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Founded | 1990 |
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Base | Bourges, France |
Team principal(s) | Philippe Sinault |
Current series | FIA World Endurance Championship |
Former series | Formula 3 Euro Series French Formula Three FR 2.0 France European Le Mans Series European Formula 3 |
Current drivers | Paul-Loup Chatin Jules Gounon Ferdinand Habsburg Nicolas Lapierre Charles Milesi Mick Schumacher Matthieu Vaxivière |
Teams' Championships | Formula 3 Euro Series : 2010 European Le Mans Series : 2013, 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship : 2016, 2018–19 |
Drivers' Championships | Formula 3 Euro Series : 2010: Edoardo Mortara European Le Mans Series : 2013: Pierre Ragues, Nelson Panciatici 2014: Paul-Loup Chatin, Nelson Panciatici, Oliver Webb |
Signatech, currently competing as the Alpine Endurance Team, is a French auto racing team and racing car constructor that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Signatech has been a long-term partner for Alpine since 2013, and has been responsible for running their Le Mans Prototype race cars in the WEC, most notably in the LMP2 class and more recently stepping up to the Le Mans Hypercar class with Alpine's A424 sports prototype. [1] Alpine purchased a stake in Signatech in 2024. [2]
The team won the FIA European Formula Three Cup in 1999 with Benoît Tréluyer. It won the French Formula Three Championship in 2000 with Jonathan Cochet as driver, who also won the European Cup and Masters of Formula 3 that year, and won the Korea Super Prix for the team in 2001. In 2002, Renaud Derlot won the European F3 Cup for the team.
In 2003, Signature won the team championship in the first Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, with Tristan Gommendy and Kosuke Matsuura as drivers. They moved from the defunct French F3 series to its replacement, the Formula 3 Euro Series, and Nicolas Lapierre and Fabio Carbone completed a 1–2 finish for the team at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Karl Vernay repeated this feat in 2009. The team began competing in the 2009 European Le Mans Series in the LMP1 category.
The 2010 season was an outstanding one for Signature in the F3 Euroseries with Edoardo Mortara and Marco Wittmann finishing first and second in the series, winning eight races between them, and also taking the team championship.
Signatech provided the chassis for the Formula Future Fiat, a junior formula racing series in Brazil held in 2010 and 2011.
In 2011, in cooperation with the Nissan GT Academy, Signatech finished second in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2012, Signature decided to pull out of the Formula 3 Euro Series, to concentrate on its involvement in sport car races.
The team finished tenth overall at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans using a Nissan-powered Oreca 03.
In 2013, Alpine partnered with Signatech to run an LMP2 car in the European Le Mans Series with French drivers Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici. Signatech won the LMP2 Team's and Driver's championships.
In 2014, Signatech delivered chassis for the Formula 4 Sudamericana.
In 2015, Signatech, continuing its partnership with Alpine, returned to the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning the championship LMP2 category in 2016 and 2018–19.
In 2020, Signatech returned to the European Le Mans Series under the name of Richard Mille Racing Team. The team previously planned to run an all-female lineup of Tatiana Calderón, Katherine Legge and Sophia Flörsch, however, due to Legge's injury, she was then replaced by André Negrão for the first two rounds. Beitske Visser would then take over Legge's place for the rest of the season. [3] The team would then join the LMP2 class of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship, with an all-female lineup of Tatiana Calderón, Beitske Visser and Sophia Flörsch. [4]
In 2021, the team partnered again with Alpine, this time fielding a "grandfathered" Rebellion R13 in the Le Mans Hypercar class for the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship season, which finished third overall at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans. [5] The team continued with this lineup in 2022. [6] For 2023, Signatech returned to the LMP2 category with two Oreca 07s; they will return to the top class of the World Endurance Championship in 2024 with two Alpine A424s. [7]
Current series/events | |
---|---|
24 Hours of Le Mans | 2009–present |
FIA World Endurance Championship | 2012, 2015–present |
Former series | |
French Formula Three Championship | 1993–2002 |
French Formula Renault Championship | 2000, 2002 |
Formula Renault V6 Eurocup | 2003 |
Formula 3 Euro Series | 2003–2011 |
Formula Renault 3.5 Series | 2008 |
European Le Mans Series | 2009–2010, 2013–2014, 2020 |
FIA Formula 3 European Championship | 2014–2015 |
Nicolas Lapierre is a retired French professional racing driver and team principal. Notable for winning the LMP2 class four times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lapierre was a factory driver at Toyota during the early days of the WEC before becoming a staple of the Alpine team until his retirement in 2024. He is also a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 2003 champion at the Macau Grand Prix.
ORECA is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. Since the early 1990s the team has concentrated on running sports cars and GT cars.
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car. As of 2023, there are two classes within Le Mans Prototypes, designated LMP2 and LMP3.
André Negrão is a Brazilian racing driver. He most recently drove for Alpine in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, and spent a total of seven seasons with the team during his tenure. Negrão is a former LMP2 champion in the series, and is also a two-time LMP2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 2018 and 2019.
W Racing Team is a Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Between 2010 and 2022 the team campaigned Audi R8 LMSs in several international sports car series. In 2010 the team won the Belcar Drivers' and Teams' Championships, while in 2011 they won the Spa 24 Hours. After winning multiple titles in various GT championships, WRT is considered to be one of the best teams worldwide in GT racing. In 2019 and 2020 WRT ran two Audi RS5 Turbo DTMs in the highly competitive DTM championship. In 2021 WRT added a full time LMP2 program, by entering an Oreca 07 in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, and won the LMP2 class of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 2023 on WRT switched their partnership in GT racing from Audi to BMW and will run the BMW M4 GT3. The team will also run two factory backed BMW M Hybrid V8s in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar category from 2024.
Ricardo Benjamín González Valdés is a Mexican racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2013, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and 2013 FIA WEC World Champion LMP2 class for drivers and teams.
Mathias Beche Aussel is a Swiss-French professional racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series for Richard Mille by TDS. He is a former ELMS champion in the LMP2 class, as well as an LMP1-L champion and overall race winner in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Rebellion Racing.
The 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the third season of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series, co-organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars from four ACO categories. World Championship titles were awarded for Le Mans Prototypes drivers and for LMP1 manufacturers, and several World Endurance Cups and Endurance Trophies were also awarded. The eight race series began in April at the Silverstone Circuit and concluded in November at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
Matthieu Vaxivière is a French racing driver from Limoges, who currently drives for Alpine in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the fourth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series, co-organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. World championship titles were awarded for Le Mans Prototypes drivers and for manufacturers in the LMP1 category, and several World Endurance Cups and Endurance Trophies were also awarded in all four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and ended at the Bahrain International Circuit in November after eight rounds, and included the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Paul-Loup Chatin is a French professional racing driver. He has had notable successes within the LMP2 class, winning the European Le Mans Series in 2014 and 2019, as well as pole positions at the 2018 and 2023 iterations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Other achievements include a class victory at the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona and the LMP2 title in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Gustavo Soiblemann Menezes is an American-Brazilian racing driver, currently racing for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Sophia Flörsch is a German racing driver who most recently competed in FIA Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. She has previously raced in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship and is a podium finisher in ADAC Formula 4 and the ELMS, as well as the youngest race winner of the Ginetta Junior Championship. In February 2023, she joined the Alpine Academy.
The 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the fifth edition of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and ended at the Bahrain International Circuit in November, and included the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This season was also the last WEC season for Audi Sport Team Joest as they decided not to race in the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship Season.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was the sixth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and will end at the Bahrain International Circuit in November, and include the 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. World championship titles will be awarded to the leading prototype drivers and manufacturers, while for the first time in the World Endurance Championship the leading grand touring drivers and manufacturers will also be awarded a world championship.
The Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be renamed by Alpine to Alpine A480 when it was rebadged to run as a grandfathered into the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022.
The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship was the ninth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.
Charles Milesi is a French racing driver who currently competes in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Alpine. He is the son of Patrice Milesi who is also a racing driver.
The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eleventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into three categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions and to the leading manufacturer in prototype division.
The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship was the twelfth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Hypercars and, for the first time, LMGT3 racing cars.
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