Alpine's loss is bigger than it might initially look

Their time is up. It’s Alpine’s final race in the World Endurance Championship.

We knew it was coming for quite some time. Alpine announced last year that it would be leaving the series at the end of the 2026 season. But that time has come round quickly.

And now it’s here, it’s clear to see that the team will leave a hole in the series.

Teams come and go in motorsport. That’s a fact. And when it comes to manufacturer teams, they are definitely more susceptible to walking away as soon as things don’t quite align with their own objectives.

That’s what happened in this case. Alpine isn’t struggling financially, it’s just the WEC no longer aligned with the brand’s vision for the future.

But what makes this departure such a shame is the fact that not only has Alpine been on the grid since pretty much the start of the Hypercar era, it has also gotten itself to a point where it has started to become really competitive.

Let’s not forget, it isn’t just Alpine affected too. The manufacturer’s WEC programme is run by Singatech. They’re a highly professional group who know how to go endurance racing, and having been unable to find anyone yet to take over the programme, they are now left in a position where they are looking at 2027 and believing they won’t be racing.

That is a crying shame. Signatech deserve to be on the grid. They deserve to be racing. And they have a competitive car capable of racing at the front in the right conditions.

The two cars will be starting sixth and 11th for today’s 6 Hours of Monza. Hardly an uncompetitive feat around the ‘Temple of Speed’. There’s inherent potential within the A424 chassis. It is just a shame that right now, nobody is willing to invest to ensure the car remains on the grid for next year and beyond.

Alpine’s loss will be masked by the fact that both McLaren and Ford will be joining the Hypercar grid for the 2027 World Endurance Championship season. Two major manufacturers joining shows just how in demand the championship is right now, and with a net gain of two cars it is unlikely fans will feel the loss of Alpine when it comes to on track racing.

But let’s be clear, this is a loss. We’re losing an experienced outfit who wants to be on the grid for the long term, who - if given the right backing- could well outlast most of the manufacturers currently racing.

That’s what the WEC is losing. A long term partner in Signatech. An outfit that is endurance racing through and through. And that could come back to bite the championship in years to come.

Now, it is one final hurrah. One last chance to make it to the podium. The fairytale might not become a reality, but either way, Alpine’s impact on the WEC has been much larger than it might initially look from the outside and not having the team on the grid next year really will be a shame.

Farewell Alpine, and good luck Signatech. They deserve a last minute rescue deal to keep the business’ racing activities alive for years to come.