Our friends at the Le Maine Libre newspaper have published an exclusive interview with the ACO President Pierre Fillon yesterday which includes several very interesting pieces of news and information:
Interest from New Constructors
On the subject of potential new constructors joining the Le Mans 24 Hours field:
“Ferrari will remain in F1 until they become world champions. I would find it an excellent idea if Fiat positioned Alfa Romeo in Endurance racing.
“We are hopeful to see the return of a French brand some day.
“We are currently working/talking with General Motors, Cadillac, as well as Nissan who is working on a project after missing its last return. We are also talking with other German brands (most likely a reference to the current interest from BMW).”
“Cost control and promotion of new technologies allowing all [constructors] to compete with equal chances is central to our regulations.”
French F1 Grand Prix
Mr Fillon also indicates that FIA President Jean Todt has asked the ACO to organise a French F1 GP at Le Mans. Fillon, for the time being has declined for essentially two motives. First, he sees no need for it “I think it would not bring anything” and second, “We would need to invest 17 or 18 Million euros and finance it via the ticket booths exclusively, At best, we would be (financially) breaking even on such an event”.
New Events for the Le Mans Track
An event dedicated to old bikes (similar to what is done for cars at Le Mans Classic) seems well on the way. Timing is unclear although Fillon indicated it is for very soon.
Le Mans Resort
The project to develop the Le Mans estate to attract more year-round visitors will be discussed some more over the summer. He confirms the timing of the project’s roll-out; 2019-2023.
“It won’t be a theme park but more of an experience related to the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and (technical) innovation showing how mobility is heading towards electricity and hydrogen”.
Le Mans resort will be opened from early April to the end of October and will be located from the Musee des 24 Heures all the way down to the Karting track. Visitors will be going through LM resort in autonomous cars (Google car like).
Other projects
An ACO smartphone app will be rolled out for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours – primarily designed for newcomers. The purpose is to guide these new fans and help them get the best out of the event: where should they go, at what time, etc…
A Hotel will be built at Antares. It is a joint effort of the ACO and an as yet undisclosed hotel chain.
The Le Maine Libre story can be found here
With thanks to Mat Fernandez
