24 Hours of Le Mans: Alpine’s Hyperpole boosts motivation for the race
The qualifying session on Wednesday evening was completely crazy. The BMW No. 15 made it to the Hyperpole with the best time and the Alpine No. 35 fourth. In the French team, the optimism that was already present has increased by a notch!
Paul-Loup Chatin did a great job on Wednesday evening during the qualifications: his 4th time allowed Alpine, via No. 35, to enter the Hyperpole in a very impressive way, in view of Thursday evening.
« It is only the result of a very, very large amount of work that has been carried out by all the teams in view of Le Mans, says the native of Le Mans. « The efforts have paid off since the beginning of this program and I am very happy about it. Especially since, during the 24 Hours, success is needed during the qualifying rounds (especially with traffic management).
Having success is good, but having the best possible teammate, according to Chatin, is even better! Because Nicolas Lapierre, in car No. 36, gave him a tow on the Hunaudières. This is what allowed the Alpine to achieve the highest top speed of the session (341 km/h). This Hyperpole is a first box ticked, concludes Paul-Loup Chatin.
One goal: finish the race
In Le Mans more than elsewhere on an endurance race, qualification is far from being a judgment, since an incalculable number of things can happen over such a long time.
But Philippe Sinault, the boss of Signatech, who manages the Alpine factory program, still has faith in the abilities of his two cars to have a great race. And to finish it!
He declares: “This is our only goal and it’s not just empty words. We are a novice team and it’s not yet time to set position goals. Obviously, if we have no mechanical problems, if the drivers make no mistakes, and if all the planets align, then we will certainly achieve a result.” An ambition that Bruno Famin, director of Alpine, supports. Don’t talk to him about results. His only goal is to see the checkered flag.
Since rain is expected, there is inevitably some worry. “I wouldn’t wish rain on anyone in Le Mans,” continues Philippe Sinault. “It’s a major source of stress. But we can rely on our car, which is a fantastic working tool with enormous potential. We still have to learn how to tame it,” he concludes.
