Alpine is the latest manufacturer to join the premier class of global endurance. It will be in 2024, not in the 2023 season like other brands, and it will do so through an LMDh prototype built in collaboration with Oreca. Despite the weeks of defoliating the daisy and the doubts about the path to take to shape this project, the French firm has finally decided to follow in the footsteps of Audi, Porsche, BMW, Acura and Cadillac and bet on the LMDh formula. The head of Alpine, Laurent Rossi, has explained that it is the logical option at an economic level for the brand.
Speaking to ‘Endurance-Info’, Laurent rossi has developed this idea: «LMH has a real interest in the technical freedom it offers, as it emphasizes the search for absolute performance. We already have that in Formula 1, so an LMH project requires financial resources that are not affordable. The LMDh formula allows you to amortize investments. Without the LMDh class we would not have been able to continue the adventure in resistance because the LMH route involved spending many millions of euros. The amounts handled at LMH are not reasonable for us. LMDh makes the category accessible to everyone and was the logical choice for Alpine financially»”.
Along these lines, the head of Alpine added: «You can compete and the ‘BoP’ level the rules of the game. LMDh gives that advantage. I was eager to reveal this show, but there was a lot to go through. Seeing the technical feasibility, we wonder how to be present in 2023, how would the WEC and Formula 1 at the level of technical synergies. We are not doing this program just for the love of art, for the gesture. Before that, I hope we can have an exemption to compete with our current prototype in 2022. Then we must continue in the game in 2023, we will have to see the formula to be able to do it».