Lapierre’s professional motorsport retirement marked the end of an era for one of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s most committed drivers.
Not only having competed in all seasons in either LMP1 or LMP2 machinery, the Frenchman raced in Automobile Club l’Ouest (ACO)-rules racing beforehand and elsewhere since his Le Mans debut in 2007.
The sportscar veteran spoke to The Racing Line about when exactly he drew the curtains on racing and into his new role at the Alpine Endurance Team as Sporting Director.
Lapierre represented one of the most prominent automotive manufacturers at the top level, Toyota, who continue their efforts in Hypercar today.
Moreover, he drove an extensive stint with Toyota before dedicating himself to Alpine from 2016 and for this year, their LMDh project.
Calling time on his lengthy motorsport career
“To be completely transparent, it was quite a long call,” he said on his decision to end over 24 consecutive years of racing.
“When I extended my contract with Alpine two years ago at the beginning of the Hypercar project, the plan was to do the development last year and to do the first year because I always wanted to race this car first.
“This new Hypercar is kind of the end result for this Alpine project that's been going for a very long time and I wanted to be part of it.
“But my plan in my head, even if I didn't share with a lot of people, was to always to stop after these two years for many different reasons, but I felt it was the right timing.”
The 40-year-old claimed four LMP2-class Le Mans 24 Hours victories in his sportscar career.
Three were taken with Alpine as he won two WEC LMP2 titles, one of which was also with Alpine.
Committing further with Oreca, Signatech and Alpine
Since winning the 2003 Macau Grand Prix with Phillippe Sinault’s Signatech team, who helped run Alpine’s WEC commitments, Lapierre has continued one of motorsport’s longest professional relationships.
“Then I explained my plan to Philippe [Sinault] and Bruno [Famin - Vice-President of Alpine Motorsport], because, of course, they wanted to know what was the plan for 2025 regarding drivers.
“And clearly from the beginning of the year, I said I would most likely not be part of it because I want to start another career which I felt very comfortable with my own team.
“But also it was agreed with Philippe and Bruno that I would take a role in the Alpine management.
“Let's say just before Le Mans was the first talk that I would stop at the end of the year.
“And then because we wanted to give more track time to Jules [Gounon], the reserve driver, we decided to put him behind [the wheel].
“Also, it was a great opportunity for me to step back a little bit and to see how the team is operating in the last race and to be with the management, to see how it goes on the race weekend on the other side of the pit wall.”
Finishing his WEC chapter on a high at Fuji
In light of Lapierre’s retirement, the Alpine Hypercar drivers lineup has been altered for the 8 Hours of Bahrain season finale.
Charles Milesi will fulfil Lapierre’s former spot in the #36 entry as Gounon will then take Milesi’s normal seat in the #35 with Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin.
The Mercedes-AMG-affiliated driver first piloted the A424 LMDh at the 6 Hours of Imola, when #35 driver Habsburg sustained an injury during an endurance test with Alpine – which forced him to recover.
Gounon took to the wheel of the #35 Alpine once again at the 6 Hours of Fuji in-place of Paul-Loup Chatin, who was busy with a GT racing commitment.
Meanwhile at Fuji, Lapierre, alongside his teammates in #36 Alpine, Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere, secured the first podium finish for the Alpine Hypercar programme.
From 15th on the grid, Mick Schumacher evaded the multi-car collision on the second lap and charged to third place – assisted by German’s defence in the final hour against JOTA’s Norman Nato and Peugeot’s Loic Duval.
“It was quite amazing because Le Mans was very difficult for us,” said Lapierre.
“But since then, the team kept improving every time. And honestly, we wanted this season to be a learning season. We knew it was a learning process.
Alpine took their first podium after an action-packed 6 Hours of Fuji – Credit: DPPI / Alpine Racing
“We respect this championship and the opponents that have been there for a very long time.
“And fighting with them on our first season is spectacular.
“Of course, we want more but we can be very happy and proud about this first season.
“And already putting the car on the podium, it's quite good.
“On the personal side, I knew before the race [that] it was my last race.
“It was only me, Bruno, and Philippe knowing.
“But it was very special because I wanted to finish on a high and the last race is the one you remember the most.
“This podium was extremely special for me, and for the project as well. But for me on a personal side, it was quite magical.”
Familiarity on the pit-wall
Fuji marked his 46th WEC podium appearance as the upcoming 8 Hours of Bahrain on 2 November is set to conclude the season.
Lapierre, however, is no stranger to the pit-wall in a senior management role ever since he became team principal of COOL Racing at the end of 2020.
Fast forward to this year and the team has harnessed young talents such as Hypercar junior drivers Ritomo Miyata and Malthe Jakobsen who recently won the European Le Mans Series season finale in Portimao.
One day after the WEC Bahrain finale, 2022 FIA F3 champion Victor Martins will taste his first laps behind the wheel of an Alpine A424 on Sunday’s traditional Rookie Test.
Lapierre explained his new role as sporting director.
“My first job will be to take care of the drivers.
“So first of all, select them. I'm not alone, I would be working with Philippe and Bruno, of course, but my role is to advise them on which driver, I believe, would be best for the team.
“And then try to make them work together… be responsible for the development of the drivers who don't know endurance racing, and try to help them to go in this world as fast as possible.
“When they're on track, to make them perform as good as possible would be the link also with the technical side.
“It's exactly what I love doing here with my own team but with drivers in another step of their career.
“I feel I have some credibility to do this because I raced the car like this year [and] developed it, so I know this car very well.
“I know what it takes to get a good result in the WEC and I know the championship very well.
“I hope I can help the drivers to perform better. This is my first goal.”
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alpine suffered a misfortune outing as both cars retired due to mechanical reliability problems by the six-hour mark.
Two races later at COTA, the #35 Alpine performed especially well as a protagonist at the sharp end of the field.
At Fuji, the #35 continued their strong performance prior to their drive-through penalty after Milesi unintentionally tapped Charlie Eastwood’s #81 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R around at the final corner – which enabled the #36 to shine through to the chequered flag.
Looking to the post-Bahrain winter break
With the highs and lows of the 2024 season, the attention will soon be on next year and Alpine’s second racing season with the A424 LMDh.
“It's very different,” he said when asked how this off-season break will compare to the previous one which preceded Alpine's Hypercar debut.
“Now we’ve gathered a lot of data, we have a lot of information from this season.
“We focused mainly on the first part of the season, a bit more on performance in the second half. Now we have to work on every detail.
“We know we are in the game. We know we are there, but we also know that we need to take time to improve all the small details from the team – in terms of setup, operation, driving, everything has to be improved through the winter.
“But I have to say we will have time to work on it. We know the base we have is strong, it's good, and now we can focus on all the small details and make sure we come back stronger next year and see what it can bring us.
“For sure, we have good hope for next year and I think our margin to progress is a bit higher than the others regarding the experience we have on track and hopefully we can be even more in the front next year!”