Ferdinand Habsburg will officially return to action with Alpine for the 24h of Le Mans, scheduled for 15-16 June and preceded by the test day scheduled for Sunday 9th.
The Austrian was forced to miss the races in Imola and Spa-Francorchamps due to a vertebrae injury sustained during a disastrous off-track accident during a test carried out after the first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship which took place in Qatar .
Taking his place on the A424 #35 together with Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin was Jules Gounon, who however will also be working with the team on Test Day at the Circuit de la Sarthe, to stay in training and lend a hand in the preparation for the most important and toughest race of the 2024 season.
In the meantime, Habsburg has already been back on the road since mid-May at Paul Ricard, where the technicians of Team Signatech have fine-tuned the last things on the two Oreca chassis LMDhs and also prepared the spare parts with a dedicated type of work until last Friday. .
Meanwhile on the side of garage #36, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere are ready to lend a hand to Mick Schumacher in facing a brand new and unprecedented challenge for him with the 24h of Le Mans.
#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
“Here we are! Although preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans have been underway for several months, we arrive with a real sense of excitement, even more so than in previous years – said Team Principal, Philippe Sinault – We have been waiting for this moment to a long time and I was impressed by the incredible work capacity and great commitment of each team member before taking to the track at Le Mans for the first time.”
“In the context of our first participation with a new car, we have a good amount of knowledge to evaluate the potential of our package so far. We have also done several simulations, but there is nothing better than real laps on the track to validate or evaluate the extent of the work still to be done before next week.”
“This Sunday there won’t be much time to race, so we will focus on two key areas: the aerodynamic balance on this very atypical track and the resistance of the tires over several long stints. Although we know that the conditions will change very quickly, given that the The track is not yet equipped with rubber, this will allow us to increase the drivers’ confidence so that they can give us valuable information. Reliability will be equally important for a good start.”
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