Alphand: its crews for the 24 hours

Last year, the Luc Alphand Aventures team had a very good run during the Le Mans classic. If the #72 had been catapulted into a pile of tires not a Lola-Aston Martin, the No. 73 car entrusted to Xavier Maassen, Yann Clairay and Julien Jousse reached the finish in 16th position. The trio also took the second step of the podium in the GT1 category behind an official Corvette. This year, supported by SRT and DKR, Lucho and his men will try to do as well or even better.

The Sarthe team will not cross any factories on its way on June 12 and 13. But the competition will be there, and you will have to be impeccable to be able to claim the laurels at the end of the double clock.
The two French Corvette C6.Rs will have to battle with three Ford GTs in dazzling form, a Lamborghini Murciélago JLOC crowned in Asian Le Mans Series at the end of last year, a Saleen S7-R entered by Larbre Compétition, or even an Aston Martin DB9 whose trio of drivers shows that the parent company is watching over the grain.

Concerning the crews, as AUTOhebdo announced to you last week, Luc Alphand, although present on the pit wall, will not be able to take the wheel. The No. 6 C72.R will therefore be entrusted to the French Jérôme Policand and Stéphan Grégoire, as well as the Dutchman David Hart, a new arrival within the French team. The sister car, bearing the number 73, will see the French drivers Julien Jousse and Patrice Goueslard take turns, as well as the Dutchman Xavier Maassen.

“It was at the end of the 1000 km of Spa and our two days of private testing on the Bugatti circuit that Luc and I formed the crews, says Philippe Poincloux, the team manager. And I am particularly satisfied. These teams will be efficient and homogeneous, I am sure.
Furthermore, an important point for an event as specific as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we will count on experienced drivers with a total of six participations in the race, including 37 for the 33 crew alone. Even the last The latest addition, David Hart, already has three participations in the event to his credit as well as various commitments in FIA GT and more recently in Belcar. He also showed us his ability to adapt during the 72 km of Spa where it only took him five laps to get into the rhythm.
On the tire side, we are happy to renew our partnership with the manufacturer Dunlop. Considering our 2009 results (podium at Le Mans & Le Mans Series title), the decision was made naturally. We are working closely together and actively preparing for the long-awaited event. DUNLOP?s very good results, both in LMP2 and GT2, bode very well for the 2010 edition in GT1?