French racer Pierre Ragues will put his wealth of endurance racing experience to good use as he aims to return the Alpine name to the Le Mans podium in this year’s 24 hour race. Joining the Signatech-Alpine squad and competing in the LMP2 category, this year will mark the seventh occasion that Pierre takes part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as event organisers commemorate the 90th anniversary of the world-famous race.
Pierre has good form around the 13.6km La Sarthe circuit with third place in LMP2 in 2008 and a competitive fourth place in last year’s event with Signatech in which he just missed out on the podium after a determined drive. Pierre and the team will be hoping that its recent form will help them break into the top three in this year’s event.
The Signatech-Alpine A450 has demonstrated excellent pace in recent weeks with Pierre and team-mate Nelson Panciatici taking a strong second in the recent European Le Mans Series race at Imola and topping the timesheets for much of the recent official Le Mans test day.
Although the Le Mans result will not count towards the team’s ELMS standings, Pierre’s position in joint second in the classification will mark the team as podium contenders. The recent test day showed encouraging signs even though the team will benefit further at Le Mans with a new engine.
As the pinnacle of the endurance season, Le Mans attracts the best competitors from around the world and creates a uniquely challenging and competitive field, especially in LMP2, so Signatech-Alpine will have to use all their resource to fight for the podium. Pierre has already received the backing from driver Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, a former winner for Alpine at Le Mans in 1978, who fittingly comes from the same town as Pierre, Caen.
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud: “I am delighted that Pierre is one of the three drivers who will be part of reviving a legend. I recall when Jean Rédélé dared to launch the brand new ‘Alpine’ name and, as a visionary, led us to fantastic results and the emergence of many drivers. This adventure was marked with victory in the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours. This story has now been revived thanks to another visionary, Carlos Tavares, who has the ambition to bring back the Alpine name, picking up from where we left off in 1978 to revive this great story at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours. I am sure that Pierre Ragues is the ideal man for the team, bringing exceptional driving talent as well as being a sensible man who will bring the car home, which is particularly important in the context of Le Mans. And, if I am allowed to dream a little, I don’t think he and his team-mates will be far from the front of the field.”
Pierre Ragues commented: “I am excited at the prospect of returning the Alpine name to the Le Mans 24 Hours and I am honoured to be a Signatech-Alpine driver in this year’s 90th anniversary event. It will be a special week and it’s great to play a part in it, also because it is like a home race for me being just one hour from Caen. We had a good test here and showed that we were able to compete at the front of LMP2 in a range of weather conditions, full wet, drying and dry, so this is encouraging and I am hopeful that we can show even more as the week progresses. This will be my seventh time racing at Le Mans and each time it is a fantastic feeling, especially with the support of the crowds at the circuit and during the drivers’ parade and scrutineering. We have worked hard to prepare the car and as a team, together with my team-mates Nelson Panciatici and Tristan Gommendy, we will be ready for any situation that arises. We also have great support from Michelin and I am thankful for the contribution made by my personal sponsor Group Auto. I hope that our combined experiences will help us to fight for the podium in what promises to be a special Le Mans.”
