With 13 days remaining until the start of the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours, the Alpine A450b was at the French track today for the pre-race Test Day.Paul-Loup Chatin, Nelson Panciatici and Oliver Webb posted the LM P2 class’s third-best time during the eight-hour test.The next date in the team’s diary is scrutineering in the centre of Le Mans on Sunday, June 8. The Le Mans race weekend is June 14-15.
After the pre-test scrutineering and administrative formalities, Signatech-Alpine was able to turn its attention to fine-tuning the Alpine A450b round the full Le Mans track.
This morning’s session was given over to making sure Paul-Loup Chatin and Oliver Webb qualified to contest the race and they both successfully completed their 10 ‘rookie’ laps. In doing so, the former even posted the LM P2 class’s benchmark time with a 3m39.922s.
The afternoon saw Oliver Webb continue his familiarisation of the circuit before handing over to Nelson Panciatici. Despite picking up a puncture on debris, and in spite of several red-flag interruptions, the Alpine A450b ended up with the LM P2 class’s third-best lap (3m39.026s).
Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Manager: “More than anything else, I am pleased to say we were able to work through our entire programme which was very busy. Paul-Loup and Oliver completed their 10 mandatory rookie laps and we are able to evaluate the different Dunlop tyres we are using. Despite suffering a puncture, we were on the pace and up with the fastest cars this morning. Then, this afternoon, we posted the third best time. The coming week promises to be very busy as we finish our preparations for the race.”
Paul-Loup Chatin: “It was a very positive day. The Alpine A450b seems competitive in its Le Mans configuration and I soon felt comfortable behind the wheel. Its handling is very predictable and I was able to push hard without worrying about being caught by surprise. This Test Day is very useful to prepare for the race. The next job will be to check today’s findings during the next test.”
Nelson Panciatici: “We did some good work for the race and I was able to find my marks again here at Le Mans. I lost a bit of time when I punctured after running over a piece of debris but I think I went quite well on the whole. This was a nice confidence booster ahead of race week.”
Oliver Webb: “This was my chance to discover this incredible circuit at last. I started by doing a 10-lap stint in the car before starting to do some set-up work and we managed to put in some long runs on different types of tyre. The day also gave me an opportunity to get accustomed to the track and the traffic. Overall, it was extremely positive.”
The team’s next big appointment is scrutineering and administrative checks in the centre of Le Mans at 4:50pm on Sunday, June 8. The Alpine A450b will then take part in free practice (from 4pm) and night-time qualifying on the evening of Wednesday, June 11.
