THE ALPINE A450 TO START FROM THE EIGHTH ROW OF THE GRID

The dreaded rain was largely conspicuous by its absence today, but the few short showers that did materialise were sufficient to leave the track wet for quite some time – to the extent that right up until the final hour of qualifying, yesterday's benchmarks remained unbeaten.

The closing minutes, however, provided all crews with the opportunity to chase a quicker lap time as the clock ticked down towards midnight. At the wheel of the N°36 Alpine A450, Nelson Panciatici achieved a best effort of 3m41.654s to place the car eighth amongst the LMP2 runners.

“We have made a lot of progress in terms of the car's performance,” explains Signatech Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault. “That is a great source of satisfaction. Nelson Panciatici did an excellent job, even if a combination of traffic and yellow flags prevented him from featuring amongst the class's front-runners. We're not going to look at the lap times anymore, though; now is the moment to shift our attentions to the big clock!”

After setting off on a last-ditch effort in the dying moments of the session, Nelson Panciatici ultimately wound up eighth in class: “I was hampered by traffic. Ok, perhaps we weren't going to be battling for pole position, but a place inside the top four at least was well within reach. The Alpine A450 is performing well. That is promising for the race.”

A little earlier, Tristan Gommendy had been able to complete a number of laps: “Away from the racing line, certain parts of the track were still damp – with sections ready to catch you out right the way from the Mulsanne Straight to Indianapolis. We made good progress with the set-up of our Alpine A450, and now I can't wait for the race to get going!”

Having taken to the circuit right at the beginning of the session, Pierre Ragues found himself needing to contend with a track surface that was still rather wet: “Two thirds of the lap were dry, the rest of it soaking wet. The team asked me to do five laps in order to ensure I completed my necessary night-time quota. That brief has been fulfilled.”