There’s no little excitement at Le Mans around the prospects of Alpine potentially scoring a win at Le Mans this year, their grandfathered LMP1, now badged as an Alpine A480 with every prospect of race reliability versus the much newer Hypercars from Toyota and Glickenhaus.
There’s excitement too around the now expected confirmation of a future programme in the class with a new car for Renault’s sporting brand with Team Manager Philippe Sinault recognised this year with the ACO’s Spirit of Le Mans award marking the spectacular success of his Signatech outfit in LMP2, as they embark on their new top-class adventure.
Philippe Sinault, Team Manager of Alpine Elf Matmut: I am extremely proud that I have been nominated as 2021 Spirit of Le Mans. It’s a fabulous acknowledgement for the 55-year-old child that I am! I should say ‘We have been nominated’ as I must share this award with my entire team and our partners. Spirit of Le Mans means sharing human and sporting values. Philosophical values even. What really makes me proud is having managed to create and pass on strong, shared emotions that so often lay the foundations for success. It’s a huge honour, thank you!
Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest: Philippe Sinault truly embodies the values upheld by endurance and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I’m delighted that the Spirit of Le Mans Trophy will be awarded to him this year. His dedication, leadership and analytical skills are admired throughout the paddock.
“For 2021, Alpine has decided to take a step up to the top class in the discipline. It is a huge challenge, but Philippe is undoubtedly the best person to tackle it. ”
The gamble in 2021 is that the team must overcome a fuel mileage deficit to their major competition, the A480 expected to complete one fewer lap per fuel load than the other Hypercars – a combination of pace and reliability then is going to be the key.
