Sport sometimes reserves unexpected scenarios, like this Tie on points between Alpine and Toyota crews on the eve of the last round of the World Endurance Championship. Astonishing suspense as the balance of power leans on the side of the Japanese giant. “ Toyota is superior to us in terms of its organization, its experience and its resources. At the beginning of the year, if I had been told that this scenario of a final could exist, I would have replied that it would still be very, very complicated to achieve” contextualizes Philippe Sinault, the team’s team manager.
This championship is indeed archi-dominated by Toyota since the departure of Porsche in 2017. But in this 2022 season, the Japanese firm has to deal with a tough French rival who will challenge it for the world title this Saturday during the 8 Hours of Bahrain. As a skilful leader, Philippe Sinault wants to bring a positive reading to the issue: “It’s a reward to have this pressure to play for the title because it makes us aware of the job well done this season. We gave ourselves the means to be privileged by playing this final. This pressure doesn’t have to be toxic” details the boss of the team since 2013. “We arrive in Bahrain full of energy” confirms Matthieu Vaxivière, one of the three pilots of the A fléché, with his teammates Nicolas Lapierre and André Negrão.
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DPPI
Two wins in 2022
To measure the scope of this 2022 scenario, we must reread the statistics of the 2021 opus: six victories in six races for Toyota. Alpine had just managed to take pole position from the Japanese ogre. The French team had just made the leap into Hypercar, the premier category of Endurance, and it needed to discover the technical use of its new car: the A480, Oreca chassis from the former LMP1 category.
The Blues demonstrated that the learning phase was over from the start of this 2022 season, with a first victory in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring
, in front of a Toyota team set back on the atypical American circuit. Then the multi-world champions took over, especially during the failed 24 Hours of Le Mans for Alpine. But the French team knew how to react in the most spectacular way by winning the 6 Hours of Monza after a daunting battle on the track. “It is sure, the victory of Monza was in many respects a trigger. Firstly because she came to repair Le Mans. And it’s true that she made us realize that it was possible to get Toyota and win the fight!” recalls Philippe Sinault.
The dual Matthieu Vaxivière (Alpine) – Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota) body to body at 300 km/h on the Italian circuit will remain one of the strong images of the season. The Limougeaud driver, who emerged victorious, believes that the Blues have sent a signal to their opponents: “We have shown that at the same speed, or even with a car with a slightly slower car, we can overtake them. In any case, we are not going to stay behind without attacking. And that’s the main thing to remember for the Bahrain final”.
We must provoke fate – Philippe SINAULT
The epilogue of this intense championship will therefore be known this Saturday at 8 p.m. (French time) when the checkered flag will fall on the 8 Hours of Bahrain. The race will start in the sun and end at night. It will therefore be necessary to adapt the pneumatic strategies to the changes in temperature. “Bahrain is a playground that we know particularly well. The profile of the circuit is less unfavorable to us than other tracks. The BoP (balance of performance) is, let’s say, less worse than at Fuji for example” details Philippe Sinault, who nevertheless believes that Toyota remains in the position of favorite before this final. The manager prefers donning the attacking challenger’s suit. “In our meetings with the pilots, I will not say the usual phrases like “be careful, take your precautions, be patient”. No there it will be without filter! We will still have to provoke the result. Let fate be provoked. We are going to ask our drivers to push very, very hard because it will require a feat. We go there in this state of mind” insists a Philippe Sinault who had, during a crazy comeback at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans
, insisted on the Gallic character of his team, never stingy when it comes to fighting. “There is still a world title to go for. Obviously we’re going to be a little more aggressive, even if we’ve already been this season to get there”confirms Matthieu Vaxivière.
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DPPI
Toyota advantage in qualifying
Qualifying on Friday turned to the advantage of the Toyota n°8, candidate for the title, which took pole position. The Alpine qualified in fifth place. But in Endurance, performance over one lap is all relative. It is consistency over all the relays that determines the winner.
To win the championship, the crew composed of Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxiviere will have to finish ahead of the Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa trio at the wheel of the Toyota. Important parameter: the Japanese team will have a second car on the track, which will give it the possibility of adopting a staggered race strategy to hinder the progress of its opponent. Two Toyotas against an Alpine: numerical inferiority alone sums up the magnitude of the task for the Blues.