First season, the first title! The revival of the brand Alpine has had a successful first year in competition . On March 8 , the Signatech Alpine programme was announced  with two major goals : the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series.

The Alpine A450 has increased in  performance over the year. Successful at Le Mans in obtaining the ESCRA Award for Best Technical Support at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,  additionally they added the first title of the new era .

Two weeks after a brilliant victory in Hungary, the Signatech - Alpine Nissan took the start of the 3 Hours of Paul Ricard with the aim to gain a new European title. In 1974, Alpine -Renault had already triumphed on the continental stage . At the time , among the drivers were  Alain Serpaggi, Gérard Larousse , Jean -Pierre  Jabouille and Alain  Cudini, as well as Le Mans winning drivers Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud.

Qualified second on the grid, the Alpine A450 was started by Pierre Ragues . He  took a cautious start . Just  behind his main rival, the Thiriet team, he took advantage of a long stop for them of 7 laps for a lost wheel,  and moved to fourth place at the end of his stint.

After 90 minutes on the track, he handed over to  Panciatici . Forced to pit again after one lap to replace a broken steering wheel, Nelson found himself having to play catch up or the title would slip away from the Alpine team.

As the laps continued  , the Alpine A450 went from seventh to fourth position by setting many fast laps. This allowed the team  to approach the end of the race with more serenity ... Then Panciatici passed under the chequered flag in fourth place to win the points necessary for Alpine to win the title in the European Le Mans Series.

"It comes as a reward after a successful season with great flair , tenacity and professionalism ," said Bernard Ollivier . "We have benefited from the start from  huge support from the public and media . We would like to dedicate this great success to them. This can only be a step on the way though ... "

" Alpine is back " claimed Sinault Philippe , Team Principal of Signatech Alpine. "This team is a family. A family that has worked hard , which worked well . All was not easy because the programme started late. It took time to do everything . But this title already tells an emotional story. I would also like to acknowledge the performance of Jean Loup Chatin in winning the title in his class. He believed in our project and I hope to see him in our LM P2 next year. It is still early to talk about 2014 , but we are working on the entries of two Alpine A450s at the 24 Hours of Le Mans accompanied by a comprehensive programme elsewhere . "

His partner Didier Calmels adds: "This title recognizes the work and sacrifices made ​​by Philippe Sinault . His dedication to the team is wonderful and he is a perfect captain. He is passionate about the Alpine project. "

Both drivers reveal the same emotion. After an exemplary season Ragues summarizes : "I am very moved. It's pretty amazing . We had a few scares but the most important thing was to win this championship. We showed our talent at this level, with a constant progression during the season. We will celebrate. The Signatech - Alpine team deserves it! "

Panciatici continues: " There have been many twists and turns in this race. It was particularly difficult. I attacked during my first stint to move up the rankings . The end of the race was quieter . We may have had some success today, but the title was the main goal. Everyone has worked hard on the project. This is a great reward . We are a family . "

Like his LM P2 team mates, Chatin also had an eventful race. The  Junior Alpine driver finished in second place in LM PC at this last race of the season to ensure the title in his class!

Also present in the Signatech- Alpine team this year was Tristan Gommendy associated with this title in the European Le Mans Series. He drove at  Le Mans with Pierre and Nelson, and  he has actively participated in numerous tests of the Alpine A450 during the season.

3 Hours of Paul Ricard
1 Murphy Prototypes ( Hirschi / Hartley ) 93 laps
2 Morand Racing ( Klien / Gachnang ) + 6 '' 255
3 Jota Sport ( Turvey / Dolan ) + 21'' 691
4 Signatech- Alpine ( Ragues / Panciatici ) + 1'24 '' 350
5 Ginion Boutsen Racing ( Kuppens / Kapadia ) + 1'38'' 954 ...

European Le Mans Series - Teams
1 Signatech Alpine 85 points
2 Thiriet by TDS Racing 77 points
3 Jota Sport 71 points ...

European Le Mans Series - Drivers
1 Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues 85 points
2 Pierre Thiriet 77 points
3 Oliver Turvey and Simon Dolan 71 points ...

 

Taken from the press release of the Alpine Signatech team - Saturday, September 28, 2013 .