Bruno Famin: "We are not considering a wild card" for 2025

Replaced by Oliver Oakes at the head of the team Formula 1, Bruno Famin remains in charge of all other Motorsport activities of the Group Renault à Viruses-Châtillon and therefore still supervises the program Endurance byAlpineThe man from Belfort is logically present on the Austin (Texas) side this weekend for Lone Star Le Mans, sixth round of the 2024 season of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship. The opportunity to take stock with him of the situation of the French manufacturer in WEC while the A424, the LMDh flanked by the arrowed A, is in its first season of operation.

Bruno Famin: “A year of learning”

« We said, and it is, that it was a year of learning, Bruno Famin answered us. The level of this championship is exceptional with the presence of so many experienced manufacturers who, for some, have double programs with theIMSA and the WEC. We knew that we were tackling an extremely tough part. The objective of this program is, in the medium term, to go and fight at the front as soon as possible. However, we have a lot to learn to extract the performance from this car which seems well born despite some small reliability problems that we are in the process of resolving. We know that there is a lot of potential to unlock. It is also the knowledge of the car and the discipline with the energy management, the management and optimization of the torque which is regulated by the FIA ​​and can cost a lot of performance. This was the case at Imola, but we have progressed at this level since then. It is a car a hundred times more complex than an LM P2. Performance will be found in the optimization of all these systems allowing us to use the maximum authorized power, the best management of the tires and their heating. It is a host of parameters to master which are complex, because interconnected. This is what we are learning and improving race after race. »

Unfortunately for the Dieppe brand, the season was marked by a double retirement from the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to engine failure before nightfall. It was inevitably a disappointment, because a double retirement at Le Mans inevitably hurts, admits our interlocutor. All the more so, but it's also the positive side, that the car seemed to be working rather well. The performance was there and that's the good news. We could have done without this double retirement, but it's part of the learning process and we take something positive from it. We've sorted out a number of issues and we're going to continue to improve. »

To progress, will the manufacturer use jokers to develop its LMDh? We are not considering a joker, assures Famin. We are far from having exploited the full potential of the car. The difference with other competitors lies in its exploitation. The cars are capped in performance, it is in the principle of the Hypercar category. It is in the extraction of the performance contained in the car that we must progress. »

While there are whispers in the paddock that Jules Gounon could be promoted from reserve to starter next season, the Franche-Comté native was content with a laconic: " Perhaps. » The Frenchman has already had the opportunity to drive twice in Hypercar this season at the 6 Hours of Imola and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps replacing the injured Ferdinand Habsburg.

Interview by Michaël Duforest, in Austin.

ALSO READ > Lone Star Le Mans – Drivers face the challenge of intense heat in Austin