Less than ten days after the resumption of the season in Texas, the FIA WEC crossed the Pacific Ocean for the penultimate round on the 2024 calendar.

 

 

Alpine Endurance Team headed to the base of Mount Fuji on Monday to service the two A424s that had just arrived from Austin. The team was then one of the most productive in practice at Fuji Speedway before tackling qualifying with Matthieu Vaxiviere and Charles Milesi. While the former saw the Hyperpole slip from his grasp by three-tenths of a second, his team-mate finished in the top ten. In the fourth Hyperpole appearance for the #35, Charles Milesi continued his momentum, finishing sixth in a hotly contested session, less than a tenth of a second behind the leading trio.

 

 

On Sunday, an Alpine A110 parade was held just a few hours before a lap of honour as a prelude to the 6 Hours of Fuji. Starting on Michelin medium tyres, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mick Schumacher were cautious before falling victim to an incident caused by two Ferraris at the start of lap two. The Austrian spun whilst the German had to use the run-off area.

 

 

Despite losing positions, the drivers went on the offensive right from the restart. Mick Schumacher and Ferdinand Habsburg were involved in several duels, and seized numerous opportunities in traffic to rejoin the top ten. Matthieu Vaxiviere and Jules Gounon - back in the #35 car - took over in the second hour in increasingly warmer conditions. The team then took advantage of a safety car period to adjust its strategy and reduce the gap to the leaders, but the #36 received a drive-through penalty for failing to comply with a yellow flag. Meanwhile, the #35 car briefly took the lead before Charles Milesi and Nicolas Lapierre entered the fray.

 

 

The #35 Alpine rejoined the frontrunners with 2 hours and 10 minutes remaining. Charles Milesi then entered his second consecutive stint to set the race's fastest lap while Mick Schumacher took over in the sister car. Following a virtual safety car period, the A424s were in fourth and eleventh place with an hour and a half to go. Soon after the restart, Charles Milesi moved onto the provisional podium by making his way past the #8 Toyota, but a drive-through for involuntary contact with an LMGT3 car dropped him down the order.

 

 

Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher picked up positions to join the fight for third place against the #12 Porsche, which ceded the place with six minutes to go.

 

 

In the final sprint to the chequered flag, Mick Schumacher did all he needed to seal the first podium for an Alpine A424 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Charles Milesi also kept pushing to finish in seventh place, 0.008s ahead of the #94 Peugeot.

 

 

On the strength of its best result since its return to the premier category, Alpine Endurance Team will now prepare to conclude its Hypercar learning campaign at the FIA WEC season finale, the 8 Hours of Bahrain (31 October-2 November).

 


Charles Milesi
"It was a good race overall. We had a good car from the start of the weekend, which allowed us to fight for the podium and maybe even more at one point. It gives us even more confidence in our potential. There's one race left this season, so we need to keep working to find further improvements for the future."

 

 

Ferdinand Habsburg
"Apart from the result, I'm especially pleased with how the whole team behaved. From the car to the engineers and mechanics, everything went well, whereas the collision caused by the Ferraris could have put us on the back foot. We had to push hard to come back, and we did it, thanks in particular to the pace set by Charles. Unfortunately, traffic is always tricky when several categories share the track, but we made all the right decisions."

 

 

Jules Gounon
"It's a good day for the team with this first Hypercar podium. It's a solid performance, confirming our one in Austin. For our part, we had a good race and were in a good position before a penalty deprived us of a great result. Despite that, it was good to get back behind the wheel of the A424, and I feel more and more comfortable with it."

 

 

Matthieu Vaxiviere
"I'm pleased with our result today, and all credit to the team after more than a year of development and hard work behind the scenes. We keep improving at every race, and getting our first podium in our debut FIA WEC season with the Alpine A424 is quite an achievement. It will only strengthen our motivation to aim even higher in the future."

 

 

Mick Schumacher
"It's a positive result for the team and everyone involved in the project. We deserved this podium after fighting so hard when success wasn’t on our side until now. Fortunately, that wasn't the case today, but we still have to work on our pace. We're heading in the right direction, and we want more. We're all here to win, so let's keep giving it everything we've got."

 

 

Nicolas Lapierre
"We're improving from one race to the next, and we confirmed that again today. We're gradually getting closer to the best teams' pace, and we've enjoyed terrific reliability over the last three races. The team did a good job with sound strategic decisions and good stops at the right moments. Even though we still have much work to do for the future, there are many positive points."

 

 

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
"For the past few races, this project has been characterised by good momentum, and this podium confirms that feeling. Right from our first laps at Fuji, we were in contention. The six hours were fiercely contested, with a constant battle throughout the field among excellent drivers representing all the manufacturers present. We weren't spared at the start, falling victim to a collision, but our pace kept us focused and motivated. Thanks to the talent of our drivers, the car's potential and the team's hard work, we were able to achieve this fine result, which rewards the commitment of every team member, including Paul-Loup!"

 

 

Bruno Famin, Alpine VP Motorsports
"The 6 Hours of Fuji highlights the encouraging progress made by the team. From the outset of the project, we have approached this year as a learning season, and it is beginning to pay off after our first seven races. However, not everything is perfect yet. We've taken a step forward by battling at the sharp end for the first time, but there's still plenty of work to do and steps to take. We aim to continue learning and extract our potential in all areas over the coming months."

 

 

CLASSIFICATIONS

 

6 Hours of Fuji


1. Porsche Penske Motorsport #6
2. BMW M Team WRT #15
3. Alpine Endurance Team #36
7. Alpine Endurance Team #35

 

FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship


1. Estre / Lotterer / Vanthoor – 150 points
2. Fuoco / Molina / Nielsen – 115 points
3. de Vries / Kobayashi – 113 points
12. Milesi – 27 points
14. Habsburg – 25 points
19. Lapierre / Schumacher / Vaxiviere – 18 points
22. Chatin – 17 points
24. Gounon – 6 points

 

FIA Hypercar World Endurance Hypercar

Manufacturer's Championship
1. Porsche – 161 points
2. Toyota – 151 points
3. Ferrari – 134 points
4. Alpine – 52 points