Signatech Alpine Matmut lets loose the Alpine A470 at Austin
- 1st win for the Alpine A470
- 2nd consecutive pole position and first win for Team Signatech Alpine Matmut in 2017
- 4th team to win in the FIA WEC (LMP2 class) this season
Consistent since the beginning of the year, the Signatech Alpine Matmut team had already been chasing down its first victory of the season going into the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). In the sweltering heat of the Texan circuit, the LMP2 defending champion brought the Alpine A470 to victory and allowed a chassis built by ORECA to clinch a sixth consecutive win in as many races. Thanks to the impressive showing of driver line-up Menezes-Lapierre-Negraõ, the French team is now a real contender for the championship title.
Auto racing is such that pole position does not automatically mean race domination. Signatech Alpine Matmut proved that to be true at its own expense just 15 days ago at the Mexico round. But the drive and work of the team led by Philippe Sinault was bound to pay off, and at the Circuit of the Americas this past weekend, the efforts of the French team earned it a decisive victory.
The defending champion team and winner last year in Texas certainly rose to the occasion for this round as the trio Menezes-Lapierre-Negraõ remained in the lead for more than 81% of the distance! It may have spent a bit more time in the pits than Vaillante Rebellion’s two ORECA 07s, but the team’s momentum earned it a 40-second lead by midpoint, just prior to the sole neutralisation of the race. It was even enough to cover a final stop imposed by the race direction in the last minutes to repair the bulb on a rear light.
Though the Vaillante Rebellion and Jackie Chan DC Racing teams were never very far behind the French outfit at any given time, even snatching the lead for short spurts, they finally had to throw in the towel, shaking things up significantly in the overall standings of the championship. The Swiss team – whose two cars both claimed podium finishes – is hot on the heels of its Chinese rival, but for Signatech Alpine Matmut, the points gained at Austin have revived the hope for a second consecutive title.
Winner at the Spa round, G-Drive Racing gave up some ground in the championship this weekend due to an engine problem. In the neighboring pit, despite a remarkable performance for Mathieu Vaxivière, some in-race circumstances and a penalty denied TDS Racing a spot in the top 5. As for CEFS Manor TRS Racing, the showing of Vergne-Rao-Hanley deserved a better result, but various occurrences – including contact by other competitors – decided otherwise. The car of the second driver line-up (Gonzalez-Trummer-Petrov) was forced to retire before reaching the two-hour mark following mechanical failure.
The competitors now have a few weeks to prepare for the next round scheduled at Fuji in one month.
Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal: “I think this was our most well-rounded race since the beginning of the season, in every aspect: settings, strategy, driving. As early as the free practice, we had a very good performance level and scoring pole position was the first big payoff. The race was very difficult physically, more so than we had expected. Nicolas, Stéphane – who gave his all during his double-stint – and Gustavo each fulfilled their mission so we could secure this fourth victory with the #36. As we saw early in the race, the #35 car’s performance level also improved, but a few unforeseen circumstances put a halt to its progress. After an excellent start of the race, Nelson fell victim to extreme dehydration and so we had to modify our strategy. David had his best race since he has been with us, but then we lost some time when Ho-Pin hit a sizable curb. If