2021 ORECA 07 #21 Pilots: H. Hedman, B. Hanley, J. P. Montoya Team: DragonSpeed Race: 18th overall (first in LMP2 Pro/Am class) at Le Mans in 2021 Spark - S8237 (resin)
Published 01/30/23
FIA’s rules are absurdly complex, with each racing class having a thorough and specific rule set. That is more than expected, since racing disciplines are very diverse, with very diverse machines. The only thing that is more or less common among all racing classes is pilots’ licenses. You just can’t turn 16, buy a racing car and drive at a FIA race, you have to have a license. And for endurance racing, there are basically four racing licenses: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Over at FIA’s website you can see the differences and requirements for each one. The interesting part is that WEC racing classes and pilots’ licenses are intertwined. In fact, FIA in 2020 created a racing class, LMP2 Pro/Am, just because of pilot’s licenses.
In the new LMP2 Pro/Am class, technical specifications for the cars are exactly the same as for “regular” LMP2. What changes is what teams are eligible, and that depends on their pilots’ licenses. For a team to compete in Pro/Am, they have to have a LMP2 car piloted by at least one Bronze pilot. And since a Bronze pilot is essentially an amateur, that makes a huge difference in race results. When there was only LMP2, invariably who won was the team with a professional roster (Gold and Silver pilots). With the new class, teams with amateur pilots have a shot at a trophy. At first glance that can sound silly, yet don’t forget that many Bronze pilots are older drivers who pay to race. In the past these were the so-called “gentlemen drivers”, that were sometimes the principal funding of a team.
For FIA’s WEC 2021 season, LMP2 teams used either an ORECA or a Ligier chassis. Powering the LMP2 cars was Gibson’s GK428 engine, a 4.2 liter V8 capable of 600 hp. While teams could choose their chassis, ORECA was the most popular by far. At La Sarthe, for instance, 25 cars were ORECA 07 and only one was a Ligier P217. DragonSpeed, with their ORECA 07 #21, was a LMP2 team. However, they had a Bronze pilot in the team, so they were eligible for Pro/Am. While Ben Hanley had a Gold license and Juan Pablo Montoya had a Platinum license, Henrik Hedman (53, at the time) was a Bronze pilot. ORECA 07 #21 finished in 18th place overall, however they were first in the Pro/Am class. At the end of the season, DragonSpeed secured a third place in the FIA LMP2 Pro/Am Endurance Trophy.
For LMP2, the Pro/Am class is basically what the GTE-Am was to the GTE-Pro class – a sort of “junior” LMP2. Bronze pilots all appreciated the new class, since now there are more chances of taking a trophy home. Unfortunately though, with the revolution that was the new LMH class, there are rumors that WEC may abolish LMP2 for 2024… A shame, because LMP2 and LMP2 Pro/Am would be two more race winners for the Le Mans collector 😁. Joking aside, in scale, as expected, this ORECA 07 #21 is a beauty. What I call a regular “fantastic Spark”. Just like my two other 07s, the 2017 and 2020 winners. However, since the ORECA 07 is more common than the Porsche GT3 in the early 2000’s, maybe the 07 #21 won’t be a very popular buy amongst collectors.