After his adventure initiated in 2000 with a Courage chassis and then the strong ties he forged with the Le Mans-based firm, Henri Pescarolo was making such a large contribution to developing the cars entered by his team that he decided... to make his own car! This was a successful conclusion to an logical progression in line with the great stories of racing, such as the Jean Rondeau saga in the 70s and 80s. While the Pescarolo C60 was the first LMP1 designed by the former endurance driver’s team, it borrowed everything from the Courage C60. The Pescarolo 01 was the first real "in-house" creation, as its name, 01, suggests. Ascott Collection is today pleased to offer one of thee 01s for sale, the P01-12/2011 seen racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012.

The origins of the first LMP1 to be designed 100% at Pescarolo Sport

The Pescarolo 01 is a prototype that made its appearance in 2007 and was entirely built by Pescarolo Sport. The car was designed to meet LMP1 and LMP2 regulations, replacing the C60 chassis which itself derived from cars bought from the Courage Compétition team. A form of kinship can be seen with the cars previously entered by "Pesca’s" Greens, namely the Courages C52 and C60, and then the Pescarolo-Courage C60.

The "kinship" is clearly visual, with the first 01 imitating the bodywork of the C60. While the 01 chassis remained largely unchanged in 2008 and 2009, Pescarolo Automobiles’ takeover by Oak Racing saw the cars rapidly evolve, up to the final versions of 2011, of which chassis no. 10 which is now up for sale is the logical conclusion. 

Oak Racing concluded an agreement with Pescarolo Sport (Sora Group) to take over the manufacturing part of its activity. As a consequence of this, the development and construction of the chassis, body and spare parts of the Pescarolo LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes were taken over by Oak Racing from 2011 onwards. The same was true for all the business side. The technical development of the prototypes was done in collaboration with the Pescarolo Sport design office (which for a time became Pescarolo Team) before Oak Racing finally took charge of all these different competences.

Jacques Nicolet – the boss of the Oak Racing team and representative of the JN Automotive group - recovered the rights to develop and manufacture the 2010 Pescarolo LMP1s, but this allowed Henri Pescarolo to regain control of his team, with successful race entries in Europe. Jacques Nicolet, who had already had a taste of LMP1 racing in 2008, was counting on the 01 go top again. The Pescarolo 01s were renowned for their reliability and agility. Alexandre Prémat in particular widely acclaimed the car’s qualities, even saying that he found it had better balance … than an Audi LMP1!

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From the Pescarolo 01 to the Oak Pescarolo

With an excellent base seen racing in both the Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series, Jacques Nicolet decided to extend the 01’s career by upgrading the cars to bring them into line with the 2012 regulations. A shark fin, openings above the wheels, and a new front end were introduced. With Dunlop as their development partner in LMP1, the Oak Racing team carried out the research and modification work on the suspensions and the body in its own design office[1].

The Pescarolo 01s were renamed Oak Pescarolos in LMP1, while the cars that met the LMP2 rules were caled Morgans.

To tell the difference between the LMP1s and the LMP2s, which were sometimes entered with very similar orange and blue liveries, you needed to be a keen observer. First of all, it was the inlet flange located at helmet height to the left of the pilot that you had to look at. The LMP2 only had one, compared with two for the LMP1. Apart from that, there were very few differences. The width of the the front tyres was not the same, but the main changes were on the mechanical side. The LMP1 was fitted with a smaller but more powerful engine of around 60 horsepower, while being around twenty kilos lighter. The LMP2s were thus derived directly from the LMP1s, and not the other way round.

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The Pescarolo 01 OAK LMP1 #10

This Pescarolo 01 OAK was entered in ELMS during the 2011 season. It was then kept by its manufacturer Ligier Automotive until its current owner purchased it in March 2019. It had been previously overhauled by Ligier Automotive.

In Masters Endurance Legends, this LMP1 with the iconic Gulf livery has won numerous podiums: Winner at Silverstone Classic & Cota, 3rd overall at Daytona Classic 2022.

This is a very well prepared and competitive LMP1 that is now available for sale. It is eligible for many top races in Masters Endurance Legends in Europe and the United States

[1] https://www.racecar-engineering.com/cars/pescarolo-01/

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