Chrysler Enters Two Mopar-Powered Prototypes in Le Mans 24 Hours
16 March 2000
Chrysler Enters Two Mopar-Powered Prototypes in Le Mans 24 Hours
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 15 Chrysler has officially
entered two Mopar V-8-powered Prototypes for the 2000 Le Mans 24-Hour race,
scheduled for June 10 and 11.
Chrysler's factory-backed effort, entered under the organization of Mopar
Team ORECA, combines the agility of the new Reynard 2KQ chassis with the
proven durability of Mopar's V-8 and the experience of one of endurance
racing's most respected teams.
The aluminum Mopar 6.0-liter V-8 racing engine powered sprint car driver
Mark Kinser to the 1999 World of Outlaws championship. A versatile engine,
the same engine also powers the supercharged IHRA dragster of Lori Cannister.
Le Mans will mark the Mopar V-8's endurance racing debut.
"Tests already conducted indicate that the Chrysler Prototype will be
competitive," said Hugues de Chaunac, founder, Team ORECA. "But more
importantly, we are going to Le Mans to gain experience as we prepare for
2001."
"Throughout the motorsports community, the Viper has become an icon of
performance and durability," said Jim Holden, President, DaimlerChrysler
Corporation. "The Viper is one of the many racing success stories that have
given us the confidence to compete at the highest levels of the sport. And Le
Mans -- one of the most famous and demanding endurance races in the world --
allows us to promote the quality and integrity of our brands to a global
audience."
Team ORECA will also field three factory-backed Viper GTS R/Ts at Le Mans,
with the objective of winning the GTS category there for the third consecutive
year. Last year, Team ORECA Vipers finished first and second in the Grand
Touring class, while last month, Team ORECA's Dodge Viper GTS R/T was the
outright winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Beach, Fla. -- the first-ever 24-
hour overall win for Dodge. Five Dodge Viper GTS R/Ts finished in the top
seven positions overall, a culmination of the program that was initiated in
1996.
The development of an endurance racing version of the aluminum small block
engine is a strategic business decision by Mopar. The Le Mans engine is a
version of one of the eight different engines featured in the Mopar
Performance Parts catalog. Last year alone, Mopar Performance Parts added
more than 300 parts to the catalog. The motorsports parts business is worth
$3.17 billion (U.S.) annually in North America, and is now expanding
vigorously on a worldwide basis.
"Customers of Mopar Performance Parts benefit directly from our approach
to motorsports," said Lou Patane, Vice President, Motorsports Operations and
Mopar Performance Parts, DaimlerChrysler. "The result is more of the parts
they want, faster and with higher quality, allowing us to increase our market
share.
"Strategically, our decision to enter Le Mans delivers the same potential
benefits as our decision to enter the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Not
only does racing expose customers to our products and further develop our
products, it also refines processes by which they're developed and improves
our people."
Drivers for the Team ORECA entries will be announced at a later date.