Without prior testing in Austin, Alpine facing the immense challenge of COTA

New appointment and new learning stage for Alpine in the World ChampionshipEndurance with its Hypercar, the A424. After scoring new points in Brazil thanks to the No. 36 of the trio Stone - Schumacher – Vaxiviere, the A arrow goes to Texas with the firm ambition of continuing his momentum during the Lone Star Le Mans. However, the task promises to be tough for the Blues: in fact, Alpine is the only manufacturer in the Hypercar field not to have carried out private tests ahead of the American round, on a circuit that the WEC has not borrowed since 2020.

A choice made by the team led by Philippe Sinault, who preferred the time of analysis after the 6 Hours of São Paulo to the time of preparation for Lone Star Le Mans. Le Berruyer then confided to us, after the Brazilian event, thatAlpine had “more to gain from staying at home to analyze the data” than going to Texas to test the A424 on COTA. A risky bet, given the winding and bumpy nature of the route and the often high temperatures in Austin.

Four pilots Alpine have already ridden at COTA

Alpine will therefore start with a certain handicap against the seven other manufacturers present in Hypercar this weekend in Austin, but the French team will be able to count on the experience of its drivers to quickly acclimatize to the Texan environment. Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Mick Schumacher and Paul-Loup Chatin have all already ridden on the Circuit of the Americas, whether in Endurance or in Formula 1. Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will discover the American track after having studied it in the simulator.

“It’s a pleasure to find a beautiful playing field like it is in Austin. After the summer break, we are ready to go back into battle, confides Philippe Sinault, Team Principal ofAlpine Endurance Team. The cars left directly from Interlagos for Austin, so we will have a day to service our two Hypercars. From Friday, it will be essential to find the right compromises. »

“The heat will be a real issue if the forecast temperatures are there, like what we experienced in 2016 (in LM P2, Editor's note), where the drivers struggled to do more than one stint, remembers the French leader. This will have significant consequences on the strategy, to position the tires but also the drivers in the best possible performance window, as well as on tire degradation, which will be crucial even if storms could appear during the weekend. . Among the other challenges, you will have to deal with the bumpy surface of the track and have an optimal top speed without compromising performance in the enfilades. »

Better goal than others?

Before the last three meetings of the season, Alpine is in 4th place in the Manufacturers' championship, tied with BMW. If the French team wants to continue learning for the first year of the A424 in competition, the fight to keep this 4th place – the best of the others behind Toyota, Ferrari et Porsche – will also be an objective for the A arrow.

“We are entering the home stretch of the season, Fuji will follow very quickly before the finale in Bahrain. We are therefore looking forward to getting back on the track and continuing the momentum of Interlagos. We are still learning more about the operation of our package, we are working hard behind the scenes and we would like to once again show that we are on the right track”, ambitions Philippe Sinault before Lone Star Le Mans.

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