AN HISTORICAL MAIDEN PODIUM IN THE HYPERCAR CLASS FOR ALPINE ELF MATMUT ENDURANCE TEAM AT SPA

As the sessions progressed, thetrio set faster and faster times and completed 190 laps, or just over 1,330kilometres, with no reliability issues. The team continued to work hard onThursday and Friday, setting the benchmark time in the second free practicesession and added 92 laps to their tally before handing over to NicolasLapierre for qualifying.

The challenge of this ten-minute raceagainst the clock became even more difficult when the A480 encountered a sensorproblem forcing Nicolas Lapierre to return to the pits. He then went back out fora single lap, which resulted in third place in the Hypercar category.

On Saturday, the tension rose up anotch with the first race of the season. Despite a good start, André Negrão wassurprised by two rivals before starting his comeback at the end of the firstlap. The Brazilian quickly regained his initial position and was even on theprovisional overall podium after 20 minutes before continuing pushing on in hissecond stint before handing over to Nicolas Lapierre.

With a shift in tactics, the A480took the lead before the third hour while Nicolas Lapierre combined performanceand consistency to consolidate Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team's place amongthe contenders for victory. The crew was about to lead a large portion of therace, alternating with the Toyota.

Shortly after the halfway point,Matthieu Vaxiviere took over and showed his speed by being the fastest on trackin his first competitive laps with the Alpine colours. Thanks to the team'sexemplary reactivity during the first full course yellow of the race, they keptthe leaders under pressure and the n°36 car gained a position when the n°7Toyota made a trip into the gravel.

With less than an hour and a halfto go, Matthieu Vaxiviere returned to the pits to hand over to André Negrão,who had a minor contact with a backmarker. The Brazilian was on the lookout forthe slightest opportunity and was in the lead until his final stop with thirty-eightminutes remaining.

Shortly afterwards, a final fullrace yellow gave the leading Toyota some breathing space, avoiding what couldhave been a splash-and-dash in the final stretch. Despite all their efforts,the Brazilian and the A480 then finished second, just over a minute behind thewinners.

Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Teamnow shifts its focus to the 8 Hours of Portimão. The second round of the 2021FIA World Endurance Championship season will take place on 13 June.

QUOTES

PhilippeSinault, Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team Principal

"It's been a long and intenseweek, but we've learned a lot. We had a small issue in qualifying with a sensorsending us the wrong power information, but we bounced back in the race. We hadthe satisfaction of battling with the Toyotas even though the strategies areobviously different because of the different technologies we use. Weanticipated that they would do more laps per stint than us, but we closed thegap by being very reactive in the first full course yellow. We also set a greatpace and had a race incident, but that can always happen in a six-hour event.André was very cautious at the start and could not fully make the most of hisfine start. We lost about 20 seconds in the process, but he battled back and stayedin contact, as did Nicolas and Matthieu later on. Our first target was to reachthe finish, and we did so. Although the podium was predicted by many, wemanaged to finish second by pushing the Toyotas. The assessment of this firstrace is positive, and we will work hard to aim higher in Portimão."

NicolasLapierre:

"We can be satisfied and proudof the incredible work done by the team compared to our competitors who seemedmore nervous today. Apart from the slight sensor problem in qualifying, we madegood progress throughout the week with a reliable car. We also had a lot of funbehind the wheel even though our limited range was somewhat frustrating. Thisis among the minor points to be corrected and optimised both by the championshipauthorities and by us as it was our first race with the A480. It was still areally solid race and the weeks leading up to Portimão promise to be exciting."

AndréNegrão:

"It's been a fantastic startto the season and the fight against the Toyotas is looking really intense. Ibelieve we did a great job, but we need to look at the data as I feel the A480has even more potential in the window of our balance of performance. My onlyregret was the minor incident in the race when I made a small mistake inthinking a backmarker saw me and was opening the door. Fortunately, we got awaywith a small puncture which did not impact the final result."

MatthieuVaxiviere:

"We worked all week to have agood race, and we managed to do that by avoiding mistakes and penalties. Weaimed to catch Toyota, and that's exactly what we did, showing that we are hereto fight. We still have some work to do though. I already have a great feeling withthe car on a single-lap pace, but I also need to analyse how I can optimise thetyre management. We are going in the right direction and that bodes well forthe future. The battle has only just begun!"

CLASSIFICATIONS

Total6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

1. Toyota Gazoo Racing n°8 – 162 laps

2. Alpine ElfMatmut Endurance Team n°36 +1:07.196s

3. Toyota Gazoo Racing n°7 + 1 lap

4. United Autosports USA n°22 + 1 lap

5. JOTA n°38 + 2 laps

FIAWorld Endurance Championship

1. Toyota Gazoo Racing – 26 points

2.Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team– 18 points