Strakka Racing has abandoned its World Endurance Championship LMP1 program in favor of a partnership with Japanese constructor Dome, which will provide the British team with its newest LMP2 coupe, the Strakka Dome S103.
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Strakka and Dome announced a long-term partnership which will see the British team building P2 cars in England for its own use and for sale to customers.
Strakka Racing team manager Dan Walmsley told Autosport.com: “We went to Dome and said we want to be involved as a partner and not just a customer. We have helped fund the project and we will be supply chain managers: we will build the cars in the UK and provide service for customers.”
In a press release, Hiroshi Fushida, President of Dome said “We are delighted to team up with Strakka Racing, in a partnership that will enable our cutting-edge designed S103 become reality and race on tracks all over the world.
“Strakka Racing’s results at Le Mans and performances in both the Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship racing have impressed us, and our joint sportscar racing expertise will enable us to maximize the car’s full potential.
“We are confident the Strakka Dome S103 will become a very competitive and desirable cost-capped LMP2 race car.”
The new car will be powered by Nissan’s 4.5-liter V8, one of the most common and most reliable engines in the class. The chassis promises to be highly aerodynamically refined, as it has already spent a good deal of time in Dome’s half-scale wind tunnel.
“With the opening race of the WEC only five months away, it’s a very tight schedule, but between Strakka Racing and Dome, we’re confident we have the best team of skilled engineers to hit our targets and to debut a fast, reliable and competitive car,” Walmsley said in the same press release.
Strakka has had success in both the P1 and P2 categories, winning P2 at Le Mans in 2010 and finishing second in the European Le Mans Series in 2010 and 2011, while winning the Le Mans P1 Privateer class in 2013 and finishing second in the WEC Privateer class in 2012 and 2013.
However, with new regulations meaning a new car for 2014, Strakka had to reevaluate its participation in the top class. The team had run an HPD ARX-03c-Honda, but the latest HPD P1 offering would not include the option of running a hybrid power system, which could have left the car at a disadvantage in the class.
Strakka withdrew its team halfway through the 2013 season to amass funds and make plans for its 2014 efforts. After much deliberation, the team decided that P1 privateer was not the best investment.
“We did heavily assess remaining in LMP1, but the level of investment for a 2014-rules car would have been difficult to sustain, which forced us into a rethink,” Walmsley told Autosport.
Team owner and driver Nick Leventis said in a press statement: “Following the success Strakka Racing has achieved in sportscar racing, this partnership with Dome is an important and logical next step to develop the Strakka team as a global motorsport brand.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to withdraw from the remainder of the 2013 World Endurance Championship and we’d like to thank WEC and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for their understanding.
“Now, we’re looking to the future and the challenge that lies ahead of us, and we’re confident that the development we have planned for the Strakka Dome S103 demonstrates our future commitment to the FIA World Endurance Championship.”
Strakka Racing was formed in 2007 by Nick Leventis and raced in international GT series for two years before stepping up to LMP1 in 2009. The team moved to P2 for two years, finishing runner-up twice in ELMS, then in 2012 moved back to P1.
Dome was formed 1975, and first raced at Le Mans in 1979 and for several years built cars for Toyota’s motorsports division. The company’s most recent effort was the S102.5 Judd, which Pescarolo Team campaigned at Le Mans in 2012. The car finished 15th after engine issues cost it time in the pits.
