Pescarolo 01

The Pescarolo 01 is the first sports prototype racing car built entirely by French team Pescarolo Sport. It is designed to meet the LMP1 and LMP2 regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the Le Mans Series as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and replace Pescarolo's previous C60 chassis which had been heavily modified from cars purchased through Courage Compétition. The first 01s debuted at the 2007 1000 km of Monza, and are still used by several teams today.

Development
At the end of 2006, new regulations came into effect for the various series supported by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). These regulations required extensive changes to the layout of a chassis, leaving many teams to purchase or build new cars as their current cars would be ineligible in 2007. Pescarolo Sport at the time was campaigning two Pescarolo C60s, cars which Pescarolo Sport had extensively modified from their origins as Courage C60s a few years prior. The C60s however did not meet the 2007 regulations, and team owner Henri Pescarolo chose to become a full constructor for the first time. Many features from the C60 were carried over in the design of the 01.

Unlike the C60, the 01 was intended to be not only used by the Pescarolo Sport team, but also to be sold to customers. In order to broaden their customer base, the 01 was designed to meet the regulations of both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes with minor variation required.

2007
As the first 01s were being completed, several teams announced their intent to purchase the chassis. British team Rollcentre Racing chose to reenter the LMP1 category and campaign an 01-Judd alongside the two Pescarolo Sport cars. The German Kruse Motorsports team were the first to purchase an LMP2-spec car, using the smaller Judd V8 as a powerplant. Lister Cars also announced their intentions to purchase a chassis, which they would later modify, to replace their ineligible Storm LMP.

At the Pescarolo 01's debut in the Le Mans Series opener, the #16 car of Pescarolo Sport managed to finish in second place, between the two factory Peugeot diesels, while the #17 car finished fourth. The Rollcentre and Kruse cars also finished the event in points-earning positions. Pescarolo's #16 car earned two further second place finishes over the six race season, and was able to secure second place in the LMP1 Teams Championship. Pescarolo's #17 car struggled to earn points and finished seventh in points, but the Rollcentre team were able to outperform the one factory Pescarolo and finish fourth in the championship. Kruse's season was cut short as a fire on board the team's transporter destroyed their car.

At the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pescarolo Sport was returning as the previous year's runner-up. All four 01s from the Le Mans Series were entered, and three of them were able to successfully reach the finish. The #16 Pescarolo of Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Boullion, and Romain Dumas was classified third, eleven laps behind the winning Audi, while Rollcentre Racing's car was a further eleven laps behind in fourth place. Pescarolo's #17 car finished well back in 13th, while Kruse's car suffered mechanical problems and retired in the first half of the event.

2008
For the 2008 season, five Pescarolo 01s would once again be entered in the Le Mans Series. Pescarolo Sport and Rollcentre Racing remained as they had the year before, but two more 01s were entered by the French Saulnier Racing. The team, which had been purchased by Pescarolo Sport at the end of 2007, entered an 01 each in the LMP1 and LMP2 classes.

In the LMP1 category, the four teams faced stiffer competition from not only the returning Peugeots, but also newcomers Audi. Pescarolo Sport finished on the podium twice in five races, once each for the #16 and #17 cars. It was the #16 car which once again led amongst Pescarolos in the Teams Championship, finishing in sixth place, while every other Pescarolo team managed to earn at least a point during the year. In LMP2, the Saulnier car using the latest V8 from Judd had a best finish of second in class at the 1000 km of Nürburgring and successfully finished the year fourth in the Teams Championship, the best non-Porsche in the field.

As in the previous year, the entire contingent of 01s competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and once again nearly all were able to finish. #17 led the 01 field home in seventh place, the best finisher using petrol fuel. Rollcentre's race ended in eleventh place, while the LMP1 Saulnier entry survived for 26th. In LMP2, the Saulnier 01 was third in its class, 21 laps behind the winning Porsche, and ranked eighteenth in the overall standings. Only the #16 Pescarolo, which had earned a podium the previous year, was unable to complete the full race.

2009
In 2009, Pescarolo Sport and OAK Racing, partnered with Mazda France, competed in the Le Mans Series season, each with two Evo chassis'. Pescarolo Sport #16 finished second in the LMP1 class Teams Championship thirteen points behind AMR Eastern Europe who ran a Lola-Aston Martin B09/60. They ran a #17 car for the first two round before replacing it with the Peugeot. OAK Racing managed sixth and eighth in the LMP2 Teams Championship with eighth place car #35 earning a ten point deduction. The car could have been placed in fourth position if the points deduction was not in place.

Pescarolo Sport competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with only one car being #16. Their #17 car was be a Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. OAK Racing also campaigned their two LMP2-spec 01's at Le Mans. Pescarolo Sport managed to finish eighth overall and in class among tough opposition which included nine diesel-powered LMP1 cars as well as petrol opposition from Aston Martin Racing and Oreca. OAK Racing car #24 did well in LMP2 finishing third in class and 20th overall. Car #35 retired after 208 laps.

2011
2011 saw the return of a Pescarolo works team under the form of a new team named Pescarolo Team, succeeding to Pescarolo Sport, being bankrupt in July 2010 after their financial difficulties. Pescarolo Team will be racing in the LMP1 class in the 2011 Le Mans Series season at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. OAK Racing will race their own modified version of the 01 with two LMP1 cars and two LMP2 cars. The No. 35 OAK Pescarolo 01 finished third in the LMP2 class at the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring, the other two cars OAK Racing brought along (which were LMP1 cars) both retired, one of which led the race overall for a brief period after a full course caution. Pescarolo Team competed at the 6 Hours of Castellet with one car. Pescarolo's return was a dream comeback as they won overall. The grandfathered V10-powered car finished one lap ahead of second place car with Emmanuel Collard, Christophe Tinseau and Julien Jousse piloting the car.

2012
For 2012, OAK Racing will continue to run their modified version of the 01 in the LMP1 class for the upcoming 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Their LMP2 car will be renamed the Morgan LMP2 due to OAK's partnership with Morgan Motor Company. Pescarolo Team used the 01 for the last time at the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring (with a 5-liter engine, finishing 6th overall and 3rd among WEC LMP1 teams, behind the two Joest Racing Audi R18 TDIs) before it will be replaced by the Pescarolo 03, a modified version of Aston Martin Racing's AMR One. OAK Racing managed to finish in 2nd in the LMP2-class of Sebring, but experienced a turbulent season and finished 4th in the LMP2 Trophy.

2013
The OAK-Pescarolo 01 was retired at the beginning of 2013. OAK Racing decided to concentrate on running the Morgan LMP2. The Morgan LMP2, equipped with a Nissan VK45DE engine, enjoyed great success in 2013, winning the LMP2-class of the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans and both the Asian Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category.