French sportscar manufacturer Alpine has purchased a minority stake in its current Hypercar service provider Signatech, DSC has learned.
This move gives Signatech long-term financial stability while allowing it to continue to operate independently going forward.
It is a clear statement of intent from Alpine, which wishes to remain in sportscar racing for years to come and achieve its ultimate goal of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in the current era.
For Signatech, which was founded in 1990, this new chapter comes after a longstanding association with Alpine, which began back in 2013 when it partnered with the Dieppe-based brand for an LMP2 class attack on the European Le Mans Series.
Since then it has been on a hugely successful journey, claiming multiple ELMS and FIA WEC LMP2 titles, three LMP2 class wins at Le Mans and a pair of overall FIA WEC victories in the early days of the Hypercar class.
That success led Signatech to where it is now, operating a two-car flagship sportscar effort for Alpine in the WEC, which according to Bruno Famin – the vice president of Alpine Motorsport – is a programme with “no limit”. And with Alpine now a part-owner of Signatech, this collaboration looks set to continue long into the future.
Speaking with DSC ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji, Sinualt explained that Alpine purchased the stake around the time of the Le Mans 24 Hours back in June.
“Alpine is my partner now, and it’s a good signal for the programme,” he said.
“It’s important to note that they are really on board now with what we do. This doesn’t change the way we operate, it is important to keep independence, it keeps us agile and creative. We managed the situation with Bruno (Famin) and that is clear.
“It gives stability to our programme. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been able to look a minimum of four to five years ahead. That’s why this is fantastic.
“I don’t like to stop and look behind, but when we signed the agreement, I stopped and said: ‘This is really nice’. But now we are looking to the future.
“We are really focused on WEC,” he continued when asked if this opens up other doors for Signatech beyond its participation in the WEC with Alpine.
“This project is so huge and each morning my staff only wake up to win Le Mans. That’s our game and we have no other involvement now in any other programmes.”
