Alpine boss Philippe Sinault has revealed that the marque competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an increased fuel tank.
The ORECA-built, grandfathered LMP1 car had troubles with its stint lenghts throughout the opening three rounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the fuel allowance it was given as part of the Balance of Performance was larger than the amount of fuel could physically fit inside the car’s fuel tank.
Ahead of Le Mans, however, things had changed and Sinault expressed on the Friday prior to the race that the team was in fact now able to complete the intended number of twelve laps per race stint.
When asked at the time, Sinault would not go into details as to how the team achieved the increased stint lenghts, instead saying he would say so after the race.
During the twice-around-the-clock enduro, longer stint lenghts helped the French squad finish third overall behind the Toyotas, scoring the first overall podium for a French car in ten years.
Sinault was pressed on the changes made after race by reporters in the Le Mans paddock, at which point he unveiled that the team had its fuel tank capacity increased.
“With a hard job from Gibson [engine supplier], with a hard job with my power management and so on, and with the fuel tank,” he said.
When he was asked the follow-up questions to confirm it the team had its fuel tank size increased, Sinault replied: “Yes.”
He would, however, not go into details on how many more liters were fitted to the car’s fuel tank.
The admission that the team did indeed have its fuel capacity increased ahead of the marquee event brings to an end months of speculation and debate over the car’s position in WEC’s Balance of Performance scheme.
Previously, the ACO had indicated in Portimao that there would be no changes made to the situation. Star driver Nicolas Lapierre openly called for changes to the situation after the race in Portugal, stating that the team had no chance of fair competition with the reduced stint lenghts.
How the two parties agreed to the change after their previous positions remains unclear.
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