Renault seems to be very impressed with their Alpine that they are determined to relive the glory that it once basked on. Aside from collaborating with Caterham in developing a new Alpine for the roads, in which they aim to put it into the market in 2016, they also kept one big plan stored for later this year; announcing the return into the endurance racing scene.
And in the quest in conquering one of the toughest endurance races there is, the French automaker has joined forces with Signatech, where the Philippe Sinault-run team will be fielding an Alpine LMP2 prototype with an Alpine chassis. Powering this race machine is a 500-horsepower Nissan-sourced engine for the five rounds of the European Le Mans Series, kicking off this April 13 at Silverstone, England.
The duo of Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues will be piloting the machine, and their skills will be put to the test on the season’s highlight at Le Mans. The third driver which will be joining them later in Le Mans will be revealed during the car’s official presentation at Le Castellet, France, on March 24.
“Alpine’s return to the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013 marks the beginning of a new adventure which is set to last. The passion that drives us is matched only by the humility and careful attention paid to costs that epitomize this comeback which itself has been made possible thanks to the involvement of our partners and supporters who I would like to thank formally here”, said Renault’s Chief Operating Officer, Carlos Tavares.
