24h Le Mans
The Alpine Endurance Team took the wraps off the two A424 Hypercars entered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship at a press conference in Enstone (UK) today.
Following a thorough development phase, the French Hypercar will be making its first outing at the opening round of the 2024 FIA WEC, the Qatar 1812 km. “The development period let us refine our package and improve in all aspects with the team that will work on the programme,” said Bruno Famin, VP of Alpine Motorsports. “Despite this, the competition remains the ultimate benchmark. We will have to capitalise on our respective experiences to make incremental progress in all areas and perfect our knowledge and tyre management. But also display a sound level of reliability, a crucial aspect in Endurance racing should we need reminding.”
Alpine Endurance Team took the opportunity to announce its driver crews — a mix of experience and youth. Paul-Loup Chatin, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg share the wheel of the #35 A424, while Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Mick Schumacher. Jules Gounon is the reserve driver and will take part in testing. “I think we’ve made the right choices and I have confidence in this team, which for us is ideal to write this new chapter for Alpine in Hypercar. An appealing complementarity between loyal, well-known, and unifying drivers and others who have surprised us in recent years. As a French team, we’re also delighted to have several French drivers on board. We are now complete and can’t wait to entrust them with our beautiful A424s.”
This being the A424’s first season, Alpine is proceeding with caution. “We must be humble as we are going through considerable changes and taking a huge step forward as a team. We must learn to fully harness this technical package, be reliable and finish the races. However, with our potential, we must be ambitious as we represent the Alpine name at the highest level. I think it’s difficult to say whether we can win this year, but we’ll soon be hungry for good results with everything Alpine Endurance Team has put in place.”
See the photo gallery below for more pictures of the two Alpine Endurance Team A424 liveries.
