Hugues de Chaunac, chairman of ORECA, has joined the growing list of featured speakers during the 4th annual Race Industry Week, Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.
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Hugues de Chaunac began his career as a mathematics teacher in Paris. It was at this time that he made his racing debut, as an amateur driver. In 1973, he decided to create the company ORECA (ORganisation Exploitation Compétition Automobile) to run a racing team.
After its first victories in 1973 and 1974 in the French F3 Championship, the team won its first prestigious title in 1975: Jacques Laffite was crowned European Formula 2 Champion.
It was the start of a remarkable sporting epic for the company, which would reveal a large number of talented young drivers in the following years, including René Arnoux, Didier Pironi, Jean Alesi and the man who would later become a four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Alain Prost.
Very quickly, alongside these countless successes in single-seaters, ORECA saw the need to diversify and established itself as a benchmark in France and abroad, with victories in all types of competition: single-seaters, rally, rally-raid, endurance, etc.
Originally the boss of a racing team, Hugues de Chaunac is now the chairman of an SME with an international reputation. The ORECA Group, which employs 300 people, is made up of three divisions:
- ORECA Technology — In 2007, ORECA officially became a racing car manufacturer. The engine department based at Magny-Cours has become one of Europe’s benchmarks in the preparation, design and development of propulsion systems for manufacturers, promoters and private teams.
- ORECA Store — A benchmark in multi-channel sales, offering more than 30,000 items via its www.oreca-store.com and https://pro.oreca.com/ websites and its catalogue. Over the last 10 years or so, ORECA has extended its digital platform by creating ORECA Digital Retail, an e-commerce operator in the world of cars and sport (football, rugby, etc.).
- ORECA Events — The company’s events department, which works with a large number of carmakers in a variety of areas, including network events and training, press launches and the driving experience.