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Victor Martins enters Alpine Hypercar mix with WEC rookie test

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


«Honestly, it’s not putting on any pressure». That is what Victor Martins told Motorsport.com ahead of the Formula 2 season which he entered as one of the drivers tipped to battle for championship honours in 2024.

After all, he was the highest-placed 2023 driver to return for the new season, having finished fifth on 150 points, a total 20 greater than future Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman. This after winning the previous year’s F3 title!

However, the season has so far failed to live up to the lofty expectations with the opening five rounds ensuring that the rest of the campaign was simply a damage limitation exercise.

While this could, in part, be put down to the clear problems that ART was having in getting up to speed with how best to use the all-new F2 chassis, it is also possible that all of the pre-season hype had in fact crept under the Frenchman’s skin.

Ultimately, a run of just four top 10 results in the opening 10 races of the season derailed any hope that Martins had of gaining an F1 promotion, a possibility that became a genuine reality when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine exit was confirmed following May’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Alpine ultimately looked in-house for Ocon’s replacement, finally settling on Jack Doohan in August – but this followed what was widely viewed as a shootout test between the Australian and former F1 driver turned Alpine World Endurance Championship pilot, Mick Schumacher. Note the lack of Martins in this.

Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine for his rookie F1 season

Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine for his rookie F1 season

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

While Martins had unquestionably suffered with poor luck in the early phase of the year – an engine failure in Bahrain, being caught out by red flags in Australian qualifying and being the innocent bystander in a Monaco lap one crash — there were also very costly errors from himself like a lap one crash in Saudi Arabia and a woeful qualifying at Imola.

Combined, this appeared to put Martins out of contention for a seat which, for many, was his to lose should it become available.

However, the Frenchman has since become a tantalising prospect once more, with an uptick in form seeing him become one of the F2 form drivers with four second-place finishes in the last eight races.

Now eighth in the championship, Alpine has seen enough to position Martins as its candidate for the WEC rookie test which will take place in Bahrain on 3 November.

Alpine endurance team principal Philippe Sinault said: «We have the opportunity to run Victor Martins in the Rookie Test session. He is an excellent driver we know well, Alpine Academy member and working a lot with the Formula 1 team in the simulator.

«We want to give him a new experience behind the wheel of an endurance prototype and he will be able to bring a fresh perspective to our Hypercar, which is always interesting at this phase of the programme.»

This could offer a potential next step for Martins, with only an F1 reserve role appearing likely in the short term.

And the chance of securing a WEC race seat is a realistic prospect, with recently appointed sporting director Nicolas Lapierre retiring from his driving role creating one opening, and the future of Schumacher and questions over whether Mercedes would allow Jules Gounon, who is the current reserve driver and has several outings to his name already, to complete a full campaign creating further space.

Alpine is fourth in the 2024 Hypercar standings

Alpine is fourth in the 2024 Hypercar standings

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Speaking of his initial opportunity in the test, Martins said: «I am super happy with this opportunity, and I am very grateful to Alpine Endurance Team for allowing me to continue learning in the world of motorsport.

«It is an opportunity for me to continue to build my experience with new engineers and a new car, as well as an opportunity to show my potential.»

But while the opportunity to compete in WEC and the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours are likely to be an enticing prospect, Martins conceded: «Although I am very focused on my single-seater journey, it is a challenge that I accept with pleasure and I hope that we will maximize the Rookie Test day, both on my side for learning, but also to allow the team to have good data as part of their development.

«I can’t wait to discover this Hypercar, which looks very fast!»

So is Martins the WEC answer that Alpine is searching for, or is he simply a box ticked for the rookie test?

Well, the answer is probably yes to both. He is the ideal answer to fill the potential driving void for the future and could likely become a top-level talent in WEC. But given that even in the statement released by Alpine confirming his test he is pouring cold water on the prospect of a switch at this stage of his career, it seems that a full-time crossover is not foremost on his radar.

While there is no harm in running a third F2 season, it is not something that is viewed in a broadly positive light, meaning that many drivers linked to F1 teams fall instead into reserve roles, with varying levels of testing programmes to keep their hand in and evaluate their F1 potential.

Just as was the case with Doohan, this is the most likely option for Martins.

So having answered yes to him being the ideal answer to Alpine’s problems – which he undoubtedly has the potential to be – the answer to the question, will he be the eventual answer, is probably a no at this stage.

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Porsche set to take up third Le Mans entry after winning IMSA GTP title

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Porsche looks set to take up the extra entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours it gained for winning the IMSA SportsCar Championship crown at Road Atlanta last weekend. 

Thomas Laudenbach, boss of Porsche Motorsport, told Autosport/Motorsport.com that it “absolutely makes sense” for the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport squad to run a third 963 LMDh in the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship in addition to its two full-season entries. 

At the same time he stressed that no final decision has been made on the additional car.

Porsche successfully applied to have an extra factory 963 on the Le Mans grid in 2023 and ’24, but for next year it has the additional entry guaranteed after securing the IMSA GTP title with the #7 car driven by Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron at the Petit Le Mans 10-hour race that closed out the season last Saturday. 

“It is not decided yet, but it is more likely we will run the three, especially now we have the entry,” said Laudenbach. 

“You need budget for that, but we all know how quickly a car can be taken out of the race at Le Mans. 

“That is why we have done it with three for the past two years and why there is a good chance we will do it with three again.”

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Porsche looks set to go into the Le Mans WEC round next June with a reduced contingent of cars in the Hypercar class even if it decides that PPM will field a trio of cars for the third year in succession.

The customer Jota team, which is running two Porsches in Hypercar this year, will switch over to Cadillac in 2025 when it becomes the General Motors brand’s factory representative in place of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Even if Proton Competition, the second customer team running the 963 in WEC, expands to two cars, Porsche’s full-season representation in WEC looks certain to be reduced from five to four cars. 

Laudenbach confirmed that an announcement of PPM’s 2025 driver line-ups across its world championship and North American campaigns will be made before the conclusion of the WEC season.

“There will be an announcement before the race in Bahrain [on 2 November],” he said. 

With that news imminent, it appears unlikely that a decision on the third car at Le Mans will be made in time for its drivers to be included in the announcement.

IMSA is allowed to award three entries for the Le Mans WEC blue riband round in June by race organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. 

One of these so-called ‘at-large entries’ goes to the winning car in the GTP teams’ championship, which was won by the #7 PPM entry of drivers’ title winners Nasr and Cameron. 

The winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Awards gain the other two. 

These awards go to a bronze-ranked driver competing in LMP2 and GT Daytona respectively based on a separate classification to the main class championships. 

Nick Boulle, who also won the LMP2 title with Tom Dillmann at Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen, and Orey Fidani, who raced with Matt Bell at the AWA Chevrolet team, claimed the two awards and therefore an automatic Le Mans entry each.

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Pourchaire gets Peugeot Hypercar chance in Bahrain WEC test

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire will get his first run in a sportscar prototype when he joins Peugeot for the World Endurance Championship’s Bahrain rookie test next month.

Pourchaire is one of the two drivers to be selected by the French manufacturer to drive the 9X8 2024 LMH at the Bahrain International Circuit on 3 November, along with his former F2 rival Clement Novalak.

Pourchaire had previously revealed his ambition to race in the WEC, telling Autosport that he «watches almost every race» and that the Le Mans 24 Hours is an event that he «would like to do one day».

However, there will be no immediate opportunities available at Peugeot’s Hypercar squad, which has already locked in its line-up for 2025 after promoting Malthe Jakobsen to replace new Porsche factory driver Nico Muller.

«For Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, these Rookie Tests in Bahrain bring a fresh perspective, even though reconditioning the cars after the race requires a lot of work from the entire team,» said Peugeot technical director Olivier Jansonnie.

«It is always very motivating and rewarding to see young drivers arrive with wide eyes, discovering the team, the car, etc.»

«We selected two different profiles. Theo is single-seater-oriented with an already impressive track record and is recognised as one of the single-seater hopefuls.

«Clement has more endurance experience with notable results in ELMS, particularly a second place in LMP2 at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. His statistics in this discipline impressed us. I think it’s an interesting combination.

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

«They will be guided by Paul di Resta and Malthe Jakobsen, who also went through this process before being appointed full-time next season. It is always very interesting for us to get technical feedback from fresh perspectives.»

Pourchaire is still searching for a drive next year after admitting recently that he doesn’t have a «lot of money to put on the table».

The Frenchman started the season in the Super Formula series with Team Impul, but ended up splitting with the squad after just one round when an opportunity came to enter IndyCar with Arrow McLaren.

However, his relationship with Arrow McLaren in IndyCar also turned out to be short-lived, as the team replaced him with Indy NXT graduate Nolan Siegel at around the mid-way point of the year. Pourchaire returned to the outfit for a one-off appearance at Toronto in place of Alexander Rossi, but has been out of action since then.

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Novalak, who previously raced against Pourchaire in F2, also left the category after 2023 in favour of a new career in sportscar racing.

Competing for InterEuropol Competition in an ORECA-Gibson 07, he finished on the podium in the recent European Le Mans Series event at Portimao. A maiden outing at Le Mans yielded a second-place finish in the LMP2 class.



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Bourdais returns to WEC in Bahrain finale with Cadillac

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Bourdais will join the factory Cadillac team for the final round of the 2024 World Endurance Championship in Bahrain early next month.

Bourdais, the outright 2014 Daytona 24 Hours winner, will join Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in the #2 Chip Ganassi-entered Cadillac V-Series.R for what would be his third appearance in WEC this year.

The Frenchman started the season with the American outfit in the new Qatar 1812km round before returning at the Le Mans 24 Hours in Ganassi’s second entry, teaming up with IndyCar star Scott Dixon and sportscar ace Renger van der Zande in the #3 Caddy.

“It’s good to get back in the car with Alex and Earl,” said Bourdais, who finished third in the recently concluded IMSA SportsCar Championship with the US arm of the Ganassi Cadillac squad. 

“Performance-wise, it seems like the car is in a really good window. It’s pretty light, good on power and competitive, so there is definitely something to play for. Bahrain is a really big challenge. It’s an extremely abrasive racetrack. 

“Tyre deg is very high and using the tyre the right way and not hurting it but making it function without making it slide is a critical thing to do. You have to do it with setup, dampers, traction control and you name it. We’ll try to find some recipes that work and hopefully, we’ll wind up in a good spot.”

Ganassi/Cadillac Racing has been one of the few teams to take advantage of the regulations to run a two-driver line-up for six-hour races this year.

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Sebastien Bourdais

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Sebastien Bourdais

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

This meant that Lynn and Bamber raced as a duo in five of the eight rounds this year, with Bourdais partnering them for the pair of rounds in the Middle East at either end of the campaign and IndyCar champion Alex Palou serving as the third driver in the Le Mans centrepiece event.

It marked a shift in the marque’s approach from 2023, when the now-retired Richard Westbrook took part in every round along with Lynn and Bamber.

The WEC was planning to mandate three drivers in each Hypercar entry from 2025, but appears to have gone back on that idea after pushback from teams.

Cadillac’s best result of the season so far is a fourth-place finish achieved at the returning Austin event in September.

The General Motors brand will end its partnership with Ganassi following the Bahrain event to begin a new chapter with Jota, which will be running a pair of V-Series.Rs in Hypercar next year after competing in 2023-24 with customer Porsche machinery.

“We started off the season really well. Eventually [we] didn’t get the result because of the circumstances, but we certainly deserved a good finish,” said Bourdais.

“The car was very competitive in the race and we played the short game really well. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a tough season results-wise. There was always something coming in the way of a good result. If we could send it off on a high that would be pretty cool.

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Sebastien Bourdais

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Sebastien Bourdais

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Other changes

Elsewhere, Alpine has shuffled its driver line-up following Nicolas Lapierre’s decision to retire from racing. While Jules Gounon will join the team as expected, he has been drafted in the #35 Alpine A424 alongside Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin.

Charles Milesi moves from the #35 car to team up with Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 car, taking the spot previously occupied by Lapierre.

In LMGT3, Conrad Laursen will replace Clemens Schmid in the #78 ASP Lexus RC F GT3, while Giorgio Roda and Giammarco Levorato will race the #88 Proton Ford Mustang GT3, with both Mikkel Pedersen and team owner Christian Ried stepping away from the cockpit for the bonus points finale.



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British powerhouse RML eyes Le Mans Hypercar chance

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


British motorsport powerhouse the RML Group is open to operating a Le Mans Hypercar project if an opportunity arises to join the World Endurance Championship grid.

The Wellingborough-based company is best known for carrying Vauxhall’s and Nissan’s works teams to British Touring Car Championship glory during the halcyon 1990s Super Touring era and claiming World Touring Car Championship crowns for Chevrolet in the 21st century.

But RML, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, has its origins in sports-prototype endurance racing.

The first RML project was the Ecurie Ecosse Group C2 squad that claimed teams’ title glory in the world sportscar championship in 1986, before the company ran the factory Aston Martin operation in the main Group C class in 1989 and then partnered Nissan North America’s 1990 Le Mans 24 Hours assault.

While RML has not had a full race team since it bowed out of the WTCC when Yvan Muller won the 2013 title with the Chevrolet Cruze, its chief executive Michael Mallock Jr said when asked by Motorsport.com that that the will is «100%» there to return in that form.

“Hypercar is a fantastic concept. The growth of WEC and IMSA has been incredible, and it’s fantastic to see so many manufacturers,» he said.

“It’s a bit frustrating that we’re not there actually in a lot of ways, but we would love to be there as a team.”

As well as a string of high-performance road-car and record-breaking projects, RML supplies spec parts to the BTCC, and its advanced work on battery technology means that it is now working with undisclosed clients not only in Le Mans Hypercar, but also in Formula 1.

RML ran the Nissan Primeras that claimed 1999 BTCC title with Laurent Aiello

RML ran the Nissan Primeras that claimed 1999 BTCC title with Laurent Aiello

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images

The group has also revealed a special edition Hypercar-inspired P39 project, based on the Porsche 992.1 Turbo S and limited to just 10 examples.

“We are in Hypercar in unknown ways as well, with our battery technology working with an OEM on their next three generations up,” added Mallock Jr.

“The other area where we’re using our battery know-how capability is in the big single-seater championship [F1]…”

RML is already active in lower echelons of endurance racing through its production of the Lotus Emira GT4 car, which follows its work on the Jaguar F-type, and the company is also keen to explore GT3 avenues.

“Endurance racing is very much the core of Mallock and RML,” said Mallock Jr. “If there was an opportunity with a well-funded GT team and OEM, we would absolutely be there.

“We’ve got a lot of long-term staff – this year we’ve had three 20th anniversaries, which is quite impressive.

“Even though the business has evolved hugely, there’s still a lot of the core motorsport love and focus throughout the business.

“We wouldn’t struggle to get support from within our business if the right motorsport opportunity came up.”

A special feature on RML’s 40 years in motorsport will feature in this week’s edition of the Autosport Engineering supplement, out on 17 October. Click here to find out more about Autosport magazine.



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Lamborghini can target WEC wins next year with car upgrades

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat believes Lamborghini can challenge for victories in the World Endurance Championship in 2025 by upgrading the SC63 LMDh.

Lamborghini joined the Hypercar class of the WEC this year with a single car entered on a factory basis by Iron Lynx and raced by Kvyat, Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Mortara.

The Italian marque’s best result of the year is a 10th-place finish, achieved at the Le Mans 24 Hours centrepiece race in June against a larger grid of 23 Hypercar entries.

Kvyat said he was content with the performance of Lamborghini in the WEC so far, but stressed that it needs to bring in new developments to the SC63 in order to fight at the front next year.

He revealed that the race to get the car homologated in time for its debut in the WEC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in March meant that not all parts that went on the car were optimised for performance.

Thus, updates — potentially by invoking some of the five evo jokers allowed to Lamborghini under the initial five-year lifespan of the SC63 — are necessary over the winter break in order to close the gap to the frontrunners.

“There is a lot of work to do, but it’s our first year, we don’t have to forget it,” said Kvyat.

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

“We had a very short testing programme before starting the season. A lot of areas that had to be homologated were quite raw and maybe not performance-optimised.

“We did a very clean Le Mans, which was very good for the team. And now our first Hyperpole [at Fuji] because we have always been missing pace [previously]. Finally, we were really able to tick that box.  

“It means we can do it and I would say [think about] what we can do with improvements. 

“We have to bring updates and then we can fight for top five and wins. I hope. That’s the goal, it’s my target. 

“I don’t give discounts to anyone. I’m demanding in that respect.”

The 2024 WEC will conclude with an eight-hour fixture at the Bahrain International Circuit, a track known for its abrasive nature and high-tyre degradation.

Lamborghini had shown encouraging signs at the previous round in Japan with Kvyat qualifying the car inside the top 10, but the 30-year-old is keeping a lid on his expectations for the title decider. 

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: Andreas Beil

«We will see. Again, we are unfortunately in a place where we cannot say okay we are able to do things consistently, we are able to perform consistently. There are a lot of things that need to be analysed and so on why the performance is there [at Fuji] and so on. So we really need to be very careful with our analysis. 

“Of course, in Bahrain, we cannot have too many expectations. I do not expect anything different in terms of the performance package we have. So zero pressure.”

 



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Porsche’s Christensen wants to stay in WEC, despite IMSA switch speculation

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Porsche driver Michael Christensen said he would like to remain in the World Championship next year despite speculation linking him with a move to the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Porsche revealed last month that it would be making changes to its factory crews for its third season with the 963 LMDh in the Hypercar and GTP classes of WEC and IMSA respectively.

These could include potential driver swaps between the two series, similar to how Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell switched positions ahead of 2024.

There also remains a possibility of Porsche downsizing its WEC line-ups to run two drivers in each car for the six-hour races that make up half of next year’s eight-round calendar.

Amid a possible shuffle in drivers, including rumours that Christensen could be moved to IMSA, the Le Mans 24 Hours class winner has said he would prefer to remain in the WEC in 2025 for what would be his 10th straight year in the world championship.

He explained that familiarity with the WEC side of the Porsche Penske Motorsport operation, as well as having an automatic entry to Le Mans, were key reasons why staying put is more enticing to him than returning to the series where he spent a single season racing the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTLM class a decade ago.

“My preference has always been WEC, I really like that [series],” the Dane told Motorsport.com.

“I did race in IMSA in 2014, my first year of the factory driver contract and I liked it. I really think IMSA is cool as well, but I felt more at home in WEC.

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Photo by: Richard Dole

“The way the championship is built up, it is [based] in Europe, the race tracks, the team and the way pitstops are done, all these things are more familiar [to me].

“On top of it, and probably the most important [thing] is that you have the security to do Le Mans. You are working with the [same] team in Le Mans that you are racing with [in all other] all races as well. So, of course, that’s why I prefer to do WEC.

“Speaking about next year, there has been no communication really between us, or me at least and Porsche. So far they have not communicated anything.

“The only thing I know is the rumours which are around the paddock, but whether that is true or not, no idea.”

Christensen and his team-mates in the #5 Porsche, Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki, currently sit fifth in the drivers’ standings heading to the Bahrain finale in November.

The championship is led by the sister Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, with the trio holding a 35-point lead with only 39 up for grabs in the bonus-points decider.

Porsche is yet to announce when it would be invoking first of the five evo jokers allowed to it under the original five-year rule cycle of the 963 LMDh.

A planned upgrade of its hybrid engine, which centred on a switch to a 90° crankshaft from a 180°, was abandoned after it was able to get through this year’s Le Mans without any major reliability issues.

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The German manufacturer heads the standings in both the WEC and IMSA, as their respective seasons draw to a close in November and October respectively.

Christensen said there are still some areas where Porsche can improve the 963, highlighting a straightline speed deficit at Circuit de la Sarthe that contributed to it finishing outside the podium in the WEC’s centrepiece event this year.

“There are always things to update, there are always things to improve and we also saw that early in the project and still have some things which are not solved and which can’t be solved with set-up,” he explained.

“So for sure we have some things that I believe we should focus on to try to improve. Whether this is possible or not in terms of regulations, I have no idea. This is the management who knows that.

“But for sure we have things to improve and this you can say wish more for, Le Mans top speed for example.

“I can’t tell why we are not good enough there, but we lack a lot [of stop speed].

“And when you look at the data from Le Mans, of course it’s just one race but it’s the biggest race and with a lot of points, so that and some [other] mechanical stuff for detail.

“A few things we should be focused on. I’m not sure if it is possible to change. There is always something to improve.”



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Lapierre to become Alpine sporting director in WEC after retirement

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Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre will take a new management role at Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team following his retirement from racing.

Having announced his decision to hang up his helmet earlier this week, Lapierre will move into a newly-created role of sporting director at the Alpine Endurance Team to assist team principal Philippe Sinault.

Although his new job will formally begin on 1 January 2025, the Frenchman will take up the position in November’s Bahrain 8 Hours finale in order to familiarise himself with the role.

The 40-year-old pulled the curtain down on his racing career after last month’s Fuji round to focus «on the other side of the pitwall», a role that brought him more joy than he anticipated since he started CLX Motorsport — which operates under the Cool Racing banner — in 2020.

«Alpine has always shown a tremendous amount of confidence in me, not least by giving me the chance to develop the A424 and then start this first season behind the wheel,” he said.

«After expressing the wish to end my career as a professional driver, I am delighted to confirm that I am continuing the adventure with the team, but this time on the other side of the pitwall.

«I’ll try to bring all my experience to our drivers and be the link with our technical teams. Endurance racing is on a great trajectory, and I believe in the Alpine project. We must continue our relentless efforts to reach the next levels together.»

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Lapierre has been racing alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh in 2024, scoring the programme’s maiden podium finish in Japan in September.

With Lapierre stepping down from racing with a round still to run, his place in the two-car Alpine team in Bahrain will be taken over by reserve driver Jules Gounon, although Alpine didn’t explicitly confirm that he will be driving the #36 A424.

Gounon was already down to compete in the eight-hour race at the Bahrain International Circuit in place of Charles Milesi as part of a plan agreed internally before the start of the season. But it now appears that Milesi will see out the season in the #35 Alpine.

On the decision to promote Lapierre to a management role, Sinault said: «We have been discussing this prospect together for several months now.

«Apart from our mutual desire, it represents a logical and natural continuation of the prosperous collaboration we have shared over the last few years, particularly under the Alpine colours.

«We’ve grown up together and won many races and several titles! We know each other exceptionally well, and there is mutual trust. I want to thank Nicolas for accepting, and I’m looking forward to seeing him contribute to the team’s development in his new role.»

Lapierre played a pivotal role in the development of the Alpine A424 challenger, having brought with him more than 15 years of experience in prototype machinery.

«Right from the outset of the A424 programme, Nicolas has been one of the key actors. He was the first to drive the car and contributed significantly to its development,» said Alpine motorsport chief Bruno Famin.

«He is part of the Alpine family. In addition to his proven qualities as a driver and human being, he has gained a wealth of experience outside the car in recent years.

«Together with Philippe, it was clear to us that Nicolas could naturally bring a great deal to the team through his sporting director role, and we are genuinely delighted that Nicolas has
accepted.»

It remains unclear whether Lapierre will stay as team principal at Cool Racing, an outfit that he founded together with Alexandre Coigny. When asked by Motorsport.com, an Alpine spokesperson declined to comment.

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Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Lapierre retires with immediate effect

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Four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre has retired from the cockpit with immediate effect to concentrate on running his Cool Racing team.

The announcement from the Frenchman, 40, on Wednesday means that last month’s Fuji round of the World Endurance Championship, in which he finished third with Alpine, was his final race. 

“It is time for me to hang up my helmet and end this chapter of my life,” said Lapierre in a short video post on Instagram. “It was great to finish this journey on the podium and spray the Champagne once more. It was an honour for me to live for my passion, with so many years doing what I love.”

Lapierre said that it was now “time for a new chapter of my life on the other side of the pitwall”. He added: “I love it as much as I loved racing, so I won’t be far away.”

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Photo by: Alpine

Lapierre will be focusing on the CLX Motorsport operation he founded with Alexandre Coigny in 2020. The team runs under the Cool Racing banner and is based in Annecy in France, just across the border from Geneva. It has competed in LMP2 and LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series, as well as at the Le Mans 24 Hours in P2. 

Lapierre took the opportunity in his video statement to thank multiple players from a career in which he was a race winner in GP2 and A1 Grand Prix and in the WEC with both Toyota and Alpine. 

Among them were Philippe Sinault, who had a role in some of his biggest successes in both single-seaters and sportscars.

Sinault runs the Signatech team that has masterminded Alpine’s endurance racing campaigns since 2013 and its forerunner, Signature, for which Lapierre won the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2003. 

He also singled out Jean-Paul Driot, the late founder and boss of the DAMS team.

“I am thinking also of Jean-Paul Driot; he left too early,” said Lapierre. “With him and his team I could get my first GP2 win in 2007 — he definitely changed my career.”

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Also mentioned were ORECA boss Hugues de Chaunac, who gave Lapierre his first chance in sportscar racing in ’07 and with whom he won the 2011 Sebring 12 Hours aboard a semi-works Peugeot 908 HDi LMP1. 

Lapierre’s contract with ORECA smoothed his way into Toyota’s LMP1 line-up on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012 because the French organisation was part of the Japanese manufacturer’s race set-up until the end of 2020. 

He would go on to win six WEC races with Toyota before being controversially sacked mid-season in 2014 after crashing at both Le Mans and the Austin round, even though he was on slick tyres in heavy rain both times. 

Lapierre paid tribute to former ORECA technical director David Floury, who now fulfils the same role at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, for his encouragement at that time. 

“He was a very important person in my career and also my life,” he said. “I was probably at the lowest point of my racing career: I was very close to stopping racing and he was the one who brought me back.”

Lapierre’s announcement comes at a time when Cool is known to be one of the candidates to partner with Hyundai Motorsport as it gears up for its entry into the prototype ranks with a new LMDh under the South Korean manufacturer’s premium Genesis brand. 

It is expected that Lapierre’s place in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere for the 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain will be taken by Jules Gounon. 

Gounon is Alpine’s official reserve driver and was brought into the line-up for Fuji as part of a plan agreed before the start of the season to increase his experience in the Hypercar division. 

He replaced Paul-Loup Chatin and the same agreement called for him to step in for Bahrain in place of Charles Milesi, who has been Alpine’s standout performer during its move towards the front of the Hypercar field since Le Mans.

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