Samples 2016 Le Mans Special Edition | Page 172

REAL PANACHE Bernard Ollivier, Alpine Deputy Managing Director: “We have always said that our aim was to win the LMP2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To achieve this, we formed a winning partnership with the SignatechAlpine team, made up of six complementary drivers, two very quick Alpine A460s and an experienced technical team. We were on the pace from the first practice sessions, and were in contention for pole position. During the race, the drivers competed with real panache and managed to make up positions as the race unfolded. Panache is an essential value for Alpine and I think we showed it once again this weekend. What could be better than this superb win to support the renaissance of Alpine in 2016 with the unveiling of the new production model? Congratulations to Nicolas [Lapierre], Gustavo [Menezes] and Stéphane [Richelmi] for this great performance, the effects of which will be felt all around the world. Like everyone in the team, the only thing I regret is that one of our cars didn’t make it to the finish. We feel sorry for Nelson [Panciatici], who was in the process of making a great fight back, and his team-mates David [Cheng] and Ho-Pin [Tung]. They will have other opportunities to show their worth at the forthcoming rounds of the FIA WEC.” Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal: “For a lot of people, this win was more or less wrapped up even before the start and I think that put us under a bit of pressure. We had to remain grounded and treat this great twenty-four hour race with the respect it deserves. At the same time, we couldn’t just play a waiting game.”