Alpine has named Bruno Famin as its new VP of Alpine Motorsports, overseeing all racing and sports activities as part of a management reorganization.
Famin was previously executive director of the Renault power unit program at Viry-Chatillon, but Alpine says he now will “manage all teams ranging from Formula 1 to Endurance, to customer racing and competition such as Rallye-Raid, with Alpine providing some technical support to Dacia on its Dakar project. Bruno Famin will also lead the Alpine Academy, with the aim of detecting and developing drivers, thus serving as a feeder to all Alpine’s motorsports endeavors.”
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Despite the additional remit, Famin will also retain his responsibilities with the power unit division, and all existing leaders of Alpine’s motorsport activities – including F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer – will now report to him rather than directly to CEO Laurent Rossi.
“With this appointment, Bruno Famin will be in position to leverage his extensive experience in motorsports, built on his unique track record of victories, including several titles in Le Mans and Dakar,” an Alpine statement read. “He will also contribute with his acknowledged engineering know-how, which helped re-establish Alpine’s F1 PU as a credible reference in the paddock, as well as his extensive experience in motorsports regulations, having long served as a well-respected FIA executive.”
RACER understands Rossi has been keen to give Famin greater responsibility for some time, as he looks to put Alpine into a position where it is fighting for victories and championships in multiple disciplines.
Alpine’s F1 team recently attracted over $200 million in investment from a group that included Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Investments, and is currently sixth in the constructors’ championship, 12 points behind McLaren following a double-DNF in this weekend’s British Grand Prix.