be a process, it won’t be an overnight change,” Hayden concluded. “There will be bumps along the way but we want to build this. Hugues de Chaunac (ORECA’s chairman) is passionate about racing in the USA. We won’t be turning away from the European market, far from it, but in the 296 GT3 and 07 LMP2 we have products that teams want and they expect a level of service and quality wherever they race.
“We’ve managed that successfully with our partnership with Carl Haas Automobile Imports, but things are now growing and we need to expand upon what was there before so we can offer more in the future.”
