Alpine returns to its Le Mans hyperpole
Withdrawing all week, the Alpine was very close to securing the pole position, this Thursday.

Throughout the week, the trio of Vaxivière – Negrao – Lapierre was over two seconds per lap. After a discussion with the authorities (ACO and FIA), the French team benefited from a revaluation of the BoP (Balance of Performance). We had a deficit in top speed. We were a bit outside of the window, that’s what we explained to the ACO and FIA. We have always had a dialogue with the ACO and FIA, and as early as Monday, we communicated with them, explains Philippe Sinault, boss of Signatech.
This increase in top speed has allowed the French team to get closer to their competitors and even surpass them, as for a large part of the hyperpole, Nicolas Lapierre held the fastest time. It was only in the final moments that Brendon Hartley and the second Toyota were unable to beat the Frenchman’s reference time. This adjustment has helped us and brought us serenity. It’s not necessarily in sector two where we gain time as we are better in sector three. We were able to slightly change the mapping to have more aerodynamic load and more comfort. Nico had a clear lap in the twisty part, which is crucial in qualifying.
The car was also set up for qualifying, which helped achieve the performance. « We optimized the level of performance with this car. »
For the race, the qualifying man, Nicolas Lapierre, will take the start. The boss of Signatech doesn’t underestimate Glickenhaus, the third team competing in hypercar. They will be there, let’s not forget it. Last year, we fought all night with them. They are more competitive than last year. Matthieu Vaxivière believes in Alpine’s chances for the race, even though he considers himself an outsider.