- Alpine experienced the gamut of emotions all throughout the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans where 325,000 people were in attendance.
- Starting from the back of the grid, the A470s climbed to the top of the LMP2 category before finishing the “Race of the Century” just off the podium.
- The team’s two crews displayed resilience, performance and determination in a race marked by a scenario rich in twists and turns.
- Rendez-vous in 2024 after the presentation of the A424_β, the precursor of the future Alpine Hypercar that will challenge the elite of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Sixty years after its first appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and ten years after its return in the Sarthe, Alpine celebrated both anniversaries with the festivities surrounding the centenary of the world’s most famous 24 hours race.
From Friday onwards, the A-arrow brand’s team were in the Le Mans town centre for the Scrutineering. After this first big event in front of a large crowd, the two crews headed to the Circuit de la Sarthe for Test Day. Although Les Bleus had a productive Sunday, the first free practice and qualifying sessions under a blazing sun left a certain amount of frustration within the team on Wednesday. Caught out in an incredibly nervous field, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere had to make do with positions far down the grid.
André Negrão and Charles Milesi then turned their focus to race preparations, which began in the presence of Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo. They settled into their respective cockpits at 4 pm on Saturday. On a slightly damp track, both were careful to avoid the opening lap hazards before the team took advantage of the first safety car period to adjust the strategy of the #36 Alpine. Coupled with an excellent restart, some impressive overtaking and a superb display of driving, this decision enabled Charles Milesi to leap from second to last to first place in just over an hour whilst André Negrão also made a series of overtakes to move up the order.
Still among the leaders after they realigned the strategies, they were relayed by Julien Canal and Memo Rojas before a downpour fell over the track. The two Silver drivers showed remarkable composure to seize the slightest opportunity and take control of the LMP2 category.
Nevertheless, the night threw up several hurdles for Philippe Sinault’s team. Julien Canal was the first to be surprised by the precarious grip when he overtook a GTE Am. Thanks to the lightning intervention of the mechanics, the n°36 Alpine was back on track losing just one minute in the pits. Meanwhile, Memo Rojas and Olli Caldwell were incredibly reactive in changing conditions to get into podium contention. Shortly before midnight, however, the Mexican was the unfortunate victim of a pile-up between several cars heading to a slow zone. The damage sustained led the crew to make a 17-minute stop to repair the front half-axle, the rear end and other bodywork components.
Despite the setbacks and their consequences, Les Bleus continued to fight on in the middle of a night illuminated by the talent of their drivers. Among them, Charles Milesi emerged as one of the fastest competitors during his triple stints and got back on the leader’s lap by relaying with Matthieu Vaxiviere before Julien Canal completed his minimum driving time. Meanwhile, Olli Caldwell, Memo Rojas and André Negrão also did their utmost to rejoin the top ten.
In a race that became more and more straightforward despite numerous slow zones, the six drivers kept pushing while relying on the flawless performance of the technical team to maximise their chances for the final sprint. However, with two hours to go, Charles Milesi had to deal with a front-right puncture. His final push saw the n°36 car move up to fourth place, a gain of 19 positions, thanks to a last-minute overtake on the n°31 WRT. Concurrently, the n°35 crossed the chequered flag with André Negrão behind the wheel in ninth place, ten places better than its grid position. It is the Alpine Elf Endurance Team’s best result to date in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship, ahead of the season’s next round at Monza ( 7-9 July).
Away from the track, the A-arrow brand created a buzz throughout the week. Between a host of events, exhibitions and parades, Alpine revealed the A110 R Le Mans and the A424_β, the precursor of the hypercar that will compete in the premier category of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2024.
