Alpine seeks further success in the land of rising sun

The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) kicks off its Asian tour with the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan. Having already won four races this season, Nicolas Lapierre, Stéphane Richelmi and Gustavo Menezes will as always be aiming to top the podium and move a step closer to the LMP2 title.The no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine driver line-up has changed for the end of the season, with Paul-Loup Chatin taking over from Nelson Panciatici alongside David Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung.

After Europe and the Americas, the FIA World Endurance Championship has crossed the Pacific Ocean and landed in Japan. Around a hundred kilometres from Tokyo and set in the foothills of with Mount Fuji, the Fuji Speedway has long been associated with endurance racing in Japan.

For example, an Alpine A441 won the 500km of Fuji back in 1978, driven by Masahiro Hasemi and Kazuyoshi Hoshino. Last year, the Signatech-Alpine echoed its past success at the track by claiming the Alpine A450b's first LMP2 podium in the FIA WEC!

A year later, the Alpine A460 is now regarded as the leading car in its category, with the crew of Lapierre/Richelmi/Menezes having enjoyed an exceptional season. Winners at Spa-Francorchamps, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Nürburgring and in Austin, the three no.36 drivers also grabbed a podium finish in Mexico.

Overall, the Signatech-Alpine team has a healthy 38-point lead over RGR Sport by Morand, whilst the drivers are 41 points clear of Senna, Albuquerque and Gonzalez. It is therefore mathematically possible that one or both titles could be secured this weekend, although the French team would also need other results to go their way!

This seventh race of the season sees a change in line-up for the no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine. So that he can focus on other plans in the latter part of the year, Nelson Panciatici has been allowed to forego his commitments, handing his place to Paul-Loup Chatin. Having competed for Alpine in the FIA WEC last season, Paul-Loup will join forces with David Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung at the last three rounds of the 2016 championship. Currently, fifth place in Mexico is the best result of this Alpine A460, but the car has the potential to aim for a podium spot!

The Fuji Speedway is 4.563km in length and features a massive home straight, some 1.5km long, and a series of tight, twisty turns. The engineers must therefore find the right balance between aerodynamic performance on the one hand and grip and traction on the other.

Following three free practice sessions, qualifying will be held on Saturday at 2.30pm for the LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes. The 6 Hours of Fuji will get underway on Sunday at 11.00am local time.

Bernard Ollivier, Alpine Deputy Managing Director: "Japan is a very important market for Alpine and we are delighted to meet our fans, first of all in Tokyo, where we are presenting the Alpine Vision on Tuesday at a press conference, and then in Fuji for the seventh round of the FIA WEC. Since the start of the season, we have competed with real panache, sometimes securing the win in the closing minutes of a race. We will aim to adopt the same combative spirit here in Japan, but we'll keep our feet on the ground. We know we'll be up against some very tough rivals. With the no.36 Signatech-Alpine, the target will be to extend our lead in the championship so we can go for the titles in Shanghai. We have a slightly altered line-up for the no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine. We're pleased to welcome back Paul-Loup Chatin to the crew. But let's not forget the key contribution that Nelson Panciatici has made to our project since 2013. We have won two European Championship titles together and he has been very fast this year, especially at Le Mans and in Mexico where he made impressive fightbacks. He is still very much a part of the Alpine family."

Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal: "For our team, the change is the arrival of Paul-Loup Chatin in the no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine. Since Nelson had a number of commitments in the latter part of the year, we decided let him pursue other projects because he had nothing left to fight for in the championship. We're grateful to him for his considerable contribution, not only in 2016 but also since the start of our shared journey with Alpine. He is an important part of the Alpine project and I'm sure we'll see him back behind wheel of one of our cars in the near future. With Nelson out of the picture, the decision to go for Paul-Loup was fairly logical for us to maintain a good level of performance. After the 2015 season, we wanted to work with him again and so we grabbed this opportunity. As regards the no.36 car, we are going to approach this race with the same mindset. Our aim is to score as many points as possible so that we arrive in Shanghai in at least as good a position as we are in today. Winning one or both titles in Fuji is not one of our targets because it is, to a large extent, out of our hands. We would need other results to go our way."

SCHEDULE (GMT+9)

Friday, 14 OctoberFree practice 1 – 10.45amFree practice 2 – 3.30pm

Saturday, 15 OctoberFree practice 3 – 10.00amQualifying – 2.30pm

Sunday, 16 OctoberRace – 11.00am


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