It’s a big week for Alpine’s Hypercar service provider Signatech, which is out to show off what it can do at the biggest endurance race in the world in order to improve its prospects of returning to the grid next year.
As it stands, Alpine is set to exit the WEC’s Hypercar category at the conclusion of the 2026 season, following a decision back in February by the brand, which cited low growth in the EV market as a key reason for its withdrawal. This decision has left Signatech needing to find a solution, and fast, to secure its future in the WEC.
During the second FIA WEC meeting of the season at Spa last month, Signatech boss Philippe Sinault was asked about rumours and prospects of a Chinese manufacturer taking over the programme. He stressed that there had been “no strong discussions”, in addition to making it clear that returning in 2027 was the priority, rather than 2028, because it would be near-impossible to retain the drivers and staff if the team had to go on hiatus.
“There are a lot of rumours, but still rumours. We talk about BYD and so on, but I have never met anyone from BYD,” he told reporters. “My main job is to prove to people we have a good level of performance and we can do a good job. If someone wants to talk with me directly, I would be happy to talk to them.
“Everyone wants us to survive. We are very touched, deeply, about this. But now it’s time to deliver. We are in a way to contact some of them, with the support of Alpine and Viry-Châtillon, because it’s a common future. We start to work hard now to contact them (manufacturers), to have something to say to you at Le Mans.”
Le Mans week has now arrived, and while Sinault has no concrete news to share regarding the future of his team and the A424 LMDh package he is wedded to, he confirmed to DSC that he has been in talks with multiple parties in the gap between races. He also ruled out any prospect of the cars returning badged as Alpine A424s as part of a semi-works or works-blessed effort in the future.
“Nothing is defined,” he continued. “To be clear, we are in the same dynamic with Alpine and Signatech to work on the future, but nothing is defined. One part of the job is to do a good job in this race. It could be a help, and after the race we will resume work on this.”
BYD has been touted as a standout prospect, but DSC believes that the other Chinese manufacturers known to be looking at sportscar racing: Geely, Chery and Great Wall, should be considered in the frame too.
“A lot of people said many things about Chinese OEMs. We’ve talked with several options, but we’ve only spoken at the moment,” he added. “We will see after Le Mans. It’s difficult to say (how positive I am). We are convinced we have the right package, all the tools to continue to work well and be at the right level. We must remain positive but nothing is clear at the moment.
“We have some interest from OEMs and investors, but we have pressed pause for the moment.”
With talks now on hold while Sinault and his team push to deliver a signature result for Alpine on home ground, we won’t hear more until this week has passed.
“We hoped to have something to say this week. It’s not the case. Time is running. After this summer, if nothing happens, it could be difficult. At the moment we are on our way to having something to say at the end of the summer. We are still focused on next year,” he admitted.
“We have several options (to work with ORECA on redesigning the car), and some of those are options that include being able to operate in 2027.”
Securing a strong result this weekend, on the 10th anniversary of Signatech’s first class victory at Le Mans with Alpine back in 2016, is top of the to-do list right now. And Sinault believes this is his best chance yet to turn heads with the A424.
“We couldn’t wait to try the new (aero) package on this track, and during the first two tests we’ve noticed that we’ve made a big improvement in drivability,” he said. “It’s much easier for our drivers to handle at circuits like Imola and Spa, which was a weak point before. And after a few laps on Sunday (during the Test Day) we became really confident that we’ve done a good job, the car is now at the level expected in terms of data and figures.
“Last year we were not at the level expected for a brand like Alpine. We have to make a good result now; a top six finish would be a great result for us.”
Images courtesy of DSC & Alpine
