Earlier this week DSC wrote about the differences in the approach to the 2024 season the two current WEC LMDh manufacturers, Porsche and Cadillac, are taking.
Interestingly, it’s a similar tale for the two manufacturers bringing brand new LMDh prototypes to the Hypercar grid next year, with Alpine and Lamborghini having radically different experiences during their test programmes.
Alpine
The feedback from Alpine has been positive to this point, with its ORECA-based A424 out testing at Paul Ricard in September and last week at Aragon as the Signatech operation scales up for another WEC top-class attack.
The entire programme appears to be running to its original timeframe. The most recent test at Aragon, which featured a mix of short and long runs, saw Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre log 1,500 kilometres over two days, the team focusing on fine-tuning the car’s systems and aero.
“The tests went well,” said Philippe Sinault, the Alpine Endurance team principal. “The positives from the tests at Circuit Paul Ricard were confirmed at Motorland and the car continued to display a healthy behaviour. It was a pivotal stage in the programme because, after completing the shakedown tasks, we started to get all the car’s elements to work together: the hybrid system, engine and chassis.
“Matthieu and Nico put in a series of stints over more than 1,500 km, sometimes even double stints, with no reliability issues, so it was quite satisfying and constructive. During this stage, we could really begin our operating role, with a particular emphasis on understanding the car and getting the right setups.
“The smooth running of the team was palpable on the human side, which genuinely encouraged discussions ahead of the big challenge ahead. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re on the right track.”
Another test at Jerez is booked for later in the month before the team moves into endurance testing at Aragon in November.
The biggest unknown is the shape of its driver line-up. Nicolas Lapierre, Mathieu Vaxiviere and Charles Milesi have been testing the A424 so far, but there are still gaps to fill ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Mick Schumacher, Pierre Gasly and Ferdinand Habsburg are among the drivers name-checked by various outlets in recent weeks. Gustavo Menezes, a former Le Mans and WEC title winner with the brand in LMP2, is also understood by DSC to be on the radar too since confirming his departure from Peugeot. However, Menezes is known to be in negotiations with multiple Hypercar teams, with no firm landing spot as of yet.
Lamborghini
On the other hand, it’s been pretty quiet on the Lamborghini Hypercar front since the reveal of the Ligier-chassied SC63 at Goodwood in July and its first test at Imola in August.
This is because its test programme with the SC63 has been significantly disrupted by the accident at Paul Ricard in September, which saw Mirko Bortolotti suffer a substantial off at Turn 11.
The better news is that the test programme is set to get back underway shortly after the team took delivery of a replacement car within the past two weeks. But delays to the programme as a result of the setback at Le Castellet look set to force the brand to miss out on a planned appearance at the Roar test at Daytona in January (the car was, in any case, not set to race at the IMSA season opener).
There is no news yet on whether the delay might also impact on the team’s preparedness for the WEC Prologue test and season opener at Losail Circuit in Qatar in late February, early March.
There has also been no update on any plans or availability for customer SC63s, something which was spoken about during the programme’s embryonic phase.
Images courtesy of Lamborghini and Alpine
