Nicolas Lapierre, Andre Negrao and Matthieu Vaxiviere proved the class of the field at the Florida track aboard their Alpine A480-Gibson grandfathered LMP1, converting their pole position into a comfortable win over the sole surviving Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
It followed a frustrating 2021 season for the Signatech-run outfit, which managed a pair of second places in its first season of running in the top Hypercar category last year with its Oreca-designed ex-Rebellion R-13, but otherwise failed to challenge Toyota.
Vaxiviere was at the wheel of the Alpine, more than a minute clear of Sebastien Buemi’s #8 Toyota, when the race was stopped for a second time with around an hour to go due to thunderstorms in the area.
An attempt to restart the race was made, but the weather failed to improve and a result was finally declared with around 15 minutes left on the clock.
“It was a bit stressful for me at the end in the car, so I’m really happy,” said Vaxiviere.
“The team did an…
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