Alpine gets further power increase in revised Le Mans BoP

The French marque's A480-Gibson has been given an extra 7kW, or a little over 9bhp, bringing its power output to 427kW (573bhp).

It marks the second increase given to the Alpine ahead of this weekend's World Endurance Championship centerpiece race, after it was given a power boost ahead of last weekend's test day.

However, the A480 will still be producing less power than it did at Le Mans last year, when the Alpine ran with 450kW (603bhp). 

In the opening round of the WEC at Sebring, where Alpine trio Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Andre Negrao scored victory, the car ran with 430kW (577bhp).

In addition to the extra power, Alpine has also been given an extra 11 megajoules of energy to use per stint, something that should allow the team to hit its target of 12-lap stints around the Circuit de la Sarthe consistently.

Both the Toyota GR010 Hybrid and Glickenhaus 007 LMH did not see any changes in the latest BoP.

PLUS: Why a fifth Toyota win at Le Mans is far from a certainty in 2022

Toyota team boss Rob Leupen suggested earlier on Wednesday that Alpine had not been showing its full hand during Wednesday's free practice and first qualifying session, when Lapierre was fourth-fastest in the five-car Hypercar class, 2.4 seconds slower than the pace-setting GR010.

"I think they'll be a bit closer [in Hyperpole] than they are now," Leupen told Autosport, referring to Alpine's pace on Wednesday.

#36 Alpine Elf Team Alpine A480 - Gibson LMP1 of André Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

Alpine driver Andre Negrao, who shares the solo A480 with Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, explained after the test day that the reduced power made it difficult to pass the LMP2 cars on the straights.

“It is really hard for us to overtake the P2s, whereas a Toyota or a Glickenhaus can go straight past,” he said.

“That’s going to make a huge difference in the race.”

However Signatech team boss Philippe Sinault had said that he wouldn’t be lobbying for a change in the BoP, saying “that would show a lack of humility”.

“If the gap is too big, I don’t have to discuss it,” he said. “They will consider the subject if there is evidence that it [the BoP] is not correct.”