Alpine Laments “Cruel” Double DNF After Engine Failures

Alpine has branded its failure to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans with either of its new A424s due to engine problems as “cruel” after showing encouraging pace.

The No. 35 A424 suffered a spectacular engine failure in the fifth hour of the race while Ferdinand Habsburg was at the wheel, with the car running on the lead lap in 13th place at the time of its demise.

Around an hour later, Nicolas Lapierre brought the sister No. 36 car into the garage after a encountering a similar issue.

Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault admitted the team was aware reliability could prove a stumbling block on the A424’s La Sarthe debut but said this fact didn’t lessen the pain of its challenge ending in such ignominious style.

“The double retirement is cruel, even if we knew reliability could be an issue,” said Sinault. “Despite all the testing and simulations, only the truth of the race matters.

“Our start to the season had shown us some great things, so it’s all the more disappointing and disconcerting to retire so early.

“But we have to take the positives and keep moving forward. This week we have had confirmation that our car is fast.

“We must keep working to pick ourselves up and make progress, although the whole team is suffering tonight.”

The double DNF for Alpine followed an encouraging showing in practice and qualifying, as the No. 35 shared by Habsburg, Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi qualified for Hyperpole and secured fifth on the grid.

However, Nicolas Lapierre admitted speaking pre-race that he couldn’t be confident of making it through the race without issues after an air intake problem in first qualifying denied the No. 36 Alpine a potential spot in Hyperpole.

Lapierre reflected: “We said from the start that we were here to learn this year. We didn’t expect to perform as well as we did this week, so the slide is even harder, but this will be helpful to us in the future.

“Now we will do everything we can to come back stronger.” 

Alpine VP Motorsports Bruno Famin added: “We knew that this debut 24 Hours of Le Mans would be a steep learning curve, even more so for only the A424’s fourth race. But that doesn’t change our disappointment.

“We will analyze the reasons for this mechanical problem so that we can come back stronger next year. Our car showed good form throughout the week, so we have strong foundations to improve.

“I want to thank everyone for their commitment, but motorsport is cruel. That’s why victory is sweeter when it happens.

“Seeing the tears and the disappointed faces this evening, I am convinced we will make Alpine Endurance Team a squad capable of fighting for podiums and wins.”