Norma Auto Concept
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive, Motorsport |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Norbert Santos, Marc Doucet |
| Headquarters | France , France |
Area served | Motorsport, Racing Vehicles |
Key people | Norbert Santos, Marc Doucet, Edouard Sézionale |
| Products | Racing vehicles, prototypes (Group C, Group CN, LMP2, LMP3) |
Norma Auto Concept is a French manufacturer of racing vehicles, established in 1984 by Norbert Santos and Marc Doucet.
Hillclimbing and Le Mans Participation
Initially, Norma focused on creating cars for the French Hillclimbing championship. Leveraging this foundation, they engineered the Group C Norma M6, which featured an innovative MGN W12 power unit. The M6 was entered into the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans with drivers Daniel Boccard, Norbert Santos, and Noël del Bello, but it did not qualify and therefore did not compete. In 1995, the Buick-powered Norma M14 managed to prequalify 23rd but again failed to secure a spot in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. The M14 made a return at the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona, qualifying 26th overall before retiring due to an exhaust malfunction.
Formula Renault Involvement
Between 1997 and 1999, Norma participated as a team in the French Formula Renault Championship, opting to run Martini chassis rather than manufacturing their own vehicles. In 1997, Renaud Malinconi achieved eighth place overall with two podium finishes driving a Martini MK76. By 1999, Stéphane Gautré enhanced the team's performance by securing one victory and four podiums in a Martini MK77, concluding the season fourth in the championship standings. Norma ceased its involvement in Formula Renault following the introduction of the standardized Tatuus chassis in 2000.
Le Mans Racing and Group CN Achievements
The Norma M2000 prototype debuted in 2000 and remained active until 2003, mainly competing with the Sezio Florida Racing Team, where it attained a best finish of third place. This model also took part full-time in the Rolex Sports Car Series during 2001 and 2002. After four attempts, Norma finally qualified for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, starting from 36th position but retiring after more than eight hours due to engine failure. For this project and subsequent Group CN vehicles, designers Santos and Doucet collaborated with Edouard Sézionale.
Building upon this foundation, Norma produced Group CN prototypes beginning with the Norma M20, manufacturing thirty units between 2003 and 2004. The Norma M20 FC remains active in competitions such as V de V and Speed EuroSeries, clinching the V de V Prototype Endurance Challenge titles consecutively from 2009 through 2012. Driver Anthony Gandon secured second place in the Speed EuroSeries in 2012 driving a Norma M20 FC. Another entry at Le Mans occurred in 2010 with the Norma M200P fielded by Pegasus Racing, although it did not complete the race. In both 2011 and 2012, Extreme Limite campaigned the M200P in the Le Mans Series as well as at Le Mans itself, achieving a top result of fifth place at the 6 Hours of Estoril in 2011.
Pikes Peak
In 2014, Romain Dumas claimed victory at the renowned Pikes Peak hill climb piloting the Norma M20 "RD Limited," a vehicle designed specifically for this competition. Competing within the Unlimited class, Dumas set a time of 9:05.801. He successfully defended his title in 2016 with an upgraded version of the M20 RD Limited, lowering his time to 8:51.445.
FIA European Hill Climb Championship
Norma entered the FIA European Hill Climb Championship in 2014 with the Norma M20 FC Zytec, powered by a naturally aspirated 3L V8 engine. Italian driver Simone Faggioli, backed directly by Norma’s factory team, secured the Category 2 championship (Competition Cars - single-seater, sport prototypes, and silhouettes) titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and again in 2019. Their partnership resulted in numerous track records, solidifying Norma’s prominent status within this series.
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Starting in 2014, Jim Devenport took part in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs piloting a Norma M20FC equipped with a Honda K20 2-liter powerplant. His results included a third-place finish at Laguna Seca in 2014, an improved second place at Daytona in 2015, and ultimately clinched Norma's inaugural Runoffs triumph in Prototype 1 at Mid-Ohio in 2016, driving a lighter version of the M20FC.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Cars
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| Year | Car | Image | Category |
|---|
| 1984 || Norma M4 || || Hillclimbing | | 1985 || Norma M5 || || Hillclimbing | | 1990 || Norma M6 || || Group C | | 1991 || Norma M7 || || Group CN | | 1994 || Norma M11 || || Group CN | | 1995 || Norma M14 || || 24 Hours of Daytona Can-Am, 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP1 | | 1996 || Norma M16 || || Group CN | | 1998 || Norma M17 || || Group CN | | 1999 || Norma M18 || || Group CN | | 2000 || Norma M2000 || || LMP900/Grand-Am SR/SRP | | 2003 || Norma M20 || || Group CN 2L | | 2004 || Norma M20-3A || || Group CN 3L | | 2005 || Norma M20-2B || || Group CN 2L | | 2007 || Norma M20-F || || Group CN 2L/3L | | 2010 || Norma M200P || || LMP2 | | 2011 || Norma M20-FC || || Group CN 2L | | 2014 || Norma M20-FC (Hill climb specification) || || Hillclimbing Group E2-SC 3L | | 2017 || Norma M30 || || LMP3 | | 2018 || Volkswagen I.D. R (monocoque only) || || PPIHC, Unlimited }