page_title: OAK Racing
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: OAK Racing / History
caption_attribution_description: English: 2013 Oak Racing Morgan Nissan LMP2 Le Mans series racing car (driven by Martin Plowman). 4,494cc normally aspirated V8
context_page_description: OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class.
  In 2012 it is contesting the FIA World Endurance Championship with LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes as well as the European Le Mans Series, which caters for LMP2 cars only. After a number of successful years in the LMP2 class the team stepped up to the premier LMP1 category in 2011.
  The team competes in the famous orange and blue racing livery of Gulf Oil in both championships through its partnership with CAR OIL, Gulf Lubricants’ exclusive distributor for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Powered by Honda Performance Development and Nissan engines, OAK Racing has been the official LMP1 development team for Dunlop since 2009 and uses the company’s rubber in both prototype classes.
  In 2012 OAK Racing became a manufacturer through its Onroak Automotive manufacturing division.
context_section_description: Founded by Serge Saulnier in 1980, the team began life in the French Formula 3 championship as Promatecme before becoming Saulnier Racing in 2000 when it entered the World Series by Nissan and, later, its successor the World Series by Renault. In 2006 they switched their attention to sports-prototypes and the Le Mans Series, competing in the LMP1 category.
  Nicolet assumed control of the team in late 2006, remaining in the LMS with a switch to the LMP2 class for the following season. In 2008 OAK Racing embarked on a more ambitious programme by fielding a pair of Pescarolo-Judds, one in LMP1 and another in LMP2. This was rewarded with a third place LMP2 class finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours where the team ran one of the youngest crews ever to contest the race at an average age 24, and also fielded the first Chinese driver ever to enter the event.
  The team officially became OAK Racing in 2009. A partnership with Mazda Automobiles France was formed at this time with OAK Racing entering two Pescarolo-Mazda LMP2s in the 2009 Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours as well as participating in the two Asian Le Mans Series events at Japan’s Okayama circuit. By the end of the season the team had achieved six podiums from eight races, including a top-three LMP2 finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours and a victory in the Asian Le Mans Series.
  In December 2009 OAK Racing reached an agreement with Pescarolo Sport to take over the manufacturing side of its business. Consequently, the
  development and construction of the chassis, bodywork and spare parts of the Pescarolo prototypes was assumed by OAK Racing, as well as
  all commercial activities.
  In 2010 the team fielded two LMP2-spec Judd-powered OAK-Pescarolos in both the Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours whilst also entering the ACO’s new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Their efforts were rewarded with numerous titles and podium finishes, including a third consecutive top-three finish at the 24 Hours in LM P2 (taking second and fourth places), four podiums from five LMS events, the ILMC LMP2 class title and the Michelin Green X Challenge trophy in the LMS and ILMC.
  On 15 October 2010, during the asset sale of Pescarolo Sport, OAK Racing owner Nicolet and Prestige Racing’s Joël Rivière joined forces to purchase the lots, later presenting them to Henri Pescarolo and thus allowing him to revive his team.
  For the 2011 season the team entered two OAK-Pescarolo LMP1 prototypes and capped the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season with a third place overall finish at the 6 Hours of Silverstone. OAK Racing entered as well one OAK-Pescarolo, LMP2 in the ILMC and an additional LMP2 for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Meanwhile, the team also finished 2nd overall in the LMP2 class standings.
  For 2012 OAK Racing split the design, manufacturing, and sales divisions of the team into an independent company named Onroak Automotive. Onroak launched a revised LMP2 that, as well as being raced by the team, would be made available for sale to privateer outfits ahead of the 2012 season. Following a partnership with the Morgan Motor Company, the car was branded as Morgan LMP2.
  After a 20-year absence an FIA-sanctioned World Endurance Championship was revived in 2012. OAK Racing initially entered a single car in both prototype classes and saw its #24 Morgan-Judd 2012 LMP2 take pole position and finish second on debut at the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring.
  A second, Nissan-engined Morgan 2012 LMP2 (#35) was entered at the subsequent Spa, Le Mans 24 Hours, Silverstone, São Paulo and Bahrain rounds in a move that ultimately saw the #24 car also switch to Nissan power from the British round onwards. Meanwhile, numerous engine reliability issues prompted the team to withdraw its LMP1 car from the championship after Le Mans. Following the installation of a new HPD engine the car made its competitive WEC return for the two last rounds in Asia.
  At the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, OAK Racing took the LMP2 class victory with a 1-2 finish (7th and 8th overall). Car No.35 first place, drivers Martin Plowman, Ricardo González and Bertrand Ba
caption: OAK Racing winner of the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 class (Plowman, González and Baguette).
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON 1 J1", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver.1.11", "Image DateTime": "2013:06:29 23:32:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2284", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "24342", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7788", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "280", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:06:22 17:43:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:06:22 17:43:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "110", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2582", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1451", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "24122", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "297", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "0402BE587B1746D38D588F674E3753AD", "EXIF LensModel": "1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4070"}