Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team has presented the A480 destined for the Hypercar class at the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans on 21-22 August.

24H Le Mans

24 Heures du Mans

Smells are a big part of the creation of lifelong memories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for both competitors and spectators. Every sector of the circuit, every in-race development carry with them their own unique scents. Here is an olfactory journey through the different smells that bolster the greatest endurance race in the world.

Attending the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans in person is to immerse oneself in a world full of&nbsp;sensations. Along with sight and hearing, smell is a&nbsp;sense that allows memories to take root. The permeating aromas indicate heatwaves, failed engines, brakes used to the extreme and&nbsp;celebratory&nbsp;moments, as well as the fresh local&nbsp;air.

<h2>A Symphony of Scents in Pit Lane</h2>

Kenji Concy, Ferrari AF Corse mechanic, spends long hours in the #51 Ferrari 499P garage. Here he describes with&nbsp;precision the smells that always surround him: What I perceive&nbsp;the most is&nbsp;heated&nbsp;rubber. And also petrol, but that one is more faint. The odor of hot&nbsp;brakes is omnipresent especially during refuellings. And then there is the smell of early morning, with the fresh and&nbsp;humid air thatcontrasts with the pasta dishes or croissants delivered to the back of the garage.

Certain&nbsp;smells are also valuable&nbsp;indicators, like an unusual oil odor signalling a serious problem. If we notice the smell of oil, it means the car has a problem. I would go so far as to say if it&#39;s in the air, it&#39;s already too late.&nbsp;The mechanic&nbsp;(responsible for tyre changes during pit stops)&nbsp;notes, however, that mechanical wear does not really have an olfactory signature. The cars are equipped with parts manufacturered to withstand the demands of a 24-hour race.

<h2>Memories anchored by Smells</h2>

Scents help fans create unforgettable memories. Maxime, who was only four when she attended her first&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, associates the odor of a flat tyre&nbsp;with a critical moment.&nbsp;It makes me think of the 2017 battle in LMGTE Pro between the #97 Aston Martin Vantage and #63&nbsp;Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. It was in the last laps of the race and one of the American&nbsp;GT&#39;s tyres exploded.

Another fan, Lucas, associates the race&nbsp;with poutine, a Quebec dish he originally tasted at&nbsp;the circuit.&nbsp;The smell of&nbsp;poutine immediately makes me think of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.&nbsp;Sarah, a first-time spectator in 2022, remembers comfort-food&nbsp;churros during rain downpours.

<h2>From the Paddock to the Grandstands: Smells that Bring Fans Together</h2>

Each sector of the circuit brings with it its own special aromas. Maxime believes&nbsp;the food vendors definitely&nbsp;contribute to&nbsp;a festive atmosphere.&nbsp;You&nbsp;feel&nbsp;the buzz of activity&nbsp;and that the event is really kicking off.&nbsp;In the&nbsp;paddock, the smell of meals cooked for the teams mixes with that of new tyres, a particular scent that future car mechanic&nbsp;Mattias&nbsp;loves.&nbsp;Like when you go to a mountain tyre workshop.&nbsp;For Sarah, the wooded areas around the Mulsanne and Indianapolis corners&nbsp;are reminiscent of the Landes forests.&nbsp;The smell of pines and freshly cut grass mowed before Test Day add a rustic touch.

<h2>Adrenaline Through the Nose</h2>

Smells amp up the intensity of the race. Maxime agrees that some, like burnt rubber or hard braking, amplify the tension.&nbsp;If I detect a suspicious odor, right away I want to know which car is concerned and how that&nbsp;will affect the race. Mattias says that even natural elements, like&nbsp;humidity announcing rain, add a dramatic dimension.&nbsp;When you pick up on that kind of&nbsp;smell, you&nbsp;know everything can change.

Lucas tops off this study with an excellent conclusion: there is nothing like the scent&nbsp;of Champagne raining down on the&nbsp;podium. It&#39;s the last major smell&nbsp;memory we&nbsp;take with us.

The smells at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans are no small detail, they tell the whole story. They capture the race&#39;s&nbsp;energy and&nbsp;humanity, whether it&#39;s the smell of overheated tires or&nbsp;brakes that underscore&nbsp;mechanical efforts, the food aromas that bring people together&nbsp;or the fresh air of the forest,&nbsp;each fragrance is a piece of the puzzle that fuels the spirit of&nbsp;this legendary event.

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Smell sense fuels the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Aston Martin THOR will be competing with its Valkyrie AMR-LMH at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025) and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team has now revealed the names of two of its hypercar drivers: Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell.

Aston Martin THOR (The Heart Of Racinge) has selected two drivers who have played a key role in developing and preparing the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-to-race-two-valkyrie-hypercars-at-the-2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-58803" target="_blank">Valkyrie AMR-LMH</a>&nbsp;to race the British hypercar next year&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell.

Harry Tincknell&nbsp;is returning to Aston Martin after four years away. He last drove for the British marque in 2020, when he won the LMGTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing driving duties with Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin in a Vantage GTE. The 2016 European Le Mans Series champion and winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2020 will take command of the #007 Valkyrie.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an absolute honour to return to Aston Martin for the Valkyrie programme,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I believe the car will be&nbsp;a firm fan favourite&nbsp;with its amazing looks and the incredible sound of the V12 engine.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s been exciting to be a part of the initial development testing, and the DNA of the car feels strong. I&rsquo;m very proud of the hard work everyone has put in so far as we build towards the first race. Everyone at Aston Martin THOR Team has made me feel very welcome and I know I&rsquo;m joining a professional outfit.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alex Riberas&nbsp;is a factory driver at The Heart Of Racing and will take the wheel of the #009 car. The Spaniard will be moving up to the premium racing class after an outstanding season in the Aston Martin #27 Vantage AMR&nbsp;LMGT3. He took victories in the FIA WEC&nbsp;LMGT3 class and in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class.&nbsp;&ldquo;It is a great honour to be chosen as a driver for such an exciting project,&rdquo;&nbsp;he affirms. &ldquo;I have been a part of The Heart of Racing for the past 10 years and to be able to continue my journey with them, now at the pinnacle of endurance racing, is simply a dream come true. To be given the opportunity to represent such an iconic brand as Aston Martin, which has such a remarkable history both in sportscar racing and at Le Mans, is something that&nbsp;I will cherish for the rest of my life.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Aston Martin Valkyrie is the most spectacular car I have ever driven, and it sounds amazing, so to be able to share it with the fans of motorsport all over the world is something I am very much looking forward to.&rdquo;

<h2>12,500&nbsp;km of tests</h2>

Aston Martin THOR Team principal&nbsp;Ian James&nbsp;said, &ldquo;Both drivers have shown the relevant blend of patience, speed and dedication to the team through the testing phase of the Aston Martin Valkyrie programme&nbsp;and have earned the right to the race seat in 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re all very excited heading into next season, particularly given all the hard work that has gone into it so far.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is still a long road ahead, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we can&rsquo;t wait to go racing with this incredible car. It&rsquo;s a special honour to run a team with this iconic brand and to be able to take the Aston Martin wings back to where they belong, at the very pinnacle of endurance racing.&rdquo;

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is now nearing the end of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-steps-up-development-work-on-valkyrie-amr-lmh-59145" target="_blank">development programme</a>&nbsp;and has covered an impressive 12,500&nbsp;km to date. The team is now fine-tuning the Valkyrie&rsquo;s performance profile prior to homologation for the 2025 season. The car is scheduled to make its racing debut at the Qatar&nbsp;1812&nbsp;km (28 February 2025). In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, its first race will be the gruelling 12 Hours of Sebring (12-15 March 2025). &ldquo;We are reaching a critical juncture in the development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and to this point&nbsp;the car has passed all of the objectives and benchmarks we have set for it.&nbsp;Testing is one thing however, going racing quite another!&rdquo; insists&nbsp;Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport.

The full Aston Martin THOR driver line-ups for the 2025 FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be announced shortly.

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Aston Martin announces the first two drivers for its Valkyrie AMR-LMH

The Iron Dames will open a new chapter in their FIA World Endurance Championship story after striking a deal with Manthey Racing for the 2025 season.

To renew with the success achieved with Porsche in the 2023 FIA WEC season, climaxed by the last-ever LMGTE win at the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the Iron Dames are about to embark on a new era guided by the expertise of Manthey Racing. The German outfit has seven overall wins at the 24h N&uuml;rburgring to its name and has enjoyed considerable success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Manthey is therefore an ideal partner to help the Iron Dames reach new heights.

For Manthey Racing GmbH Managing Director Nicolas Raeder, Manthey and Iron Dames form a promising team.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are proud to join forces with the Iron Dames in the WEC next year,&rdquo;&nbsp;he says. &ldquo;We are confident that this is a great opportunity to develop together and to reach a new level with our experience in endurance racing and the tireless efforts of the Iron Dames.&rdquo;

<h2>A newcomer to the WEC lineup</h2>

Next year, the Iron Dames #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 will be driven by Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Celia Martin. While Gatting and Frey are established figures of the Iron Dames WEC setup, Martin is a rising star of endurance who is making the step up after a remarkable Michelin Le Mans Cup campaign.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Our 2025 lineup of Michelle, Rahel, and Celia represents both continuity and innovation as well as the transmission between generations which is a value at the heart of the project,&rdquo; says Deborah Mayer, founder of the Iron Dames project. &ldquo;I am proud of what we have accomplished so far and confident in what lies ahead. We are committed to writing a new chapter in Iron Dames&rsquo; endurance racing history, demonstrating that women have their rightful place at the top of the sport, inspiring generations to come.&rdquo;

&ldquo;We have always admired the [Iron Dames] project and have had many exciting but fair on-track duels with them in the past,&rdquo; Raeder adds. &ldquo;We are looking forward to the 2025 season and to being able to bring a Porsche in pink to the starting grid.&rdquo;

The first all-female trio to win a round of the FIA WEC and finish runners-up in the 2023 championship, the Iron Dames have chalked up 27 races and achieved seven pole positions and five podiums. As the countdown to the new season begins in earnest, the team is eager to get its collaboration with Manthey and Porsche underway. &ldquo;We are ready to make history once again,&rdquo;&nbsp; Mayer concludes.

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FIA WEC – Iron Dames team up with Manthey for 2025

The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will welcome Mercedes-AMG to its LMGT3 ranks next season. Two cars will be entered in the colours of Italian outfit Iron Lynx.

Iron Lynx is switching to Mercedes-AMG for its 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign. The Italian outfit will race two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the LMGT3 class. The German carmaker is thus extending its customer racing programme to one of the planet&rsquo;s most prestigious series.

&ldquo;It&#39;s no secret that we&#39;ve been very keen for some time to bring the three-pointed star back to Le Mans,&rdquo; admits Christoph Sagem&uuml;ller, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. &ldquo;The 2025 season with the FIA WEC entry is the right moment &ndash; we are returning to the Sarthe after 26 years! Our successful Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the experienced Iron Lynx team is the right pairing and we have set another milestone in our Customer Racing success story.&rdquo;

The FIA WEC replaced the LMGTE category with the LMGT3 class for the 2024 season, allowing homologated GT3s to compete in the championship. Mercedes joins a top-level LMGT3 grid alongside Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, McLaren and Porsche.

The Mercedes-AMG GT3 must fulfil special FIA WEC LMGT3 homologation criteria to be able to participate as Mercedes-AMG LMGT3. It must notably integrate the use of drive shafts with torque sensors and carry out the corresponding development work. Wind tunnel tests will also be required to ensure compliance with the performance window laid down in the championship rulebook. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport has already started the necessary processes which are scheduled to be completed in time for the new season.

The Qatar 1812 Km will launch the 2025 FIA WEC season on 28 February. The highlight of the eight-round season will undoubtedly be the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025) where Mercedes-AMG and Iron Lynx will be eager to put in a strong performance.

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Mercedes-AMG set to join LMGT3 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans and in FIA WEC

24 Heures du Mans 2021

In 2021, Alpine will compete in the new Hypercar class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA WEC. After announcing its driver line-up this past 26 January, Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team has now unveiled the A480 prototype based on an ORECA chassis and powered by a 4.5-liter V8 furnished by Gibson Technology. The car is equipped with Michelin tires in compliance with the Hypercar class regulations.

Check out the #36 Alpine A480 below:

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The car will be driven by Nicolas Lapierre (age 36, 13 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans), André Negrão (age 28, four participations) and Matthieu Vaxivière (age 26, four participations).

Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine: "Auto racing and Alpine have been inextricably linked since the marque's return to endurance in 2013, and the adventure has given us fantastic wins. After eight years of success, it is now time to join the top class. The regulation changes will allow us to share our passion and demonstrate our technical savoir-faire and experience in a fair framework at controlled costs. We will give our all at every race as we represent Alpine at the top echelon of motorsport."

Philippe Sinault, Team manager of Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team reacts to the arrival of the French brand at the highest level of endurance through the video below :

24 Heures du Mans 2021 - Spotlight on the Alpine Elf Matmut team

24 Heures du Mans - Fierté et enthousiasme pour Philippe Sinault, team manager d'Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team

Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team will kick off its season on 26-27 April at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for the FIA WEC Prologue preceding the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the first of six rounds in Season 9 of the FIA WEC.

24H LE MANS

24 Hours of Le Mans – Alpine Elf Matmut Endurance Team unveils its Alpine A480

Related News

Smell sense fuels the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Aston Martin announces the first two drivers for its Valkyrie AMR-LMH

FIA WEC – Iron Dames team up with Manthey for 2025

Mercedes-AMG set to join LMGT3 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans and in FIA WEC

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