Discover this article by the CEO of SolidWorks, Bertrand Sicot, on the participation of Signatech during the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Living in France, I have always been fascinated by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which started in 1923 and is the oldest active endurance car race in the world.
For those who do not know Le Mans, the teams of drivers take turns at the wheel of a single car along a 13.6 km circuit. The winning team is the one that records the most distance in a 24 hour period, with the current record being 5,420 km.
Individual drivers are not allowed to be behind the wheel for more than four hours at a time, and cannot drive more than fourteen hours in the race. Winning the race involves a lot of endurance, teamwork and driving skills.
When I was younger one of my favorite teams was the Alpine / Renault team. Alpine is a French sports car brand founded in 1955 that uses Renault engines, and the two companies have worked together regularly on Le Mans racing cars and other events. It was not uncommon to see them winning races in the 1960s and 1970s, beating teams from Porsche, Ford and others.
Renault finally bought Alpine in 1978, and I was sad to see them remove the brand in 1995.
But earlier this year I got good news from Signatech, one of the strongest racing teams in France, which turns out to be a SolidWorks customer. For the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place this weekend, the Signatech team will be behind the wheel of a car bearing the Alpine name, marking the rebirth of the brand. This is good news.
More images on the Signatech Flickr page
The Signatech-Alpine team will be competing in the LMP-2 category this weekend (June 22-23). The car will be driven by Pierre Ragues, Nelson Panciatici and Tristan Gommendy, and I hope you join me in wishing them luck. A victory at Le Mans is just what the name Alpine needs to regain its status in the automotive world. You can watch the video below to learn more about the Signatech team and their plan to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
PS – If you take a look at the rear spoiler in the image above, you might notice that Alpine is not the only brand shown on the car…
