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novembre 07, 2021 - Alpine Matmut

Alpine snatches a high-flying podium to conclude the season

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FIA WORLD #endurance CHAMPIONSHIP
8 Hours of #bahrain – Review

  • Alpine Elf Matmut #endurance Team completes its maiden campaign in the premier class of the #fiaworldendurancechampionship with its sixth podium finish in as many races.
  • Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere demonstrated their resilience to return from last to third following a diff shift issue.
  • Alpine ends the year in second place in the final general classification. Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere finish third in the drivers general classification.

Just five days after the first race at the #bahrain International Circuit, the FIA WEC returned to the same track for the 2021 season-finale.

Thanks to the lessons learned the previous week, the team put its knowledge to good use during the three free practice sessions. Matthieu Vaxiviere then confirmed the progress made by setting the third-fastest time in qualifying, with a reduced gap to the pole position compared to last Friday.

Nicolas Lapierre, who was in the car for the start on Saturday, made a perfect getaway, overtaking the two Toyotas in the opening corners. The Frenchman dominated the first quarter of an hour before his rivals had an easier time with the back-marker traffic on lap nine. Not about to throw in the towel, Nicolas Lapierre kept the leaders in sight, but a mechanical issue with the diff shift forced him into the pits. 

The Alpine Elf Matmut #endurance Team mechanics then carried out a lightning-quick intervention of only seven minutes to get the A480 back on track with Matthieu Vaxiviere. The French driver found himself shotgun on the field, nearly five laps behind the leaders, but engaged in a race against the clock to get back to the sharp end of the field. After clearing the GTE Am contingent, he handed over to André Negrao, who attacked the GTE Pro and LMP2 cars as night gradually set in.  

Despite his efforts being slowed by an increasing number of full course yellows, the Brazilian drove a double stint, as did Matthieu Vaxiviere after him. Back behind the wheel, André Negrao rejoined the top five with two hours and fifteen minutes to go before Nicolas Lapierre got back in the car for the final sprint.

Coming out of the pits in seventh place, Nicolas Lapierre showed as much flair as his teammates, putting the n°36 Alpine back into the top three. After a final pit-stop, the Frenchman resumed his march forward to secure third place with twenty-three minutes to go.

With six podium results in as many races, Alpine Elf Matmut #endurance Team finishes its maiden campaign in the FIA WEC premier class in second place in the teams championship. Mathieu Vaxiviere, André Negrão and Nicolas Lapierre are third in the drivers championship.

Tomorrow, Les Bleus will conduct a day of testing with Nicolas Lapierre in the A480. The 2022 #fiaworldendurancechampionship season will kick off at Sebring, USA, where the Prologue (March 12-13) will precede the 1000 Miles of Sebring (March 18).

CLASSIFICATIONS

8 Hours of Bahrain

1. Toyota Gazoo #racing n°8 – 247 laps

2. Toyota Gazoo #racing n°7 – +7.351s

3. Alpine Elf Matmut #endurance Team n°36 + 6 laps

4. Team WRT n°31 + 7 laps

5. JOTA n°28 + 7 laps

FIA World #endurance Championship Hypercar

1. Toyota Gazoo #racing – 206 points

2. Alpine Elf Matmut #endurance Team – 128 points

3. Glickenhaus #racing – 37 points