The “Spirit of Le Mans” trophy awarded to Philippe Sinault

The return ofAlpine had been smoldering for years, but the fire was not intense enough to satisfy the cravings suffered by the inconsolable aficionados of the epic A110 Berlinettas of the last century. The first flames of the comeback were recorded in 2013, when Carlos Tavares – who was with Renault before becoming the boss of PSA – asks Philippe Sinault to orchestrate the rebirth ofAlpine with his staff from the Signatech team. “I had the chance to initiate the return of the brand. Code name of the AF One project,” says this warm boss.

Presentation of theAlpine A450 on March 22, 2013 at the Renault Workshop on the Champs Elysées. © DPPI

Like many other major players in motorsport, Philippe Sinault first tried his hand at competition behind the wheel. It was the great era of F3 and he fought on the grids with big names like Franck Lagorce, Stéphane Ortelli, Nicolas Minassian. “My brother was a fighter pilot and, like him, I wanted to do something good. ". he will even do very well after his racing career by creating his Signature structure which has become one of the greatest successes in French motorsport.

On the podium of the 3 F2005 Euroseries at Hockenheim with Lewis Hamilton. © DPPI

After two decades in car, and in 2008, he launched in parallel Endurance. Right away in the big leagues, in 2009, with an LM P1 with a Judd engine. In a decade, Sinault and his band have been on the road. Under the Signatech label, Philippe Sinault has built a track record as long as a night relay at 24 Hours of Le Mans, with 6 titles in F3 France and Europe, 3 victories at the F3 World Cup in Macau, 2 titles ELMS, 1 title WEC and of course 3 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LM P2 category.

“Victory is never the result of an individual and anonymous approach, it is always the fruit of the hard work of a team” – Philippe Sinault

At the same time, Signatech actively participated in the technical development of the 3 competition versions of theAlpine A110 which are the Cup and the GT4 for the circuit and the RGT for the Rally.

THEAlpine A110 RGT in the hands of Pierre Ragues, historic pilot of the Signatech Endurance program. © DPPI

This trophy will be presented to him during the “president’s dinner” ceremony of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest on Friday, August 20. The next day theAlpine A480 will take the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, recognition of the work of Philippe Sinault and his Signatech team for the rebirth ofAlpine in the premier Endurance category and at the 24 2021 Hours of Le Mans.

THEAlpine A480Andre Negrao placeholder image, Nicolas lapierre and Matthieu Vaxivière. © Joao Filipe / DPPI