Рубрика: Sportscars NEWS

Meyer Shank signs BMW, Cadillac talents for IMSA return with Acura

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Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly have joined Acura for its 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP campaign with Meyer Shank Racing after leaving Cadillac and BMW. 

Two-time Daytona 24 Hours winner van der Zande has switched to the Honda brand after seven seasons with Cadillac, first with the Wayne Taylor Racing team with which he won the IMSA blue riband enduro in 2019 and ’20 and then Chip Ganassi Racing. 

Yelloly has made the move from BMW, which announced his departure on Monday, after six years as a factory driver, in which time he won the Nurburgring and Spa GT3 24-hour enduros and took a first IMSA win for the German marque’s M Hybrid V8 LMDh in IMSA last year. 

He and Van der Zande will be the full-season drivers in one of the pair of Acura ARX-06 LMDhs fielded in the GTP class by MSR, which is returning to IMSA after a one-year break. 

The other car will be shared by former MSR Indycar driver Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun, who will reprise their partnership of 2023 that yielded a controversial victory at Daytona. 

MSR was subsequently found to have manipulated information from its tyre pressure sensors, and was fined and given a points deduction but retained the win. 

The team, which was out of contract with Acura at the end of the season, was not retained as Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti undertook a planned expansion to two cars.

#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves

#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

WTR has now returned to Cadillac for 2025, which precipitated the return of MSR in conjunction with the Honda Racing Corporation USA organisation (formerly known as Honda Performance Development) that runs the Acura LMDh programme. 

HRC US will take a deeper role in the running of the cars at the tracks and will be responsible for engineering one of the entries in 2025. 

Van der Zande thanked Cadillac for “everything they have done for me over the past seven seasons”.

“Although it’s hard for me to leave, it’s time for a new chapter that I am really looking forward to,” he said.

“I’ve been racing against Acura for the past seven years and they’ve always been a fierce competitor, but I’m excited to now be on their side and tap into their resources and see what we can do.»

Yelloly also thanked his former employer for which he drove in the GTP ranks in 2023 and ’24 with the Rahal team. 

“They were the first to give me a chance as a works driver back in 2019, and together we celebrated many great successes,” he said.

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3: Nick Yelloly

Yelloly ends a lengthy stint as a BMW works driver to join MSR/Acura

Photo by: SRO

“I’m really excited to be joining the Acura MSR/HRC project. Clearly the team is very hungry and willing to push flat out, which sits well with me as I have the same type of mentality.”

Team boss Mike Shank said: “Putting Tom and Colin back in the driver’s seat just made sense. The two of them had an incredible season in ’23 and I think that’s just cracking the surface on what they can accomplish together. 

“And then with the addition of Renger and Nick, they both have extensive prototype experience and have shown a lot of strength the past few seasons, so I think they will be a big asset to the team.”



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Sportscar ace Richard Westbrook announces retirement from racing

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Five-time Le Mans podium finisher Richard Westbrook has called time on a career in which he was a factory driver with Porsche, General Motors, BMW, Aston Martin and Ford.

The 49-year-old Briton has announced that last weekend’s Petit Le Mans IMSA SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta was his last race as a professional driver.

Westbrook’s decision to retire brings the curtain down on a career that included back-to-back Porsche Supercup titles in 2006-07 and class victories in the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Hours enduros in 2013 and 2018 respectively.

As well as third-place finishes overall with Glickenhaus and Cadillac at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022 and ’23, he notched up a trio of class podiums at the Circuit de la Sarthe with Porsche, Ford and Aston Martin.

Westbrook explained the time was right to call time on his career, despite having a year left to run on his contract with the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche GTP team with which he has raced in IMSA this season.

“You can’t do it forever and at some point you have to be honest with yourself, say you’ve had a good run and pass on the baton,” Westbrook told Motorsport.com.

“This was the first season that I have felt like that: my performances were still there, but the enjoyment factor had gone a bit. I wasn’t so excited about getting in the car as I had been in the past, and if that’s the case, you have to question whether you should be doing it.

Petit Le Mans was Westbrook's final race as a pro as he bowed out in the JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

Petit Le Mans was Westbrook’s final race as a pro as he bowed out in the JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

“I’m happy with my career and the way it has ended: I probably wasn’t going to achieve a lot more and it has been my decision to stop.”

Westbrook said that his biggest achievement was racing for 23 seasons after he started competing again following six years of inactivity after his single-seater career stalled in Formula 3 in 1996.

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“I have to pinch myself sometimes what has happened over the past 20-odd years,” he explained. “Everything happened so quickly: I went from doing nothing to driving for all these manufacturers.”

Westbrook picked out his four seasons racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA in 2016-19 with the Ford GT in the GT Le Mans class as one of the best periods of his career.

“That was a special time for me,” said Westbrook, whose regular driving partner over the four years was Ryan Briscoe.

“We had a good group of people and scored a lot of wins, but unfortunately not the championship. We were second twice and it always went down to the wire — that’s one regret I will always have.

“When I look back I think I should have won more, more championships. There were big wins in IMSA, like Daytona and Sebring, but never a championship — that will always rankle.”

Westbrook formed a successful partnership at Ford with Briscoe, but the title eluded them

Westbrook formed a successful partnership at Ford with Briscoe, but the title eluded them

Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images

He singled out his second-place overall finish in the 2015 IMSA points alongside Michael Valiante with the Spirit of Daytona team when he was on the books of Chevrolet as another regret.

“We were a small operation racing against big teams like Action Express Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing and we came within three points of the championship,” he said.

Westbrook also picked the first of his two Le Mans overall podiums, notched up with Glickenhaus Racing, as another highlight.

“Jim [Glickenhaus, the marque founder] put his money where his mouth was and we achieved everything we could,” said Westbrook. “To stand on the Le Mans podium with him was really special.”

The three Le Mans podiums in class came in 2010 in GT2 with the Scuderia Italia Porsche team and in 2016 and 2020 respectively with Ford and Aston Martin in GTE Pro.

He was also a race winner in the FIA GT1 World Championship with the JRM Nissan team in 2010 and in class in FIA GTs with the Prospeed Porsche squad in 2008 and ’09.

Westbrook was a frontrunner in the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries one-make single-seater championship in 1994-95, but a proposed F3 drive with the KMS-run Benetton Junior Team in Germany fell through for 1996.

He then stopped racing after a handful F3 races in Germany and Austria that year and didn’t resume until coming back for a short self-funded partial programme in the Supercup in 2002.



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How a faulty steering wheel created a tense IMSA title showdown

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«To be honest, today’s eleventh place was the best of my life.»

There was no shortage of storylines to follow in the Petit Le Mans final round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship on Saturday.

A farewell victory for the Cadillac-Chip Ganassi Racing partnership before the GM manufacturer throws its lot in with Wayne Taylor Racing by Andretti next year was a feel-good conclusion following heartbreak for the WTR/Andretti crew, when an unsighted Ricky Taylor clouted a stranded Mustang in the middle of the road to end his and Filipe Albuquerque’s title hopes. Then, there was a day of celebrations for Porsche.

To cap a dream day for the Weissach manufacturer, as Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr clinched the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP title with third place at Petit Le Mans in their Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, AO Racing also delivered the GTD Pro title with Laurin Heinrich.

The result hailed by AO team principal Gunnar Jeanette followed a run that was far from straightforward for the #77 911 GT3 R affectionately known as ‘Rexy’, in which 23-year-old former Porsche junior Heinrich was joined by Julien Andlauder and Michael Christensen.

Five laps in arrears, it meant a title that was Heinrich’s to lose went uncomfortably close to the wire.

The German, who shared the car with Seb Priaulx for the first six rounds of the season, had enjoyed a 99-point margin over Heart of Racing Aston Martin driver Ross Gunn heading into the weekend and extended it further by snaring pole while Gunn managed third.

But that 104-point advantage was slashed to just four after 10 hours of racing at Road Atlanta.

#23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, Roman De Angelis

#23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, Roman De Angelis

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Had Gunn managed to overcome the Risi Competizione Ferrari of Daniel Serra for second, in the car he shared with Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis, he would have completed a remarkable turnaround. Ultimately, the Briton came up just 1.845s short.

The problem for Heinrich was a freak one: a faulty cable connection on the steering wheel that caused several unscheduled pitstops. Jeanette explained: “Everything was running perfectly initially but then we suffered a steering wheel problem. Our drivers had their work cut out for them because the car only shifted up every third or fourth attempt.”

Door-stepped for his thoughts during the race, Heinrich gave an honest assessment.

“We couldn’t upshift anymore and then obviously being stuck in second, third or fourth gear around the lap, you break the rest of the car and you lose a lot of time,” he said, before adding: “It’s a nightmare, it’s the worst [thing] what could happen. We just needed to finish somewhere in the front and just not retire. I still hope I wake up from this nightmare, but I doubt it will happen.”

For Gunn and HofR, the team that will take Aston Martin into IMSA’s GTP class and the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar division next year, Heinrich’s setback amounted to a gift.

“We got a nice present early on in the race,” reflected Gunn after a day he described as “an emotional rollercoaster”.

“We knew that we needed some luck on our side to win the championship, and we definitely got that early on.”

AO’s mechanics did their work in identifying and solving the problem, but the #77 Porsche was effectively powerless to affect the outcome. The ball lay in HofR’s court, but AO’s cause was helped by the presence of two interlopers that were not contesting the full season.

Like the Risi Ferrari 296 of Serra, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi, the leading Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan driven by Jordan Pepper, Franck Perera and Mirko Bortolotti was a Michelin Endurance Cup entrant focused on the longer-distance rounds. But both would take crucial points away from Gunn’s bid to deny Heinrich.

“The race remained a nail-biter to the very end,” said Jeanette. But ultimately, for HofR, it wasn’t to be, despite Gunn setting the fastest GTD Pro lap of the race during what Riberas called “one of the best stints I’ve ever seen”.

“We threw everything at it,” said a disappointed Gunn.

But for Heinrich, he was left to reflect on the 1m17.881s lap that had given him that crucial pole position as the difference-maker that helped to give him the greatest success of his young career.



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How Bosch made it even easier to drive with your hands, further opening up the competitive racing world

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In 2018, Robert Wickens faced one of the few worst-case scenarios in racing. While competing at Pocono, his No. 6 Lucas Oil Arrow IndyCar hit another car (Ryan Hunter-Reay), resulting in a brutal crash that red-flagged the race. Wickens surprisingly survived the incident, but his injuries would leave him paralyzed. Chances were likely that he wouldn’t be able to walk, or race again.

Technology has made considerable strides over the years for disabled racers. Enough to where paraplegic drivers have been using experimental hand-controlled systems, typically built specially for that specific racing vehicle, that allowed them to return to the very thing they loved doing: racing. Michael Johnson was one of those drivers, and in 2021, after Wickens’ long road of recovery and rehabilitation, he offered the former driver a chance to return to the track, using his specially modified Hyundai Veloster TCR equipped with a hand-controlled system. The offer led to Wickens signing on for a full season ride with Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA), nabbing a championship win in 2023, and provided a way to further the development of the hand controls to make them more realistic and accessible for other paraplegic drivers who also want a chance at a championship — or just be able to artfully hoon a car around a track again.

How it started

The earlier hand control system Wickens utilized (demonstrated in the video below) in his first seasons with BHA functioned via a brake ring that is mounted behind the steering wheel. When Wickens pulled on this brake ring, a series of linkages applied pressure to the primary brake master cylinder which then sent hydraulic pressure to the anti-lock brake controller and eventually to the calipers at each corner to enable braking. 

 

While the system did offer some assistance to applying brake pressure, it was in the form of pressurized air helping Wickens to move the linkages and was typically delayed. There was very little feedback as all of these motions were happening and a lot of mechanical moving components which made it hard to do fine movements like trail braking, which require feeling how the car responds as you gradually brake, and is essential in racing competitively.

All these linkages also made it difficult for seamless handoffs of the car between Wickens and his co-drivers. In the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, drivers tend to share cars — switching throughout the enduro races. Wickens raced with Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker, who would hop into the car after Wickens’ stints and flip a switch to use the standard foot controls. While the transition mechanically was easy between both abled and disabled drivers, the early system’s mechanical linkages took up pivotal space within the driver cockpit, and required drivers to maneuver their feet to work around things. It also made it difficult to get Wickens in and out of the car.

That control system would be continually developed over the next few years with BHA’s engineering team, and eventually, very little remained of the original system sourced by Johnson. But in late 2023, the engineering team realized they may be able to apply recently developed LMDh technology to make the system even better. They reached out to the gurus at Bosch Motorsport. 

Designing an easier future of racing for disabled drivers

Senior Motorsport Engineer Jordan Krell and the rest of the engineering team at Bosch Motorsport were immediately up to the challenge and looked to the Electronic Braking System (EBS) developed for the hybrid LMDh race cars as a starting point. Originally deployed in IMSA to control the braking functions of the brake-by-wire system used in the LMDh prototypes, the EBS uses electric signals to blend friction brakes and regenerative braking provided by the hybrid components installed in the cars. 

Bosch engineers wanted to address the needs of the hand control system and figure out a way to rid the car of all of those cumbersome linkages. They built a replica of the system that Wickens was using in their lab and began swapping out components, along with designing a new system layout. 

Photo by: Bozi Tatarevic

Each adjustment eventually left them with a system that connected from the brake ring on the steering wheel to two small master cylinders under the steering column. These cylinders were then routed hydraulically to the primary master cylinder by the brake pedal and from there lines were connected to the EBS. The circuit was completed by connecting the EBS to the ABS unit that is a standard component on the Veloster N TCR.

The next step was tuning the EBS, and once again, Bosch went to the LMDh platform in order to acquire a pedal feel simulator. The simulator allowed them to give accurate braking feedback as the brakes were applied. This pedal feel simulator is an optional component on LMDh cars which can connect to the hydraulic circuit on the EBS in order to provide feedback when brakes are applied through it.

Photo by: Bosch Motorsport

Not only did this new system clear out a bunch of mechanical components under the steering wheel and around the pedal box, but it also seamlessly integrated with the existing Bosch components and allowed for Wickens and his co-drivers to easily swap in and out of the car with the flick of a switch that changes controls from hands to feet. 

One of the biggest improvements with the new EBS-based system is the fact that the boost provided by the column-mounted master cylinders is not only more precise but also more powerful so now Wickens can operate the brake ring with one hand while completely using the other hand for another function like shifting which will allow him to take his braking to the next level.

This new system not only offers a direct benefit for Wickens inside the cockpit of the Hyundai Veloster N TCR, but opens up opportunities to race in other cars since the system uses Bosch components that are compatible with ABS modules found in GT cars and prototypes. Wickens could now take the system technology with him to step up to the next level of competition and get behind the wheel of a GTD or GTP car in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.

 

Wickens was able to truly put the new system to the test at IMSA’s run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a few weeks ago, where he and teammate Harry Gottsacker finished on the podium after starting the Michelin Pilot Challenge race from deep in the TCR field. They enter the upcoming race this weekend at Michelin Raceway at Road Atlanta second in the championship with the opportunity to nab a back-to-back championship win. With the developments made in just a few years, and this latest partnership with Bosch, whatever this weekend’s outcome may be, it will be a win for Wickens, and a further win for the disabled hoping to get a chance to take on motorsports, again.



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Alpine open to entering IMSA with LMDh car in the future

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Alpine says it would be “logical” to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship once the brand inches closer to entering the North American automotive market.

The French manufacturer has revealed it is open to the idea of expanding its factory LMDh programme with the A424 beyond the World Endurance Championship in the future, having just clinched its first podium at Fuji last month.

The WEC and IMSA have agreed a technical convergence that allows manufacturers to compete in both championships with the same car, meaning the A424 that debuted in March this year is eligible to compete in the latter’s GTP class.

IMSA is primarily based in the United States, where Alpine currently has no direct presence, but parent company Renault has laid out plans for Alpine to sell cars in the world’s second-biggest four-wheel market from 2027.

Bruno Famin, VP of motorsport at Alpine, thinks joining IMSA will provide the French manufacturer with a major marketing boost for its prospective launch in North America.

“We will be happy [to race in IMSA],” Famin told Motorsport.com. 

“There is no real plan, there is an idea for the time being to race in IMSA, because it’s not a secret that Alpine the brand would like to be on the American market one of these coming years and, of course, motorsport is the way to develop the brand awareness. 

Bruno Famin, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team at the Press Conference

Bruno Famin, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team at the Press Conference

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

“Of course, once the brand will decide to go to the US, it will be very logical to have an IMSA programme. 

“But for the moment, it’s just at the level of the idea. We have [it] in mind, we are looking at it. There is no concrete project yet.”

Alpine’s WEC programme is a full-fledged factory effort run in collaboration with its long-standing partner Signatech.

However, a traditional IMSA effort typically involves a team taking on a more hands-on role with the running of the car, as seen with Chip Ganassi/Cadillac and Wayne Taylor Racing/Acura.

Asked if he had spoken with any teams in North America about fielding the Alpine A424 in IMSA, he said: “Not yet, not truly yet. We have some contact because I know some guys there. But nothing yet. 

“Again, it’s not a project for the time being. It’s just an idea.”



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Lamborghini can target WEC wins next year with car upgrades

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Former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat believes Lamborghini can challenge for victories in the World Endurance Championship in 2025 by upgrading the SC63 LMDh.

Lamborghini joined the Hypercar class of the WEC this year with a single car entered on a factory basis by Iron Lynx and raced by Kvyat, Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Mortara.

The Italian marque’s best result of the year is a 10th-place finish, achieved at the Le Mans 24 Hours centrepiece race in June against a larger grid of 23 Hypercar entries.

Kvyat said he was content with the performance of Lamborghini in the WEC so far, but stressed that it needs to bring in new developments to the SC63 in order to fight at the front next year.

He revealed that the race to get the car homologated in time for its debut in the WEC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in March meant that not all parts that went on the car were optimised for performance.

Thus, updates — potentially by invoking some of the five evo jokers allowed to Lamborghini under the initial five-year lifespan of the SC63 — are necessary over the winter break in order to close the gap to the frontrunners.

“There is a lot of work to do, but it’s our first year, we don’t have to forget it,” said Kvyat.

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

“We had a very short testing programme before starting the season. A lot of areas that had to be homologated were quite raw and maybe not performance-optimised.

“We did a very clean Le Mans, which was very good for the team. And now our first Hyperpole [at Fuji] because we have always been missing pace [previously]. Finally, we were really able to tick that box.  

“It means we can do it and I would say [think about] what we can do with improvements. 

“We have to bring updates and then we can fight for top five and wins. I hope. That’s the goal, it’s my target. 

“I don’t give discounts to anyone. I’m demanding in that respect.”

The 2024 WEC will conclude with an eight-hour fixture at the Bahrain International Circuit, a track known for its abrasive nature and high-tyre degradation.

Lamborghini had shown encouraging signs at the previous round in Japan with Kvyat qualifying the car inside the top 10, but the 30-year-old is keeping a lid on his expectations for the title decider. 

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: Andreas Beil

«We will see. Again, we are unfortunately in a place where we cannot say okay we are able to do things consistently, we are able to perform consistently. There are a lot of things that need to be analysed and so on why the performance is there [at Fuji] and so on. So we really need to be very careful with our analysis. 

“Of course, in Bahrain, we cannot have too many expectations. I do not expect anything different in terms of the performance package we have. So zero pressure.”

 



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Porsche’s Christensen wants to stay in WEC, despite IMSA switch speculation

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Porsche driver Michael Christensen said he would like to remain in the World Championship next year despite speculation linking him with a move to the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Porsche revealed last month that it would be making changes to its factory crews for its third season with the 963 LMDh in the Hypercar and GTP classes of WEC and IMSA respectively.

These could include potential driver swaps between the two series, similar to how Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell switched positions ahead of 2024.

There also remains a possibility of Porsche downsizing its WEC line-ups to run two drivers in each car for the six-hour races that make up half of next year’s eight-round calendar.

Amid a possible shuffle in drivers, including rumours that Christensen could be moved to IMSA, the Le Mans 24 Hours class winner has said he would prefer to remain in the WEC in 2025 for what would be his 10th straight year in the world championship.

He explained that familiarity with the WEC side of the Porsche Penske Motorsport operation, as well as having an automatic entry to Le Mans, were key reasons why staying put is more enticing to him than returning to the series where he spent a single season racing the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTLM class a decade ago.

“My preference has always been WEC, I really like that [series],” the Dane told Motorsport.com.

“I did race in IMSA in 2014, my first year of the factory driver contract and I liked it. I really think IMSA is cool as well, but I felt more at home in WEC.

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Christensen raced in IMSA during the 2014 season

Photo by: Richard Dole

“The way the championship is built up, it is [based] in Europe, the race tracks, the team and the way pitstops are done, all these things are more familiar [to me].

“On top of it, and probably the most important [thing] is that you have the security to do Le Mans. You are working with the [same] team in Le Mans that you are racing with [in all other] all races as well. So, of course, that’s why I prefer to do WEC.

“Speaking about next year, there has been no communication really between us, or me at least and Porsche. So far they have not communicated anything.

“The only thing I know is the rumours which are around the paddock, but whether that is true or not, no idea.”

Christensen and his team-mates in the #5 Porsche, Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki, currently sit fifth in the drivers’ standings heading to the Bahrain finale in November.

The championship is led by the sister Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, with the trio holding a 35-point lead with only 39 up for grabs in the bonus-points decider.

Porsche is yet to announce when it would be invoking first of the five evo jokers allowed to it under the original five-year rule cycle of the 963 LMDh.

A planned upgrade of its hybrid engine, which centred on a switch to a 90° crankshaft from a 180°, was abandoned after it was able to get through this year’s Le Mans without any major reliability issues.

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The German manufacturer heads the standings in both the WEC and IMSA, as their respective seasons draw to a close in November and October respectively.

Christensen said there are still some areas where Porsche can improve the 963, highlighting a straightline speed deficit at Circuit de la Sarthe that contributed to it finishing outside the podium in the WEC’s centrepiece event this year.

“There are always things to update, there are always things to improve and we also saw that early in the project and still have some things which are not solved and which can’t be solved with set-up,” he explained.

“So for sure we have some things that I believe we should focus on to try to improve. Whether this is possible or not in terms of regulations, I have no idea. This is the management who knows that.

“But for sure we have things to improve and this you can say wish more for, Le Mans top speed for example.

“I can’t tell why we are not good enough there, but we lack a lot [of stop speed].

“And when you look at the data from Le Mans, of course it’s just one race but it’s the biggest race and with a lot of points, so that and some [other] mechanical stuff for detail.

“A few things we should be focused on. I’m not sure if it is possible to change. There is always something to improve.”



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Lapierre to become Alpine sporting director in WEC after retirement

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Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre will take a new management role at Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team following his retirement from racing.

Having announced his decision to hang up his helmet earlier this week, Lapierre will move into a newly-created role of sporting director at the Alpine Endurance Team to assist team principal Philippe Sinault.

Although his new job will formally begin on 1 January 2025, the Frenchman will take up the position in November’s Bahrain 8 Hours finale in order to familiarise himself with the role.

The 40-year-old pulled the curtain down on his racing career after last month’s Fuji round to focus «on the other side of the pitwall», a role that brought him more joy than he anticipated since he started CLX Motorsport — which operates under the Cool Racing banner — in 2020.

«Alpine has always shown a tremendous amount of confidence in me, not least by giving me the chance to develop the A424 and then start this first season behind the wheel,” he said.

«After expressing the wish to end my career as a professional driver, I am delighted to confirm that I am continuing the adventure with the team, but this time on the other side of the pitwall.

«I’ll try to bring all my experience to our drivers and be the link with our technical teams. Endurance racing is on a great trajectory, and I believe in the Alpine project. We must continue our relentless efforts to reach the next levels together.»

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Lapierre has been racing alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh in 2024, scoring the programme’s maiden podium finish in Japan in September.

With Lapierre stepping down from racing with a round still to run, his place in the two-car Alpine team in Bahrain will be taken over by reserve driver Jules Gounon, although Alpine didn’t explicitly confirm that he will be driving the #36 A424.

Gounon was already down to compete in the eight-hour race at the Bahrain International Circuit in place of Charles Milesi as part of a plan agreed internally before the start of the season. But it now appears that Milesi will see out the season in the #35 Alpine.

On the decision to promote Lapierre to a management role, Sinault said: «We have been discussing this prospect together for several months now.

«Apart from our mutual desire, it represents a logical and natural continuation of the prosperous collaboration we have shared over the last few years, particularly under the Alpine colours.

«We’ve grown up together and won many races and several titles! We know each other exceptionally well, and there is mutual trust. I want to thank Nicolas for accepting, and I’m looking forward to seeing him contribute to the team’s development in his new role.»

Lapierre played a pivotal role in the development of the Alpine A424 challenger, having brought with him more than 15 years of experience in prototype machinery.

«Right from the outset of the A424 programme, Nicolas has been one of the key actors. He was the first to drive the car and contributed significantly to its development,» said Alpine motorsport chief Bruno Famin.

«He is part of the Alpine family. In addition to his proven qualities as a driver and human being, he has gained a wealth of experience outside the car in recent years.

«Together with Philippe, it was clear to us that Nicolas could naturally bring a great deal to the team through his sporting director role, and we are genuinely delighted that Nicolas has
accepted.»

It remains unclear whether Lapierre will stay as team principal at Cool Racing, an outfit that he founded together with Alexandre Coigny. When asked by Motorsport.com, an Alpine spokesperson declined to comment.

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Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Lapierre retires with immediate effect

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre has retired from the cockpit with immediate effect to concentrate on running his Cool Racing team.

The announcement from the Frenchman, 40, on Wednesday means that last month’s Fuji round of the World Endurance Championship, in which he finished third with Alpine, was his final race. 

“It is time for me to hang up my helmet and end this chapter of my life,” said Lapierre in a short video post on Instagram. “It was great to finish this journey on the podium and spray the Champagne once more. It was an honour for me to live for my passion, with so many years doing what I love.”

Lapierre said that it was now “time for a new chapter of my life on the other side of the pitwall”. He added: “I love it as much as I loved racing, so I won’t be far away.”

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Photo by: Alpine

Lapierre will be focusing on the CLX Motorsport operation he founded with Alexandre Coigny in 2020. The team runs under the Cool Racing banner and is based in Annecy in France, just across the border from Geneva. It has competed in LMP2 and LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series, as well as at the Le Mans 24 Hours in P2. 

Lapierre took the opportunity in his video statement to thank multiple players from a career in which he was a race winner in GP2 and A1 Grand Prix and in the WEC with both Toyota and Alpine. 

Among them were Philippe Sinault, who had a role in some of his biggest successes in both single-seaters and sportscars.

Sinault runs the Signatech team that has masterminded Alpine’s endurance racing campaigns since 2013 and its forerunner, Signature, for which Lapierre won the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2003. 

He also singled out Jean-Paul Driot, the late founder and boss of the DAMS team.

“I am thinking also of Jean-Paul Driot; he left too early,” said Lapierre. “With him and his team I could get my first GP2 win in 2007 — he definitely changed my career.”

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Also mentioned were ORECA boss Hugues de Chaunac, who gave Lapierre his first chance in sportscar racing in ’07 and with whom he won the 2011 Sebring 12 Hours aboard a semi-works Peugeot 908 HDi LMP1. 

Lapierre’s contract with ORECA smoothed his way into Toyota’s LMP1 line-up on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012 because the French organisation was part of the Japanese manufacturer’s race set-up until the end of 2020. 

He would go on to win six WEC races with Toyota before being controversially sacked mid-season in 2014 after crashing at both Le Mans and the Austin round, even though he was on slick tyres in heavy rain both times. 

Lapierre paid tribute to former ORECA technical director David Floury, who now fulfils the same role at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, for his encouragement at that time. 

“He was a very important person in my career and also my life,” he said. “I was probably at the lowest point of my racing career: I was very close to stopping racing and he was the one who brought me back.”

Lapierre’s announcement comes at a time when Cool is known to be one of the candidates to partner with Hyundai Motorsport as it gears up for its entry into the prototype ranks with a new LMDh under the South Korean manufacturer’s premium Genesis brand. 

It is expected that Lapierre’s place in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere for the 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain will be taken by Jules Gounon. 

Gounon is Alpine’s official reserve driver and was brought into the line-up for Fuji as part of a plan agreed before the start of the season to increase his experience in the Hypercar division. 

He replaced Paul-Loup Chatin and the same agreement called for him to step in for Bahrain in place of Charles Milesi, who has been Alpine’s standout performer during its move towards the front of the Hypercar field since Le Mans.

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