Alpine tackles the centenary challenge

The pilots Alpine finally put on their helmets and wetsuits in Sarthe to begin the big week of the centenary edition of 24 Hours of Le Mans. Andre Negro, Memo Rojas and Olli Caldwell for the 35 as well as Matthieu Vaxiviere, Julien Canal and Charles Milesi for the 36 were able to enjoy the welcome from the public during the weigh-in, before heading to the great 24 Hours circuit for the Test Day. With two three-hour sessions, the blue trios of France took advantage of this track time to gain or regain their bearings on the 13,626 km of the non-permanent route.

Olli Caldwell and Charles Milesi had the mission of launching the team's program as soon as the lights turned green. The Briton took the opportunity to immediately carry out the first part of his rookie ritual: completing ten laps during the day, which he will have to complete with five night laps on Wednesday or Thursday. Despite a few interruptions, the two men and their teammates focused on their schedule: settings, track developments, consumption management and even analysis of the different types of tires offered. Meanwhile, the technical team was revising its lineups by reviewing the different pit stop procedures. We know at Alpine how hard it is to regain seconds lost in the pits on the track.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans are also won in the stands © Germain Hazard / DPPI

The six drivers took turns to gather a lot of information during a morning session where the two A470s finished in the top six of an imposing field of twenty-four LMP2s. The afternoon saw the work and the pace accelerate. Setting out to attack the clock, André Negrão lowered the team's mark to 3'36''644 to take the lead before finishing the session third in the LMP2 category. In the sister car, Matthieu Vaxiviere was in fourth place with a best effort completed in 3'36''782. At the end of the day, the two crews had completed 126 laps, or more than 1700 kilometers under their belt.

The team Alpine Elf Endurance now turns to its next deadlines on Wednesday: the first free practices and the qualifying practices. In parallel with the activity on the track, the highly anticipated Hypercar from the diamond brand will be revealed whileAlpine Cars will lift the veil on the A110 R Le Mans within theAlpine Paddock Center.

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Elf Endurance Team: “It was a constructive and productive day even if the track time was reduced compared to previous years. Despite the neutralizations, we have completed an important part of our program with many lessons to learn for the long week ahead. The aerodynamic configuration is always special at Le Mans, so the drivers needed this run to gradually understand the challenge that awaits us. It's still too early to measure ourselves against the competition, so we focused on our two cars. We have everything we need to achieve a good result and we will work to do so by carefully analyzing the data collected to approach the first free practice session on Wednesday in the best possible conditions. »

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