WEC 2023: Alpine Faces Engine Upgrade Delay, but Shows Improved Pace at COTA
In a recent development, Alpine appears unlikely to introduce the engine upgrade needed to overcome the issue that led to the early retirement of both its cars at the Le Mans 24 Hours earlier this season. The French manufacturer revealed that a valve problem had put its two A424 LMDhs out of the race before the six-hour mark.
Alpine motorsport boss Bruno Famin told Autosport that the revised valves may not be introduced before the end of the current WEC season.
“It is the lead time. You need to define what you need, you need [to manufacture] the new part and then you need to validate the new part, which is quite a long process,” he explained.
Despite the absence of the critical engine upgrade, Alpine has been managing the existing engine protocols to overcome the problem. Famin stated that the performance of the single-turbo 3.4-litre V6 is unaffected by the issue.
The team’s efforts seem to be paying off, as the #35 Alpine A424 driven by Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Paul-Loup Chatin delivered the marque’s best qualifying performance of the season at the Interlagos round of the WEC. Milesi secured fourth on the grid, three places better than Alpine’s previous best of seventh at Spa in May.
“We did a very good improvement from FP3 to qualifying and being able to put the tyre in the right window was the key for this qualifying performance,” Milesi explained.
The strong qualifying result came despite the factory Signatech squad missing a collective test at the Circuit of The Americas in July, which was attended by the other seven manufacturers competing in WEC’s Hypercar class. Famin cited the team’s own testing plans and the last-minute organization of the COTA test as reasons for their absence.
Milesi believes that the resurfacing of parts of the 3.43-mile COTA track and the different ambient conditions for the race weekend reduced the disadvantage of not participating in the collective test.
While Milesi is unsure whether Alpine will be able to maintain its strong qualifying position in the upcoming six-hour race at Austin, he is confident that the team is now “in the right train” to fight for a top-five finish.
The improved pace shown by the #35 Alpine A424 at COTA, despite the ongoing engine upgrade delay, is a promising sign for the team as they look to build on their performance and challenge the top contenders in the WEC 2023 season.
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