Two new Alpine A460 prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

Being able to run two top-flight crews will allow Signatech-Alpine to step up its ambitions for its second season in endurance racing’s premier series. After winning last year’s 6 Hours of Shanghai and coming fourth in the 2015 FIA WEC (LMP2), the team is looking to continue its ascension to the very top of the pyramid.

The N°35 car (entered under the name of Baxi DC Racing Alpine) will be in the hands of Frenchman Nelson Panciatici – a cornerstone of the team since the programme’s early days in 2013 – and Chinese drivers David Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung. Formed by SR-Jackie Chan and David Cheng, DC Racing won several Asian Le Mans Series titles before joining forces for this year’s FIA WEC campaign with Signatech-Alpine who will run the programme’s technical, sporting and logistical sides.

The N°36 car – the number which claimed back-to-back ELMS crowns in 2013 and 2014, as well as a top-three finish in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2014 – will be shared by three newcomers to the Alpine fold, namely Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre, the USA’s Gustavo Menezes and Monegasque Stéphane Richelmi.

Both crews will contest all nine rounds of the 2016 FIA WEC, the highlight of which is June’s Le Mans 24 Hours.