Alpine ready to take on the 24 hours of Le Mans

Since its founding in 1955, Alpine has had a long and storied history with the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Entering the legendary race from 1963, the brand founded by Jean Rédélé achieved its maiden class victory in only its second appearance and conquered this motorsport monument in 1978. Alpine returned in 2013, adding three LMP2 victories to its tally before returning to the pinnacle of endurance racing last year with its new Hypercar, the A424.

Qualified for the Hyperpole on its debut appearance in the Sarthe, the Alpine A424 made a promising start before suffering the only double retirement of its career. One year later, the team returns to Le Mans with a simple goal: to demonstrate its progress in the longest, most difficult and most renowned race of the year, where finishing is the first challenge.

Following its Le Mans debut, Alpine has continued to work on improving its prototypes. In the seven races contested since then, Alpine Endurance Team has further refined the A424 and raised its game, notably finishing third in the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji and then in the 2025 6 Hours of Imola and 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

In the wake of their second consecutive podium finish in Belgium in early May, the French team quickly turned their attention to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After testing at Circuit Paul Ricard, they overhauled their Hypercars from top to bottom.

To prepare for every eventuality in a race with unparalleled challenges for both drivers and machines, the team also performed meticulous preparation before a final shakedown last week at Magny-Cours. Since Monday, Alpine Endurance Team has set up its base camp in the Sarthe region.

Before taking to the track, the team will head to the town centre for the Pesage, where FIA and ACO officials will scrutinise the key components of each car entered. This first milestone for Alpine and its crews, whose entire equipment will be verified, will occur this Friday at 4:40 pm.

After a parade through the city on Saturday at 3 pm, the A424s will return to the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday. In the #35 car, Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin will make the most of the Test Day to get back up to speed on the 13.626 km track.

Mick Schumacher will do the same in the #36 car, as will his teammates Frédéric Makowiecki and Jules Gounon, who are ready for their first laps at Le Mans in Alpine colours. All six will take turns fine-tuning the setups, perfecting their pit stops, and studying the behaviour of the tyres supplied by Michelin.

The team will analyse data during the early part of the next week before returning to business on Wednesday. The first free practice session will be followed immediately by qualifying.

The new format will present new challenges, as only the top 15 at the end of the 30-minute session will reach the 20-minute Hyperpole 1 the following day. The top ten will then compete for pole position in the 15-minute Hyperpole 2, featuring different drivers from those who participated in Hyperpole 1.

Following a final night-time practice session on Thursday evening and the drivers' parade in the city centre on Friday, Alpine Endurance Team will return to the track on Saturday morning for the warm-up. Shortly afterwards, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will start at 4 pm, releasing an impressive field of 62 cars, including 21 in the premier Hypercar category.

Alpine will punctuate the week with several events parallel to the race. The A-arrow brand will conduct demonstrations with its Alpenglow Hy6.

Unveiled at the 2024 Paris Motor Show and in attendance at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the running prototype equipped with a hydrogen-powered V6 engine specifically designed by Alpine will offer the public a glimpse of a future that combines innovation and carbon-free sportiness. A parade featuring numerous Alpine models will be staged on the track on Saturday afternoon to celebrate with the public the 70th anniversary of the brand created by Jean Rédélé in 1955.

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal at Alpine Endurance Team, said: “We've made good progress in all areas for the A424's second outing at Le Mans.

“Our podium finishes at Imola and Spa on two very different circuits bear witness to this. But the 24 Hours of Le Mans remains a truly unique event, which we approach with great humility given the race's difficulty and the field's unprecedented quality.

“This week, every lap on the track, whether during the Test Day, free practice, or even qualifying, must therefore be used to prepare for the race. That will be our priority.

“The team has been on site since Monday, motivated, focused and aware that we will need to deliver a flawless performance, from the mechanics to the drivers, to achieve a good result. We are building momentum and will do everything we can to keep it going at Le Mans despite the scale of the challenge.

“We are ready to take it on.”

Timetable (CEST):

Friday 6 June

4:40 pm: Pesage #35 & #36
5:10 pm: Technical scrutineering #35
5:20 pm: Technical scrutineering #36

Saturday 7 June

3:00-3:30 pm: A424 Parade in the city centre

Sunday 8 June

10:00 am-1:00 pm: Test Day
3:30-6:30 pm: Test Day

Tuesday 10 June

2:00-5:00 pm: Autograph session & Pit Walk
3:15-4:30 pm: Pit Stop Challenge

Wednesday 11 June

2:00-5:00 pm: Free practice 1
7:30-8:00 pm Hypercar Qualifying
10:00 pm-12:00 am: Free practice 2

Thursday 12 June

2:10 pm: Hydrogen Demonstration with Alpenglow Hy6
2:45-5:45 pm: Free practice 3
9:05-9:25 pm: Hyperpole 1
9:40-9:55 pm: Hyperpole 2
11:00 pm-12:00 am: Free practice 4

Friday 13 June

4:00-7:00 pm: Driver parade

Saturday 14 June

12:00-12:15 pm: Warm-up
12:30 pm: Hydrogen Demonstration with Alpenglow Hy6
4:00 pm: Start of the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Sunday 15 June

4:00 pm: Finish of the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé, Alpine has established itself with its French-style sports cars. The brand introduced the new A110 in 2018, faithful to Alpine's timeless principles of compactness, lightweight, agility and driving pleasure.

The Alpine Business Unit was created in 2021, building on the heritage and savoir-faire of its historic Dieppe factory and the engineering expertise of the Alpine Racing and Alpine Cars teams. The dedicated brand innovates authentic and exclusive sports cars within Renault Group.

This expertise enables the brand to compete in two FIA championships: Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship. Alpine is also present in other racing disciplines through its customer racing programme in Rally, Cup and GT4.

2024 marks a turning point in Alpine's ambitions as it inaugurates its 100% electric "Dream Garage" with the launch of its hot hatch, the A290, followed by its first sport fastback, the A390, in 2025.