Alpine must confirm its good form at Fuji
After its double entry into the points, Alpine will have to repeat this feat in Japan to show that the team has found the manual for its A424.
The final stretch is well underway. Just a few days after the 6 Hours of Austin, the World Endurance Championship heads to Japan. At the iconic Fuji circuit, Alpine will have to confirm its good result from Texas.
On the track of the Circuit of the Americas, the French team secured fifth and ninth place, thus achieving its first double points finish this season. A small feat for the French who have struggled with the A424, both in terms of performance and reliability of the machine.
« The objective is to extend the Austin dynamic, where we have made progress on our performance level, even if we still have a lot to learn. »
« Fuji is one of the most iconic meetings on the calendar and in motorsport with Mount Fuji as the backdrop. Every year, this race allows us to see how important the Alpine community is in Japan and how lucky we are to be able to count on their support. With very little time between Austin and Fuji, the real challenge lies in logistics. The teams are subject to an intense pace and ours will arrive on Monday to start revising the cars. The goal is to continue the momentum from Austin, where we showed progress in our performance level, even though we still have a lot to learn, details Philippe Sinault, team principal of the stable.
« We believe we have made progress in understanding the settings and tires, and hope to start off on the right foot from free practice 1. »
Jules Gounon back
For this penultimate round of the championship, the French team will welcome back Jules Gounon. He is replacing Paul-Loup Chatin, who will return to the #35 car for the final in Bahrain. Agreed upon before the start of the season, this substitution offers the reserve driver of the team the opportunity to continue his learning of the Hypercar after his unexpected debuts at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps, recalls Alpine.
The team will arrive in Fuji as early as Monday to fine-tune the settings of the Hypercar. The Japanese track has often been successful for Alpine. The arrowed A brand has reached the podium of its category every year between 2015 and 2018, as well as third place overall in the 6 Hours of Fuji in 2022.
