ALTAS ROTAÇÕES - Alpine shines in Fuji with a podium

Sunday, 27 September 2026 18:46

Alpine shines in Fuji with a podium

Written by Super User

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The weekend that began with the A424's maiden Hypercar pole position ended with Alpine Endurance Team securing second and fourth at the 6 Hours of Fuji.

The two cars performed constantly during the race, and dominated most of the race on P1 and P2 until the appearance of the last Safety Car.

Alpine's Hypercar demonstrated its potential in every condition. Victor Martins topped both Friday's dry second practice session and Saturday morning's wet run, while Charles Milesi confirmed the strength of the sister car.

Persistent rain subsequently led to the cancellation of the qualifications before the Hypercars could take to the track. With the starting order established from each entry's fastest practice lap, the #36 of Jules Gounon and Victor Martins claimed pole, with Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi having alongside in the #35 after moving up from P3 to P2 following penalties. It marked the A424's first pole position and an all-Alpine front row.

The race began on a damp circuit, with Jules Gounon and Ferdinand Habsburg entrusted with the challenging opening stint on slick tyres. Both held their ground before gradually pulling clear as the surface improved.

Gounon handed the #36 to Martins during the first scheduled stop, while Habsburg briefly assumed the lead through the alternate pit cycle. Despite contact when the #7 Toyota challenged for position, the Austrian remained firmly in contention.

A succession of neutralisations repeatedly closed the field, but the two Alpines continued to control proceedings. The order alternated through the driver changes and strategic phases, with the #35 leading at halfway before the #36 moved back ahead.

After five hours, Victor Martins led Charles Milesi by just over two seconds, with both A424s holding a clear advantage over their closest challengers.

The complexion of the race changed shortly afterwards when a final Safety Car erased the gaps. With the Alpines running nose-to-tail, the team elected to service both during the same pit-stop window, protecting the overall result rather than compromising one. The time lost in the double stop allowed the #8 Toyota and #15 BMW to emerge ahead before the final restart.

With approximately 15 minutes remaining, Martins launched an impressive recovery from fourth. After climbing to second, he closed rapidly on the leading Toyota and crossed the line only 0.591 seconds behind. Milesi completed the race in fourth, just 1.284 seconds short of the podium.

The result gives Alpine its highest two-car points haul of the A424 era. Combined with the podium and double top-five finish achieved in Austin, it confirms the team's increasingly competitive form ahead of the final two rounds.

Alpine Endurance Team will return to action at the 6 Hours of Barcelona from 16 to 18 October.

QUOTES

Crew #35

Charles Milesi

“It is a strong result for the team, with both cars scoring and our highest combined points haul since the programme began. Still, we are a little gutted to miss the one-two after occupying the top two positions for more than five hours. The entire team did a great job throughout the week, and everyone can be proud. We achieved our target of outscoring Cadillac, and now we want to carry this level of performance into Barcelona and the final two races.”

Ferdinand Habsburg

“It was an incredible day in many ways. Starting from the front row and being trusted with such a difficult opening stint, on slick tyres on a damp track, are moments I will never forget. Hearing my engineer tell me I was leading the race was particularly special. Things did not quite fall our way at the end, but that takes nothing away from the tremendous job everyone did.”

Crew #36

Jules Gounon

“We have mixed feelings today. We led for most of the race, but the final pit stop required a difficult choice that ultimately changed the outcome. Nevertheless, second and fourth is a strong result for the team. After running at the front for so long, we really wanted the victory, so missing out is frustrating. That is racing, and I want to thank the entire team for its tremendous work.”

Victor Martins

“Second place and a podium is a strong result after an amazing race. With 50 minutes remaining, we were running first and second, which shows how well the team executed everything operationally. The final Safety Car did not fall our way. With both cars at the front, it was difficult to take a different gamble on either one. I had to fight back after our last stop, but the A424 was extremely quick throughout the weekend. We can be proud, even if victory felt within our reach s a very difficult race, but we had an encouraging start.. We had the pace to stay with the leaders and were in the fight for the podium. The puncture cost us valuable time, and we had to offset our strategy. We then had an issue with the car, which made the rest of the race particularly challenging. Under these circumstances, I think we made the most of the situation and maximised everything we had.”

Management

Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team

“We were in contention to win for five hours, but the final Safety Car presented us with a difficult choice. We could service both cars together and accept losing time, or sacrifice one to maximise the other's chance of victory. I made the decision to protect the overall team result, and I stand by it. Second and fourth brought us more points, but likely cost us the win. It is particularly tough for the #36, which deserved that victory, but the choice was made in the best interests of the entire team.”

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team

“This is a strong result and another sign that we are performing at the level we expect. Naturally, there is some disappointment because we ran first and second for almost 80% of the race. The final Safety Car compromised our strategy, as we had no choice but to stop both cars in the same window. Victor did a tremendous job to recover and fight for victory, but it was not quite enough. After being disappointed with third and fifth in Austin, feeling the same about second and fourth today is a positive sign. We are building a real momentum and will be ready to fight again in Barcelona.”

Axel Plasse, VP Alpine Tech

“Holding first and second for most of the race with the two fastest cars, in both dry and wet conditions, makes this result particularly frustrating. The fact that we are disappointed despite scoring 30 points reflects our level of performance and potential. This result rewards the hard work of the entire team since last winter. We will learn from this missed victory ahead of Barcelona, with the same objective : placing both cars in the top five.”