Victory is in Alpine’s DNA

For some, the earliest memories of Alpine are of A110s snaking along snowy Monte Carlo stages high in the Alps, the mountains that inspired the brand’s name, or taking on the rocky trails of rallies like the Acropolis. Others automatically think of Alpine’s single-seater racing days, or Le Mans, of course, or even its rallycross programme.

In every case, however, the brand founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé is inextricably associated with success. A simple glance at its record reveals how winning has always been the goal. Alpine cars have long taken advantage of their celebrated agility and light weight to put French engineering on top, with highlights ranging from the inaugural World Rally crown in 1973 to victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours five years later.

After a long spell away from motorsport, there was an understandable desire to rekindle the flame and savour the inimitable taste of victory once more. In 2013, Signatech-Alpine was tasked with steering the make’s return to the race track.

Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal : “Our adventure with Alpine dates back to late-2012. Groupe Renault approached us to explore ways of bringing the brand back into motorsport as part of its bid to relaunch the Alpine name. It didn’t take long for endurance racing to emerge as the perfect arena.”

Thirty-five years after its resounding triumph at Le Mans, Alpine made its circuit racing comeback in 2013, with an LMP2 prototype.  Alpine lost no time recovering its place at the top of the rostrum! After securing back-to-back European Le Mans Series crowns in 2013 and 2014, Signatech-Alpine stepped up to the World Endurance Championship in 2015, claiming the LMP2 crown in 2016 and 2019, and earning class wins at Le Mans in 2016, 2018 and 2019. This season, it has raised the bar further.

Beyond Alpine’s switch to the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class and its assault on Le Mans in August, Alpine faces numerous other challenges this season. It will participate for the first time in Formula 1, for example, as well as in rallying, in which it reaped its first success of the 2021 campaign… Half-a-century after the brand notched up its first Monte Carlo Rally victory, a privately-entered Alpine A110 Rally topped the R-GT order on this year’s winter classic to provide further evidence that the brand has lost nothing of its winning DNA!

Alpine’s main motorsport achievements  

Of the many hundreds of wins Alpine has notched up, its most memorable international successes are:

• Rallying: The International Championship for Manufacturers title in 1971 / the World Rally Championship title in 1973 / Monte Carlo Rally wins in 1971 and 1973.
• Endurance racing: Performance Index victory at Le Mans in 1964 and 1966 / the European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship for Makes in 1974 / Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 1978.
• Single-seater racing: The European Formula Renault Championship title in 1972.
• Rallycross: The European Rallycross Championship title in 1977.