Alpine is carrying out tests with its brand new A424 head-on to present itself ready to debut in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The French manufacturer’s LMDh had covered its first kilometers in August on the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, followed by Team Signatech which will take care of it in the Hypercar Class from next year.
Subsequently, further developments were carried out on the software, then tested in Lurcy-Lévis for 780 km during which the brake and differential systems were also fine-tuned, as well as further components which saw the Alpine men fly last week in Spain for new tests.
Motorland Aragon was the scene of two days of intense work on aerodynamics, knowledge of Michelin tyres, balance, weight distribution, exploitation of the hybrid system and ground clearances with the various mechanical settings.
The first served to put together 758km with two long sessions of 36 laps each completed by Nicolas Lapierre, who together with Matthieu Vaxiviere gave further ideas and information reaching a total of 1,500 km.
Alpine A424
Photo by: Alpine
“The work of the various teams involved in the A424 project continues to progress and a real osmosis is developing between the different protagonists, which is really pleasing,” underlines Bruno Famin, vice president of Alpine Motorsports.
“They have been an intense two days. The Shakedown phases are now behind us and in Aragon we got to the heart of fine-tuning the car’s various systems and working on the aerodynamics.”
“Things are moving in the right direction, but we are only at the beginning of the process and there is still a lot to do in all areas. We are focusing on the next phases, in particular the first endurance test and the preparations for the ‘approval”.
Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424
Photo by: Alpine
Team Principal Philippe Sinault added: “Testing went well. The positive test results at Paul Ricard were confirmed at Aragon and the car continued to show healthy behaviour.”
“It was a crucial phase of the program because, after completing the shakedown activities, we started to make all the elements of the car work together: the hybrid system, the engine and the chassis.”
“Matthieu and Nico carried out a series of stints of over 1,500 km, sometimes even double, without reliability problems, so it was very satisfying and constructive. In this phase we were able to start carrying out our operational role, with particular attention to understanding the car and developing the right settings”.
“The good functioning of the team was palpable from a human point of view, which really encouraged operations in view of the championship that awaits us next year.”
Alpine A424
Photo by: Alpine
The next test for the Alpine A424 LMDh is scheduled for Jerez on 17-19 October, then the first endurance test will be carried out in mid-November, again in Aragon.
In view of the homologation, work continues behind the scenes in Viry-Châtillon with the analyzes of the electrical and electronic components, in order to be prepared for the crucial point which will mark the ‘freezing’ of the project and the first appearance in a competition, that is, the opening stage of the 2024 season in Qatar next March.
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