Alpine’s future in the top class of sportscar racing appears bright as the 2024 FIA WEC season comes to a close. Just last weekend it achieved its best finish yet in the FIA WEC when its No. 35 A424 finished fifth overall, and in the background, work is ongoing to secure a future for the brand long-term, not only in the FIA WEC, but in IMSA too.
First off, Alpine welcomes the recent Hypercar ruleset extension to the end of the 2029 season, as its commitment to the category is open-ended. Beyond that, it is still exploring an expansion to IMSA GTP and holds continued interest in the forthcoming hydrogen regulations that are set to be introduced in 2028.
Regarding IMSA, it sees GTP as a potential platform to expand its commitment to top-end sportscar racing and help give the brand visibility in North America at a crucial time.
This is something that IMSA president John Doonan spoke with RACER about earlier this summer. He believes the French manufacturer is a prime example of a brand which could utilise an IMSA program to assist the launch of its road cars into the U.S. market.
“They want to come to the U.S. and sell road cars,” he said “If you bring the racing program as part of the brand launch, it’s an authentic way to launch a brand.
“To do that you need lots of elements, retail locations and a distribution network, but you need awareness more than anything else. What better way to get that than via showing the public what you can do on track?”
And it appears that Alpine is indeed taking a long, hard look at what going GTP racing with the A424 would look like, with Alpine Motorsports vice president Bruno Famin telling RACER at COTA last week that an expansion to IMSA remains on the table.
“We always said there would be no limit to our (WEC) program. We have no problem with the Hypercar rule extension and we have no limit,” he said.
“And IMSA is a potential scenario we are considering. But for the time being it’s just potential. What is not a secret is that the Alpine brand wants to return to the US in the coming years and the development of the Alpine brand awareness is based on its motorsport programs.
“So considering an IMSA program is something we may think about. Nothing is done yet regarding schedule, but we are considering it.”
Famin added that any GTP program would likely be a collaborative effort with a private team rather than a pure factory effort funded and managed entirely by the OEM.
“It would be a US-style program, where the factory is involved but the cars would be managed by a private team. It’s the business model in the USA and IMSA.
“We have been in a few talks but nothing very recently,” he added “We need to confirm first when Alpine would be ready to come back to the U.S. Once we have certainty about that we will come back to talking to the team.”
This evaluation coincides with the formation of the future regulation set for hydrogen-powered prototypes, which after its most recent delay is expected to come into play in 2028.
Alpine, Famin explained, remains interested in competing with the new technology but recognises that any transition from its current Hypercar program to an effort with hydrogen would need to be managed carefully.
“What we need to consider is whether you make a new car or not and with which category and with technology,” he said. “But we are happy. Hypercar is developing and has stability with potential newcomers in 2026.
“(Hydrogen) It’s something we are considering. We are working on the hydrogen technology. In Le Mans we had the Alpenglow complete a lap before the start and we are working hard on that. At the Paris Motor Show, we will show off a new version of that car.
“And if the regulations are clear and affordable we would be happy to consider it. No decision has been taken but everyone, the ACO, the FIA, knows we are very active on this technology and we may consider it for sure.
“What we know is that we won’t be able to do both programs in parallel. It will be a traditional car with traditional technology or a Hydrogen car. We will not do both.”
Alpine isn’t the only current Hypercar manufacturer facing this dilemma. Toyota is also invested in hydrogen technology and recently reaffirmed its intentions to compete with it in the future.
However, unlike Alpine, it would plan to compete with the GR010 Hypercar and a hydrogen prototype simultaneously when the two regulation sets first overlap.
In the meantime, Alpine is fully committed to improving the A424 and building momentum for its second season of Hypercar competition in 2025.
A big part of that has been to work on a permanent solution to the engine issue that led to a double retirement on its first Le Mans 24 Hours with the car back in June.
Signatech (Alpine’s WEC Hypercar service provider) boss Philippe Sinault told RACER in São Paulo that the problem was being ‘managed’ and that a permanent fix was being worked on.
And with the summer break over and the season’s final stretch in progress, Famin now confirms it is close to a permanent solution.
“We have implemented some modifications and we will keep working on it,” he explained to RACER.
“We have reduced the level of risk but we still have to work on it. We are still negotiating to see if it will be an Evo (Joker) or not. We have (new) parts on the car, but not all of them.”
Famin wouldn’t been drawn into the specifics of what the fix entails, but he did confirm that the ultimate solution is not to introduce an entirely new engine.
“There is no reason for a change,” he said.