Preses relīze
A now well-established tradition, the season kicked off with the Prologue. Conducted this year at Sebring (USA), this two-day pre-season test reunited all the competitors for the first time this year.
Alpine Elf Endurance Team used the four sessions to accelerate its preparations. The target for Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere was to gather as much information as possible in the first running of the A-arrowed brand Hypercar at the North America's oldest permanent road racing facility.
Matthieu Vaxiviere was the first to take on this mission on Saturday morning before being relayed by André Negrão and Nicolas Lapierre, who took the crew to second place in the Hypercar category before a violent storm brought the session to a premature end. However, the three men were back in the car in the afternoon in dry conditions, where Matthieu Vaxiviere set the second-fastest time of the day.
On Sunday, the hard work continued in cooler temperatures. Despite six red flags, Nicolas Lapierre again lowered the team's benchmark time in 1:48.497s to set the fastest time in a Hypercar. In total, the trio took completed 214 laps or nearly 1,300 kilometres in the #36 Alpine A480 on a track that is nevertheless challenging with its many bumps and junctions between the different surfaces.
After a final round of preparations involving a complete reservice of the A480, Alpine Elf Endurance Team will return to the track on Wednesday for its first challenge of the year: the 1000 Miles of Sebring, the opening round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Nicolas Lapierre
"It's always a pleasure to be back on such an atypical track. Sebring is a real challenge for both cars and drivers. It's not an easy place to start the season as it's one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar, but we've had two productive days, with no major problems and heading in the right direction despite mixed weather conditions. The team did a great job, but we'll have to wait for the first few stints of the race to see where we stand."
André Negrão
"The team, Nicolas and Matthieu did a great job during these two days to be ready for the first race. Our long stints on Sunday afternoon were very promising, but we won't know the real pecking order until the race as I think some of our competitors didn’t show their full potential during the Prologue. Now it's time to get down to business and take on the challenge of the 1000 Miles of Sebring, a long race where overtaking and traffic management should be more complicated than ever."
Matthieu Vaxiviere
"The overall assessment of the Prologue is positive. We completed almost all of our programme. The car felt good, the reliability was good, and we were able to work in-depth on different setup options. The gaps between the Hypercars and the LMP2s were quite small, which promises an even tougher race than usual at Sebring. There is still one unknown about the balance of performance that will be adjusted this week, but we will be up for the challenge!"
Philippe Sinault, Alpine Elf Endurance Team Principal
"Beyond the first few laps of the Alpine A480 at Sebring, we had a very busy programme with a lot of things to try following our winter tests which were hampered by logistical issues. We did well as we ticked almost all the boxes despite the fickle weather in the first half day. The car immediately proved to be performant and well balanced. We now trust the sporting authorities to readjust the various performance parameters of the Hypercars to make things easier as the LMP2s at present are very fast on the straights, which makes them particularly difficult to overtake at Sebring. The Prologue was also the first time this year that we had a full field of cars on track, and the traffic will be as complicated as ever to manage in the race. After two days of testing on a circuit that took its toll on the car, the team is now doing a complete overhaul of the A480. The foundations have been laid, and we will continue to work on the track from Wednesday to take on the race in the best possible conditions."
2022 Official Prologue Officiel – Sebring
1. Realteam by WRT n°41 1:48.089s
2. WRT n°31 1:48.372s
3. United Autosports n°22 1:48.439s
4. Alpine Elf Endurance Team n°36 1:48.497s
5. Team Penske n°5 1:48.751s
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