“We will have no room for error” warns Philippe Sinault before the 6 Hours of Spa

For the first time since its debut in the premier category, Alpine is in control of the world championshipEndurance, thanks to its authoritative success at Sebring (United States) last March. But after having opened its meter in the best possible way, Philippe Sinault's team must face the famous balance of performance (BoP) of which it will be the only one to suffer the consequences at Spa, with a loss of almost 20 kW (kilowatt), a loss of approximately 27 horsepower. Not negligible.

The course is set towards Le Mans

Because if this balance of performance will cost the French team a few tenths per lap in Belgium, this will not be the case for its competitors, namely Glickenhaus, and above all Toyota. The two mounts will keep their cartridge for the 6 Hours of Spa, before turning to the most important meeting of the year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on June 11 and 12.

But let us nevertheless note the path traveled by Alpine, which made its debut with its new prototype, the A480, just a year ago, at Spa-Francorchamps. Six podiums and a victory later, Nicolas lapierre, Andre Negro and Matthieu Vaxiviere return to the Belgian route. With a capital of twelve units ahead of their closest pursuer.

“Since our first laps with the A480 a year ago at Spa, a lot has changed, explains Philippe Sinault, the team principal of the team. We have had six races since to discover our prototype, develop it and progress in its operation.

READ ALSO: The BoP for the 6 Hours of Spa with a Alpine less powerful

This week, the cards were redistributed a bit with balance of performance adjustments. The extremely condensed schedule of the meeting means that we will have no room for error and we must start off on a good basis to make the most of the tests to adjust the car according to these new elements. »

The historic Spa-Francorchamps route, although sandwiched between the first round of the championship and Le Mans, always reserves surprises. Due to its always varied weather conditions and settings that are sometimes complicated to find.

“The playing field is also very different from Sebring, He continues. We will therefore have to do a reset while trying to ride our great momentum. The weather will also be taken into account since the forecast calls for wet weather on Friday and Saturday.

If this is confirmed, we will have to adapt to adjust our Hypercar as we have not driven much in the rain. We must also not forget that Spa-Francorchamps remains a race in its own right, despite its status as the last rehearsal before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In all cases, the entire team is mobilized and extremely motivated to continue our great dynamic. »

The lands of Belgium have always been successful for the French brand, notably scoring its first points in Endurance in 2015, before winning the following year in the quest for its first title on the international scene. From, Alpine scored a pole position (2018) and two podiums (2018 and 2019). This year, Alpine will look to capitalize on its good start to the season and find benchmarks before Le Mans. See you this Thursday in any case, for the first free tests. The start of the race is this Saturday, from 13 p.m., with 37 cars on the starting grid.