Round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is due to be held this weekend on the famous Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium.
The Signatech Alpine Matmut team has entered two A470s in the LMP2 category for Romain Dumas, Gustavo Menezes and Matt Rao (no.36 car) and Nelson Panciatici, Pierre Ragues and André Negrão (no.35 car).
The race gets underway on Saturday at 2.30pm local time.
Three weeks after the opening weekend of the championship at Silverstone, the FIA WEC moves on to another iconic circuit: Spa-Francorchamps. Quick and hilly, with several overtaking opportunities and weather that is often unpredictable, the iconic Belgian track has all the ingredients needed to serve up a great endurance race!
This second round of the season is also widely regarded as something of a dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In racing conditions, the teams will be able to fine tune their procedures and test their responsiveness, in order to tackle the "world's greatest race" in the best possible shape. After Spa, the teams will have a month to prepare for the Test Day (4 June) and then the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself (17-18 June).
The Belgian race is especially important for the Signatech Alpine Matmut team, which will be running two cars at an event for the first time this year. As expected, Nicolas Lapierre gives up his seat to Romain Dumas in the no.36 Alpine A470. The French driver, who drove the car in the official pre-season test at Monza, will team up with the American Gustavo Menezes and the Briton Matt Rao.
Despite dominating much of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, the Alpine A470 ended up finishing fourth, the appearance of the safety car having undermined the French team's strategy. At Spa-Francorchamps, the aim will be to finish on the podium, both in order to improve the team's position in the championship standings and to gather some momentum before the legendary Le Mans race.
A good result would echo the 2016 race, which featured a breathtaking final few laps culminating in Nicolas Lapierre taking victory after a superb overtaking move just a few minutes from the end!
With the category even more competitive this year, the first track outing of the no.35 Alpine A470 will enable Signatech Alpine Matmut to compete on two fronts. Entering two cars not only means the team gathers twice the information, but it also has the opportunity to adopt different race strategies.
Consisting of Nelson Panciatici, Pierre Ragues and André Negrão, the crew features speed, experience and consistency. Nelson and Pierre already know each other well – they were both in the crew that won the 2013 ELMS title for Alpine – and André showed his speed and ability to adapt to LMP2 at Monza. Together, the two Frenchmen and the Brazilian have the potential to get among the frontrunners!
The cars will take to the track on Thursday for two free practice sessions. On Friday, a third free practice session will be followed by qualifying (3.25pm). The WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is set to start on Saturday at 2.30pm.
Bernard Ollivier, Alpine Deputy Managing Director
"Although we managed to show what the car could do, the truth is that it was difficult to accept finishing in fourth place at Silverstone. Each race is different, but we hope to reproduce the same level of performance at Spa-Francorchamps. The target will be to convert our potential into a very good result for both cars. We have got everything we need to succeed, both in terms of the technical team and our group of drivers."
Philippe Sinault, Signatech Alpine Matmut Team Principal
"The Spa-Francorchamps round is always a bit special. It's a race that should allow us to pick up some good momentum ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The arrival of Romain Dumas in the no.36 car is certainly something of a coup, but that won't change our way of working. With his level of experience, I have no doubt that he will quickly fit into the team. He has had extensive talks with Nicolas Lapierre and we have prepared for this round by looking at the areas identified in Silverstone in which we can improve. I'm also confident about the potential of the no.35 crew. We are used to running two cars and we'll be aiming for both A470s to finish on the podium."
Schedule
THURSDAY 4 MAY
11.45am: Free practice 1 (90 mins)
5.30pm: Free practice 2 (90 mins)
FRIDAY 5 MAY
10.25am: Free practice 3 (60 mins)
3.25pm: LMP1/LMP2 qualifying (25 mins)
SATURDAY 6 MAY
2.30pm: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
