ELMS – A first success in Hungary, important for Alpine

Signatech-Alpine finally won a first victory in ELMS with the A450 of Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues by winning the 3 Hours of the Hungaroring, a victory which rewards the efforts of Philippe Sinault's structure after having won two 2nd places at Imola and had Red Bull Ring. Starting in third position on a wet track, Pierre Ragues took off cautiously before quickly increasing his pace to take control of the race and hand over the wheel to his teammate with a good lead over their opponents. Following the disappointment of Thiriet by TDS Racing which only took sixth place with the Oreca 03-Nissan of Mathias Beche and Pierre Thiriet after two consecutive successes, Alpine has the same number of points as its rival team before competing in the final at Paul Ricard on September 28.

?I quickly felt at ease in the place?Alpine A450”, confides Pierre Ragues who celebrates his first success in Endurance. “I gained momentum as the laps went by. I really had fun in the car. We adopted a perfect strategy by starting on wet tires before putting on slicks at the best time. The team managed the conditions with perfection. The end of the race was very long but I really had confidence in Nelson. It is a great pride to impose ourselves with Alpine." A second consecutive success on the lands of Signatech-Alpine guaranteeing the title to the team, Nelson Panciatici has already made his claims clear for the end of the season. “I have waited a long time for this moment. I was very careful in traffic so as not to take any risks. I am happy for the whole team. This is my first victory in Endurance and my first victory with Signature. When I start a race, I always have the goal of winning. Now, I also want to win on the Circuit Paul Ricard, at home! »

Discover the ELMS report on the Hungaroring in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.