20130308_DP alpine endurance_EN

PRESS KIT
03-08-2013
A HISTORY OF ALPINE’S ENDURANCE
RACING PROTOTYPES
INTRODUCTION
- Alpine is undoubtedly the only French car brand to have enjoyed
success in rallying, single-seater racing and sportscars. Not only that,
but this success was achieved with distinctly modest financial
means, compensated for by plenty of passion...
- The recent Rallye Monte Carlo Historique underlined just how fresh
Alpine’s glorious past in rallying continues to be in people’s memories, whilst the triumphs notched up by Renault’s engines in Formula
1 over the years – in chassis made by Renault, Benetton, Williams
and Red Bull – have continued the marque’s winning run in the single-seater arena.
- In endurance racing, Alpine started more than 200 races over two
periods, extending from 1963 until 1969 (135 races), and from 1973
until 1978 (104). This programme harvested a long list international
class and ‘index’ wins, as well as the brand’s memorable victory at
Le Mans in 1978. Now, Alpine is poised to contest the world’s most
famous 24-hour race once again in June 2013.
- To mark this exciting comeback, we invite you to take a journey
back in time…
CONTENTS
PART ONE: THE ‘BLUE’ ERA – THE ALPINE-RENAULT PROTOTYPES
1.1 Two titles to set the ball rolling
1.2 A long list of ‘index’ successes
1.3 Putting France on top
1.4 Results and statistics: the 1960s
PART TWO: THE ‘YELLOW’ ERA – THE RENAULT-ALPINE PROTOTYPES
2.1 Champions of Europe
2.2 The turbo effect
2.3 Victory at Le Mans
2.4 Results and statistics: the 1970s
THE ‘BLUE’ ERA – THE ALPINE-RENAULT PROTOTYPES
From the moment he launched his brand, Jean Rédélé made the decision
to boost Alpine’s development by trying to be successful in motorsport.
The excellent results it obtained on the Mille Miglia and, later, the Rallye
Monte-Carlo have been well-documented, not to mention the brand’s
achievements on the Tour de France Automobile which earned the A110
its sobriquet ‘Berlinette Tour de France’. However, Jean Rédélé quickly
recognised that an automobile manufacturer could only truly be considered a sportscar maker if it took competed at Le Mans 24 Hours, the jewel
in the crown of the international sportscar calendar and a legendary race
with a worldwide following, guaranteeing unrivalled positive publicity for
anybody who won it.
1.1 TWO TITLES TO SET THE BALL ROLLING
In 1962, based on the recommendation of Gérard Crombac and José Rosinski (esteemed journalists from France’s Sport Auto magazine), Rédélé
approached Len Terry, a young English engineer who had worked on the
Lotus 23 chassis. This solid base gained him precious time. As ambitious
as ever, Jean Rédélé wished to enter several cars for the 1963 Le Mans
24 Hours. The intention was good, but the C.S.I. (Commission Sportive
Internationale – International Sporting Commission, the body which then
wrote motorsport’s rules) changed the regulations for 1964, and Terry’s
chassis was suddenly rendered obsolete. Bernard Boyer and Richard
Bouleau, two friends who had been behind the Sirmac ‘Formule Junior’
chassis, took over the reins and, in just a few months, designed a chassis
composed of two tubular frames linked by a central beam, as seen on the
Berlinette which was already the Dieppe brand’s benchmark model. The
suspension was based upon Len Terry’s design, with moulded Lotus hub
carriers, marking something of a precursor to the new, recently-announced
partnership between Alpine and Caterham.
The powertrain was developed by Frenchman Amédée Gordini – known
as the ‘wizard’ – based on the engine from the Renault 8 but benefitting
from double overhead camshafts and twin Weber carburettors. All of this
was carefully managed both technically and financially. In order to complete the project in the same assiduous manner, the design of the body
was entrusted to an ingenious young technician who had trained under
Romani at B.E.S.T. after working alongside André-Georges Claude on the
famous ‘five-speed box’ for which Rédélé and his friend Louis Pons obtained a licence. That young man was Marcel Hubert, whose good sense,
simplicity and interest in aerodynamics at a time when everybody else believed power was the be-all-and-end-all would revolutionise the prototype
world until the arrival of the era of computer-aided engineering.
On April 7, after travelling from Dieppe, the first Alpine ‘prototype’ – named
M63 for ‘Le Mans 1963’ – was unloaded at Le Mans where made its track
debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours test day in the expert hands of José Rosinski. Although he doubled up as driver, team director and Sport Auto
magazine’s test-driver journalist, French Formule Junior Champion retained through it all a rare style that could not fail to impress Jean Rédélé.
Powered by a small 996cc engine, Rosinski soon reached 220kph down
the Mulsanne straight and set a superb benchmark lap time to prove the
value of the ideas and the hard work of the striking blue machine’s designers.
It was the beginning of a unique adventure.
The ambitious Jean Rédélé was immediately won over and entered his
new car in a round of the discipline’s prestigious world championship –
and what a round it was: the awe-inspiring Nürburgring 1,000km, held in
mid-May. As drivers, he despatched José Rosinski and the USA’s Lloyd
Perry ‘Lucky’ Casner who was more accustomed to competing in bigengined cars and who had won the race in 1961 in the famous Maserati
Type T-61 ‘Birdcage’. The fragile Alpine prototype (chassis 1701) –
deemed "quite nervous" by its drivers – finished 11th overall and first in
class, establishing a new lap record for its engine size for good measure.
Point proved.
No longer regarded as a newcomer, Alpine found itself the subject of significant publicity ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours which took place just one
month later.
Two more cars had been built in time for the French race, which meant it
was a trio of M63s that turned up for scrutineering, under the proud gaze
of Jean Rédélé. An astute businessman, Rédélé had signed a licensing
production agreement in Brazil the previous year with Willys, a company
that was already producing Dauphine Renaults and henceforth Alpines,
marketed under the ‘Interlagos’ moniker. In the name of reciprocity, Willys’
development driver Christian ‘Bino’ Heins was entered in the race alongside José Rosinski in one of the M63s (chassis 1702). Unfortunately, the
young Brazilian was tragically killed at 8:20pm on Saturday when he went
off on some oil left by the broken sump of Bruce McLaren’s Aston Martin.
He was the only driver ever to lose his life at the wheel of a factory Alpine.
All three M63s were withdrawn. A fortnight later, the two surviving cars
were entered for a race in Reims, finishing ninth and 11th respectively as
Rosinski once more triumphed in the ‘under 1,000cc’ class. At the end of
the 1963 season – Alpine’s first in prototype competition – Rosinski was
crowned the discipline’s French Champion. From that point on, Alpine was
recognised as a serious contender and the cars sporting the arrowed ‘A’
on their bonnet went on to compete at Sebring (Florida, USA), in the Targa
Florio (Sicily, Italy) and at the Nürburgring in Germany’s Eifel Mountains.
Subsequent versions of the constantly evolving car were named M63,
M63B and M64, the latter being more refined than its forbears. It should be
noted that these cars continue to compete today in historic meetings – and
are still enjoying considerable success.
1.2 A LONG LIST OF ‘INDEX’ SUCCESSES
Counting on the car’s streamlined body and small engine, Alpine notably
targeted the ‘Efficiency Index’ (based on the ratio between fuel consumption and speed) and the ‘Performance Index’ (the ratio between distance
covered and engine size). This target would be swiftly achieved when, in
1964, Irishman Henry Morrogh and French gentleman driver Roger
Delageneste came close to completing 4,000 kilometres in the Le Mans 24
Hours, triumphing in the 1,150cc class (and setting a new lap record to
boot) after using only 13.1 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, a performance
which earned Alpine the Efficiency Index prize. Both the general public
and the specialist media widely praised this feat – one that was not lost
upon Renault which was edging noticeably closer to the Alpine brand.
The same crew contested the 12 Hours of Reims, winning the 1,300cc
category before finishing as class runners-up in the Paris 1,000km at the
end of the season. The French Sportscar Championship crown – clinched
this time by Roger Delageneste in the M64 – was just reward for Alpine’s
efforts.
For 1965, Alpine unveiled an evolution of its new prototype, christened the
M65 and featuring a truncated rear with finned wings that immediately
brought better stability to the car. With a small 1,100cc engine, Henri
Grandsire – a recent French F3 Champion in an Alpine – exceeded
250kph at Le Mans before being forced to retire from the race. Payback
came in style three weeks later when four Alpine prototypes crossed the
finish line in formation in Reims. Now equipped with what would go on to
become the famous 1,300cc Gordini powerplant, they achieved a top-four
clean sweep in their class. Better still, on September 5, Lucien and Mauro
Bianchi achieved the first outright victory for an Alpine prototype by triumphing in the notoriously difficult Nürburgring 500km in their 1,300cc
M65 (chassis 1719). Photographs of these successes were widely published in the press.
The M65 evolved into the A210 after it was fitted with suspension benefitting from raised ground clearance and different underbody shielding, even
if, from the outside, the body shape did not change. Alpine’s test and development driver Mauro Bianchi set a blistering lap time at April’s pre-Le
Mans test day before two A210s proceeded to win their class in Italy’s
Monza 1,000km and Belgium’s Spa 1,000km. These successes were followed up at Le Mans in June when Henri Grandsire – who played Michel
Vaillant on TV, driving Alpine-Vaillants in a regular Sunday series – prevailed in the 1,300cc class. At the same time, Roger Delageneste, who
shared a car with Jacques Cheinisse, claimed the Efficiency Index prize
for a second time in chassis 1721. From that point on, Alpine became
known as ‘the world’s fastest litre of petrol’ according to a particularly assertive advertising slogan devised for Renault by Publicis. Mauro Bianchi
clinched overall victory in Macau with an A210 (chassis 1722) on November 20 – in front of an awestruck Asian crowd – after having similarly dominated the touring car race there in a Renault 8 Gordini.
In February 1967, in the light of these continued successes, Renault
agreed to release the budget required for the research and production of a
three-litre V8 engine that would allow Alpine to battle for outright victory,
with the Le Mans 24 Hours as the main goal. The project was entrusted to
Amédée Gordini. Unfortunately for the ‘wizard’, however, the world of motor racing had by this stage significantly changed and the advent of big
manufacturers with hefty financial and technical resources rendered the
task of the independent craftsman rather more difficult. Gordini’s V8 powerplant was never competitive against the Matra or Ferrari V12s, nor
against the Ford Cosworth V8.
Whilst waiting for this engine to appear, Alpine continued to successfully
run its A201 prototypes – now officially badged ‘Alpine Renault’ – with
1,000cc, 1,300cc and 1,500cc engines, achieving strong results at Le
Mans, Reims, Madrid, the Nürburgring, Montlhéry and even Kyalami in
South Africa, where Depailler/Grandsire were 7th overall in a 1,500cc A210
(chassis 1725).
1.3 PUTTING FRANCE ON TOP
Famous for its Parisian student uprisings, 1968 was also a revolutionary
year for Alpine in Dieppe. It all began in the autumn of 1967 when Gordini
delivered his 3,000cc V8 engine. Immediately mated to an A210 (chassis
1727), the ‘A211’ was shaken down at Michelin’s test track in Ladoux, before taking on Montlhéry’s concrete and asphalt in the Paris 1,000km on
October 15. Grandsire and Bianchi finished seventh overall with this car,
which – in another essential innovation – was equipped with slick Michelin
radial tyres. Even Général de Gaulle was stopped in his tracks by the
A211 when it featured on the Renault stand at the Paris Motor Show. The
French President asked Jean Rédélé: “What purpose does motor racing
serve?” To which the brand’s founder replied: “To put France on top, General!”
The A211 – soon affectionately nicknamed ‘La Grand-Mère’ (grandmother)
– went on to compete in the Sebring 12 Hours (USA), the Monza 1,000km
(Italy), the Nürburgring 1,000km (Germany) and the Spa 1,000km (Belgium), before making way for the A220 which appeared for the first time at
August’s Zeltweg 1,000km, in Austria.
The cars were supposed to have participated in the Le Mans 24 Hours in
June, of course, but – fortunately for Alpine – the 1968 spring uprising
caused the event to be postponed until September, allowing the company’s mechanics to finish assembling the cars in the Normandy countryside,
given that the factories had all been taken over. Despite – or perhaps because – of these conditions, the four A220s produced only average performances in the uncharacteristically autumnal Le Mans 24 Hours. The
chassis had been developed in haste and without a proper budget, while
poor high-speed stability required the fitment of a special aero device, and
the Gordini engine caused big vibrations in addition to being underpowered compared to the opposition. In short, it was a failure, and one that
was made even more painful by Mauro Bianchi’s terrifying accident that
left the A220 driver with serious burns, whilst his brother Lucien won in his
Ford GT40. Amidst all of this misery and misfortune, Alpine was nonetheless able to take some comfort from a one-two finish in the Performance
Index classification, led by rally drivers Jean-Claude Andruet/Jean-Pierre
Nicolas in a 1,000cc A210 (chassis 1725), as well as victory in the Efficiency Index thanks to Jean-Luc Thérier/Bernard Tramont in a 1,300cc
A210 (chassis 1721).
The three-litres cars gained their revenge in the following month’s Paris
1,000km, where the two A220s finished fourth and sixth overall. Then, on
October 20, driver-cum-engineer André de Cortanze took an outright win
in the Grand Prix de Casablanca, Morocco, driving an A220.
For the 1969 season, the research and design department – spearheaded
by the aforementioned de Cortanze – modified the A220 by moving the
radiators to the rear overhang. Top French drivers Patrick Depailler – who
would claim the French F3 title in an Alpine A360 in 1971 – and JeanPierre Jabouille fully justified this choice by finishing sixth in the Monza
1,000km. Unfortunately, everything went wrong at Le Mans. All of the Al-
pines retired except the small 1,000cc A210 (chassis 1723) shared by the
firm’s new development driver Alain Serpaggi and Christian Ethuin. They
won their class and clinched the Performance Index victory. It was Alpine’s
fifth and final Index triumph after three in the Efficiency Index (1964, 1965
and 1968) and two in the Performance Index (1968 and 1969). It was,
moreover, the seventh class victory achieved between 1963 and 1969 – a
laudable tally.
Sadly, it also marked the end of Alpine’s sportscar racing era after the
make decided to focus henceforth on rallying. All that remained was for
Jean Vinatier to drive an A220 (chassis 1731) to second place in an autumn race at Nogaro, southwest France, and for Jean-Pierre Jabouille to
enter the same shortened A220 in the Critérium des Cévennes rally towards the end of the season. This car still exists in the same configuration,
and was showcased on the Renault Classic stand at the 2013 Salon
Rétromobile, in Paris, in February.
RESULTS AND STATISTICS: THE 1960s
25 prototypes built between 1963 and 1969
Production quantities by type:
M63: 4
M63B: 1
M64: 4
M65: 2
A210: 6
(A211: 1)
A220: 4
A220B: 4
44 cars entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours
7 class victories
3 ‘Efficiency Index’ victories (1964, 1965 and 1968)
2 ‘Performance Index’ victories (1968 and 1969)
Other notable successes:
3 outright wins…
Nürburgring 500km (1965)
Macau GP (1966)
Casablanca GP (1968)
French titles in 1963 (with José Rosinski, M63) and 1964 (Roger Delageneste, M64)
THE ‘YELLOW’ ERA – THE RENAULT-ALPINE PROTOTYPES
2.1 CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE
Renault took over Alpine on January 1, 1973. The famous competitions
manager, Jacques Cheinisse, retained his role but henceforth worked for
Renault. Under the impetus of Renault Gordini director Jean Terramorsi
and Elf’s competitions director François Guiter, work began on the production of a V6 engine in 1972 and, on January 15, 1973, it was presented to
the media. On May 1 of that same year, a new Alpine-Renault prototype –
named A440 – made its race debut at Magny-Cours, near Nevers, France.
At the end of that month, it entered another race, this time at Croix-enTernois, in northern France. In both events, the car was victorious in the
hands of Jean-Pierre Jabouille. That was complemented by several other
fine results (7th at Imola, 3rd at Charade, 2nd at Nogaro), although these
were slightly overshadowed by the success of the Berlinette A110 in the
World Rally Championship. It should be noted that in 1973, Alpine also
won the F2 race at Pau (François Cevert), as well as in F3 (Alain Serpaggi)
to confirm its status as a truly sporting brand.
Renault’s senior management was keen for Alpine to return to endurance
racing and accepted that the return would take place in two stages. The
first was to compete in – and, if possible, win –the new European 2-Litre
Sportscar Championship. The next was to work on producing a car capable of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours outright, an ambitious but clearly
stated objective.
Marcel Hubert, whose services were again called upon for this rebirth, reworked his A440 by refining it in collaboration with André de Cortanze’s
research and design department that was charged with redesigning the
chassis. Henceforth, the engine was a load-bearing member positioned
behind the driver, whilst the car’s handling was noticeably improved. This
revised model was baptised the A441. Elegant and streamlined, it left behind the famous Alpine blue to dress itself in the white, yellow and black
livery of Renault. It made its debut at Le Castellet in endurance racing’s
newly-created European Championship. It scored a magnificent win out of
the box thanks to the talented Alain Cudini who had won the European
Formula Renault Championship in an Alpine A366 single-seater in 1972.
The Frenchman won again on May 12 at Montlhéry in a national event. On
June 23, at the second round of the European Championship, Gérard Larrousse prevailed in the same A441 (chassis 441-1), ahead of Alain Serpaggi in the sister car (chassis 441-0). The circuit of Nogaro in southwest
France witnessed the completion of the hat-trick, followed by victories at
Misano in Italy, Enna Pergusa in Sicily, Hockenheim (Germany), Mugello
(Italy) and Jarama (Spain). The car’s seventh consecutive triumph was
enough to sew up the European Sportscar title, whilst Alain Serpaggi
claimed the drivers’ laurels. With a score of 77 points, he saw off Gérard
Larrousse (75) and Jean-Pierre Jabouille (73). It was truly a whitewash,
given that the fourth-placed competitor totalled just 45 points.
2.2 THE TURBO EFFECT
This avalanche of victories convinced Renault to persevere with the project and, at the same time, turn it up a notch. In order to do that, a new car
was designed, but of even greater significance, without a doubt, was the
engine that was mated with the A442 chassis: a 490hp two-litre turbocharged powerplant based on the V6 and developed by the in-house specialist Bernard Dudot. No less than that would suffice if Alpine was to become a points-scorer against the regular competitors in the keenly disputed European Sportscar Championship for Makes. However, it was a transitionary car that lined up on the grid for the opening round at Mugello in
Italy on March 23, shared by Larrousse and Jabouille – the A441 Turbo
(chassis 441-1). The same pairing finished third in the Monza 1,000km on
April 20 and was fourth in the Nürburgring 1,000km on June 1. The ACO
(Automobile Club de l'Ouest), organiser of the Le Mans 24 Hours, wrote its
own regulations. That year, there was no place for turbo engines. In 1975,
the honour of defending Alpine’s colours in La Sarthe fell to French lady
Marie-Claude Beaumont and Italy’s Lella Lombardi. Their weapon for this
task was a normally-aspirated A441. During practice, the ‘diminutive’ twolitre car posted a highly promising eighth-fastest time, a mere three seconds off pole position. Unfortunately, a fuel feed problem swiftly curtailed
what should have been a show of force. The all-female crew similarly retired from the 1,000km of Austria at the end of June, as did the two turbopowered A442s that were also taking part. However, Gérard Larrousse
and Jean-Pierre Jarier piloted one of these A442s (chassis 442-1) to third
place in July at Watkins Glen, in the USA.
Renault’s new CEO Bernard Hanon was starting to ramp up the pressure:
he wanted Renault to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and commissioned Gérard Larrousse as the man to help accomplish that mission. Larrousse
ended his driving career in order to take over responsibility for the competitions department from Jacques Cheinisse. Renault Sport was officially
created and Viry-Châtillon supplanted Dieppe as the headquarters for the
brand’s motorsport activities. It was the turning of a momentous page. A
team of drivers of the highest calibre – mostly from Formula 1 – was entered, a talented engineering squad was assembled and a clear objective
was declared: to participate in the 1976 World Sportscar Championship for
Makes. Notwithstanding the considerable means at the team’s disposal,
there was a chaotic debut with a catastrophic collision between Depailler
and Jabouille on the very first lap of the Nürburgring 300km on April 4 that
completely destroyed one of the team’s chassis (the A442-0) and seriously
damaged the other (chassis A442-1). In the Monza 4 Hours, new recruit
Henri Pescarolo and Jean-Pierre Jarier finished second with the repaired
car. Three cars were entered at Imola and all three retired, which didn’t
leave particularly high hopes for the Le Mans 24 Hours, for which just one
car (chassis 442-3) was entered, shared by Frenchmen Patrick Tambay
and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. The latter nonetheless succeeded in showcasing the Renault-Alpine’s potential by putting it on pole position at an average speed of 230kph, having been clocked at 337kph down the Mulsanne
straight. A piston failure put an end to the French pair’s challenge before
the race had reached half distance. There was another double retirement
in the Enna 4 Hours, whilst the Mosport 200 Miles in Canada saw Depailler finish fourth and then – partnered by countryman Jacques Laffite –
second in the Dijon 500km, ahead of the sister car crewed by the two
Jean-Pierres, Jabouille and Jarier.
The final balance from the year was modest in terms of the number of
points scored, but the Renault Sport team learnt a great deal about both
the Renault Gordini turbo engine and the Renault Alpine chassis.
2.3 VICTORY AT LE MANS
1977 witnessed a change in strategy, with an exclusive focus on the Le
Mans 24 Hours, for which Renault entered four A442s. A comprehensive
testing programme was put into place, with multiple endurance tests, pitstop simulations and various body part tests.
Days before the race, the Renault Alpine armada enjoyed an early celebration by placing all four of its cars inside the top five in qualifying. Pole
position was claimed by Jean-Pierre Jabouille, a man who knew the A442
better than anybody having followed its development right from the start.
Unfortunately, the pistons in the turbo engine didn’t hold out and once
again, the team left empty-handed.
1978 looked like being the last chance saloon. The CHS 2 V6 engine was
now reliable, and aerodynamicist Marcel Hubert had further refined the
car’s design with a bubble roof that acted as a windshield. Much testing
had again been completed and, on June 10-11, 1978, the crowds were
eager to savour a Franco-German duel at Le Mans. Four Alpines were
entered for the showdown. Jabouille and Depailler’s A443 (chassis 443-0),
with a re-bored 2,138cc engine, set the second-fastest time in practice.
The talented driver from Clermont-Ferrand hit 359kph along the Mulsanne
straight and lapped the circuit in 3m28.4s – a time that remains, to this day,
the best ever achieved by an Alpine at La Sarthe. Assuming the role of the
hare, the car featured consistently amongst the leading group. In the early
hours of Sunday morning, it seemed to have the race in the palm of its
hand, but an overdose of caution on the pit wall saw the turbo pressure
reduced in order to conserve the engine – only for a piston to break as a
consequence. With Jean-Pierre Jarier and Englishman Derek Bell having
had to retire midway through the race due to a bevel gear failure, all hopes
subsequently rested with the N°2 A442 (chassis 442- 3) driven by veteran
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, 41, and the young Didier Pironi, 26. Under the
guidance of race engineer Michel Tetu, the pair worked together superbly
and adopted an intelligent approach. At 4pm on Sunday, they crossed the
finish line victorious, having completed 5,044 kilometres at an average
speed of 210kph. The fourth A442 (chassis 442-4), crewed by rally drivers
Jean Ragnotti and Guy Fréquelin, finished fourth. It was the crowning glory, the Holy Grail finally attained.
This victory cemented Renault and Alpine’s place in motor racing folklore.
With its mission accomplished, Renault Sport elected to quit endurance
racing to henceforth devote its efforts to Formula 1, and the rest is history...
RESULTS AND STATISTICS: THE 1970s
12 prototypes built between 1973 and 1978
Production quantities by type:
A440: 2
A441: 4
A442: 5
A443: 1
10 cars entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours
1 outright victory (1978)
Other notable successes:
7 race wins in the European 2-litre Sportscar Championship
European 2-litre Sportscar Champions (1974) with Alain Serpaggi
Now, 35 years later, a fresh page in adventure is about to begin…
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Jean-Jacques DELARUWIERE
Press officer
+33·1·76·84·47 85
Aurélie JEGOU
Press officer
+33·1·76·84·91 86
Media contact: Renault Press, +33·1·76·84·63·36
Websites: www.media.renault.com - www.renault.com
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