Michael Andretti is closing positions with Alpine to use its LMDh prototype from the 2024 season. However, the most interesting part of the negotiations between the owner of Andretti Autosport and Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine, is in the terms of the agreement. In this aspect, On the table is the possibility of shaping a global programso Andretti would race Alpine’s LMDh in the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and in the hypercar class of the WEC, at least at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The conversations between Michael Andretti and Laurent Rossi began within the framework of Andretti Autosport’s possible entry into Formula 1, with Renault engines being the option chosen by the American team to face this landing in the category. Although this issue seems to have cooled in the face of Liberty Media’s refusal to accept Andretti’s bet, the relationship between Michael Andretti and the CEO of the Renault Group is very good and it seems that an agreement in the field of resistance is getting closer.
laurent rossi has been clear about it: «When we announced our LMDh project, Andretti raised their hands to tell us that they were interested in racing our car at IMSA and possibly Le Mans, since both scenarios are very significant in the United States. So we are discussing it and it is one of the possibilities that we are studying, since it would potentially allow us to have a complete LMDh program. It is an option that is on the table and in Alpine we are talking about it.
Although it is understood that the agreement between Andretti and Alpine would be included in the French brand’s ‘races-client’ programme, It is still not clear how the LMDh of the French manufacturer could operate the equipment at IMSA. It should be remembered that the regulations that the promoter has stipulated for its championship requires that any LMDh be covered by a brand that has a presence in the United States and that has a production of at least 2,500 street vehicles per year. Although the second requirement is met, Alpine does not serve the American market for now.
In this sense, Bruno Famin as CEO of the Alpine project, he ensures that the development of the LMDh prototype is going according to plan: “Our first objective is to have a factory team in the WEC. The second would be to sell our prototype to ‘client-teams’, both in the WEC and IMSA. We can compete in both championships. The development of the car is going very well. The engine is on the dynamometer. We are working on development and are confident that we have the right level of performance. We are going to start the stress tests on the dyno in the next few weeks».
Font: SportsCar365
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Photos: Alpine Endurance Team