Objective accomplished for Alpine

Alpine took victory in LMP2 (his seventh in class) at the 84th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the A460 n°36 of Nicolas lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Stéphane Richelmi. The rebadged Oreca 05 resisted the attacks of the No. 26 G-Drive Racing driven by Rusinov-Stevens-Rast, despite impressive performances from the German, to win by two minutes.

“For many people, our victory seemed certain even before the start and that’s what put us under pressure, comments Philippe Sinault, Team Principal of Signatech-Alpine. We had to show humility to approach these twenty-four hours. At the same time, we could not settle for a waiting race, because experience proves that you cannot win LMP2 like that. This year again, the night has carried out its natural selection. For our part, we tackled this difficulty by maximizing Nicolas (Lapierre)'s driving time when the conditions were most difficult. In addition, our settings were more suited to cool temperatures, typically at night. »

If Gustavo Menzes was impressive for his first start on the Sarthe circuit, Nicolas Lapierre proved that he was one of the best drivers on the field. The former resident of Toyota Racing takes its second consecutive victory in LMP2 after winning last year with KCMG.

“Our race was punctuated by a few small hazards, such as our tire strategy which was not ideal for the start of the race, recalls the pilot of theAlpine n ° 36. But we had the best performing car to be able to recover the time lost off the track. Ultimately, I believe this victory is as much linked to the qualities of the team and my teammates as to my own performance. Gustavo and Stéphane did an extraordinary job, adopting the mindset necessary to shine at Le Mans. »

Panciatici's No. 35 sister carPin Tung-Cheng was also in the fight for victory until Nelson Panciatici went off the track early in the morning at the first Mulsanne chicane after suffering a mechanical problem.

The operation is still very good for Alpine since the crew of the No. 36, already category winner at the 6 Hours of Spa, finds itself at the top of the LMP2 Championship just like the French team.

Discover the analysis of the 24 Hours of Le Mans carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2068 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms, and on newsstands from Wednesday.