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2013 Alpine A450

As a tribute to the Alpines which raced at Le Mans in the 1970s, the 'LM P2' prototype run by Signatech-Alpine has been christened 'Alpine A450'.

'Alpine's return to motor racing marks the beginning of a new adventure for this legendary brand,' says Carlos Tavares, Renault's Chief Operating Officer. 'Although our focus is very much on the future, with the development of a new car which is due to reach the market in 2016, we have not forgotten Alpine's extraordinary heritage.

'The name Alpine A450 stood out as a natural choice for this prototype which will contest the ELMS and the Le Mans 24 Hours. It pays tribute to the A441, A442 and A443 which raced at and - in the case of the A442B - won at Le Mans in the 1970s. The figure '50' symbolises the fiftieth anniversary of Alpine's first official entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours.'

2013 Alpine A450The Alpine A450's first competitive outing will be at Silverstone, this weekend (13 April), with drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues, almost 35 years after the Alpine-Renault A442B's landmark victory at Le Mans in the hands of Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi.

The Alpine A450 will be the very first car of the brand to take part in an official race at Silverstone.

Signatech-Alpine's Team Principal Philippe Sinault is eager to see his drivers in action: 'I'm thrilled to be in the exciting last stages of preparing for the Alpine A450's debut in the European Le Mans Series. The news of this project got a warm reception in France and elsewhere. We had very little time to prepare for the season but our efforts have already born fruit, thanks notably to our very close collaboration with Michelin. Our first tests were very constructive, but only the race itself can confirm whether our work has been good enough.'

After securing the fastest lap-time at the ELMS pre-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard, France, in March, Nelson Panciatici has high hopes for the team's maiden appearance: 'Silverstone is one of my favourite circuits. All racing drivers adore the sequence through 'Copse', 'Maggots' and 'Becketts' which is key to a strong lap. You also need a nicely balanced car and that's where the Alpine could have an edge. We have done some very good work in recent weeks and we are ready for the start of the season. I know that Alpine has the potential to succeed and my aim is to win the car's maiden race!'

Pierre Ragues thoughts follow similar lines: 'The Signatech-Alpine team has worked hard on the car's development and has introduced a high number of small evolutions. We are heading in the right direction and Silverstone will be our first litmus test. It's a race I would love to win but we need to keep our feet on the ground. Strategy promises to play a key role in a three-hour event like this. It will be up to us to make the most of the Alpine A450's potential in order to start the season with a good points haul.'

The first round of the championship has attracted an entry of 25 cars, including 9 in the premier 'LM P2' class.

Tristan Gommendy, who will join Alpine as its third driver for the Le Mans 24 Hours, will also travel to Silverstone to continue familiarising himself with the team. Meanwhile, Alpine's junior driver Paul-Loup Chatin will contest the race in an LM PC car.

Source - Alpine

Alpine A450 : A watery debut

2013 Alpine A450
- Signatech-Alpine was rewarded with fourth place for its competitive debut at the 3 Hours of Silverstone with drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues. 2013 Alpine A450
- The opening round of the 2012 European Le Mans Series was interrupted after 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one hour behind the Safety Car after Race Control deemed the conditions to be too dangerous.

2013 Alpine A450
- Nelson Panciatici celebrated the brand's return to racing by emerging in front thanks to an excellent start in the Alpine A450.


- Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares was at the race to support the Signatech-Alpine team and follow the Alpine A450's debut race.

The competitive debut of the Alpine A450, 35 years after the brand's triumph at Le Mans in 1978, was marked by heavy rain.

The first Free Practice session saw Signatech-Alpine drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues top the timesheets as they worked with the team to adapt the new Alpine A450's set-up to the wet conditions. They were second fastest in Free Practice 2.


Nelson Panciatici went on to qualify the Alpine A450 on the second row of the grid.

The track was dry when the field was flagged away for the start of the race itself, but a storm broke out during the formation lap. Nelson Panciatici and the Alpine A450 started from third on the grid on Michelin slick tyres and emerged from the opening corner in the lead before the Safety Car was despatched at the end of Lap 1. At the end of Lap 5, Nelson pitted to fit 'intermediate' tyres.

After re-joining in ninth place, he started to carve his way back up through the field and was up to second before he handed the car over to Pierre Ragues.

With the Alpine A450 now on rain tyres, Pierre re-joined in fifth place and soon moved up one position before the Safety Car was sent out for a second time.

The competition was neutralised for an hour because of the impressive amount of standing water on the track. Race Control ultimately decided to interrupt the race ahead of the scheduled three hours. The positions at that moment became the official result, just as Signatech-Alpine was about to take advantage of its offset strategy.

'It was a very important weekend for everyone in the team,' stressed Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine's Team Principal. 'We worked very well to prepare for our first race of the year and it's just a shame that it turned out to be such a frustrating afternoon. Our drivers did well to keep the Alpine A450 in one piece. Únfortunately, the horrendous conditions changed the whole face of the race. We were running to a strategy which could well have paid off if the race had gone the full three hours. The Safety Car and the early red flag prevented us from taking advantage of it.'

Nelson Panciatici: 'I got away cleanly and managed to put the Alpine A450 in front. It was very difficult not to make any mistakes in the rain. The end of my stint on intermediate tyres was particularly tough. I was supposed to have got back into the car for the finish but the race was interrupted too soon.'

Pierre Ragues: 'I believe we had the potential to finish on the podium, at the very least. We ran an offset strategy from the start. There was so much rain. It was just impossible to clear the water before the Safety Car was sent out. I am disappointed because the car's potential was superior to our final finishing position.'

The Alpine team's 'Junior' driver Paul-Loup Chatin came second in the LM PC class.

Final positions:
1, Jota Sport (Dolan/Turvey), 2h15m22.561s
2, Race Performance (Frey/Niederhauser)
3, Thiriet by TDS Racing (Thiriet/Hirschi)
4, Signatech Alpine (Ragues/Panciatici). Etc.

Next round: Imola, Italy (May 17-18).

Source - Alpine

The Alpine A450 poised to kick off its 2013 campaign at Silverstone

•The official name of the endurance racing prototype that will be run by Signatech-Alpine this season is 'Alpine A450', thereby continuing the naming system employed for the brand's race cars of the 1970s.

•Barely a month after the announcement of the brand's return to motor racing, the Alpine A450 will participate in its first race at Silverstone, Únited Kingdom, on April 12-13.

•The Signatech-Alpine team will contest all five rounds of the 2013 European Le Mans Series, as well as June's Le Mans 24 Hours.


2013 Alpine A450•The two drivers of the Alpine A450 in the European Le Mans Series are Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues.

•Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares will be at Silverstone to experience the brand's return to motor racing at first hand.

As a tribute to the Alpines which raced at Le Mans in the 1970s, the 'LM P2' prototype run by Signatech-Alpine has been christened 'Alpine A450'.


'Alpine's return to motor racing marks the beginning of a new adventure for this legendary brand,' says Carlos Tavares, Renault's Chief Operating Officer. 'Although our focus is very much on the future, with the development of a new car which is due to reach the market in 2016, we have not forgotten Alpine's extraordinary heritage.'

'The name Alpine A450 stood out as a natural choice for this prototype which will contest the ELMS and the Le Mans 24 Hours. It pays tribute to the A441, A442 and A443 which raced at and – in the case of the A442B – won at Le Mans in the 1970s. The figure '50' symbolises the fiftieth anniversary of Alpine's first official entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours.'

The Alpine A450's first competitive outing will be at Silverstone, Únited Kingdom, this weekend (April 13), with drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues, almost 35 years after the Alpine-Renault A442B's landmark victory at Le Mans in the hands of Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi.

The Alpine A450 will be the very first car of the brand to take part in an official race at Silverstone.

2013 Alpine A450
Signatech-Alpine's Team Principal Philippe Sinault is eager to see his drivers in action: 'I'm thrilled to be in the exciting last stages of preparing for the Alpine A450's debut in the European Le Mans Series. The news of this project got a warm reception in France and elsewhere. We had very little time to prepare for the season but our efforts have already born fruit, thanks notably to our very close collaboration with Michelin. Our first tests were very constructive, but only the race itself can confirm whether our work has been good enough.'

After securing the fastest lap-time at the ELMS pre-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard, France, in March, Nelson Panciatici has high hopes for the team's maiden appearance: 'Silverstone is one of my favourite circuits. All racing drivers adore the sequence through 'Copse', 'Maggots' and 'Becketts' which is key to a strong lap. You also need a nicely balanced car and that's where the Alpine could have an edge. We have done some very good work in recent weeks and we are ready for the start of the season. I know that Alpine has the potential to succeed'

Pierre Ragues thoughts follow similar lines: 'The Signatech-Alpine team has worked hard on the car's development and has introduced a high number of small evolutions. We are heading in the right direction and Silverstone will be our first litmus test. It's a race I would love to win but we need to keep our feet on the ground. Strategy promises to play a key role in a three-hour event like this. It will be up to us to make the most of the Alpine A450's potential in order to start the season with a good points haul.'

The first round of the championship has attracted an entry of 25 cars, including 9 in the premier 'LM P2' class.

Tristan Gommendy, who will join Alpine as its third driver for the Le Mans 24 Hours, will also travel to Silverstone to continue familiarising himself with the team. Meanwhile, Alpine's junior driver Paul-Loup Chatin will contest the race in an LM PC car.

Source - Alpine

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