Ragues replaces Thiriet in Signatech WEC squad
The Signatech Alpine LMP2 squad has announced that Pierre Ragues will complete its 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship line-up in place of Pierre Thiriet.
Silver-rated Ragues, 35, joins the previously-announced Andre Negrao and team newcomer Thomas Laurent at the wheel of the team's Alpine-branded Oreca 07 for the new campaign.
It follows Thiriet's decision to step down from the French squad for what were described in a team statement as "personal and professional challenges" following his Le Mans 24 Hours victory alongside Negrao and Nicolas Lapierre.
Toyota LMP1 reserve driver Laurent was previously confirmed as the replacement Lapierre, who is joining new WEC LMP2 entry Cool Racing for 2019/20.
“We would first like to thank Pierre Thiriet for playing an extremely important part in our latest victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and our FIA World Endurance Championship title defence," commented Signatech boss Philippe Sinault. "He made no mistakes while putting in a perfect drive at Le Mans.
“We had the opportunity to bring Pierre Ragues back in to the team and everything fell naturally into place. We share the same sporting and human values, which represents both a time saving and a guarantee of competitiveness.
"In addition, his atypical and versatile profile has always made him one of the best Alpine ambassadors both on and off track.
"We are carrying on the continuity we have shown these past few years with a strong, coherent and complementary driver line-up. We are now very excited to return to the track in two weeks in Barcelona [for the Prologue test on July 24-25].”
Ragues contested Le Mans this year with the Duqueine Engineering LMP2 team alongside Nico Jamin and Romain Dumas, the trio finishing seventh in class in their Oreca 07 (pictured below).
Prior to that, he scored a class podium with Signatech in 2017 alongside Negrao and Nelson Panciatici, matching the result he scored with Pescarolo Racing back in 2008.
#30 Duqueine Engineering Oreca 07 Gibson: Nicolas Jamin, Pierre Ragues, Romain Dumas
Photo by: Marc Fleury
WEC reveals 30-car entry for Prologue test
Opinion: Why SMP Racing's WEC exit should be no shock
Why F1-snubbed Davidson has no regrets in retirement
He may not have won the Le Mans 24 Hours - falling agonisingly short in 2016 - and didn't get the opportunities in Formula 1 his talents merited. But after calling time on his professional career last month, Anthony Davidson says his pride in his performances with Peugeot and Toyota in LMP1 mean more than the results he achieved
Why Le Mans didn't decide Toyota's WEC title outcome in 2021
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez scored a second successive FIA World Endurance Championship title in the #7 Toyota, as its new Le Mans Hypercar went unbeaten. Motorsport.com recaps how each of the four classes in the 2021 season were won and picks out the best LMH and GTE drivers
The unanswered questions that define WEC 2021's controversial ending
OPINION: The deeply unsatisfying ending to a brilliant World Endurance Championship GTE Pro battle in Bahrain had Ferrari provisionally heading back from the desert as the victor. But Porsche plans to appeal the outcome, which rests on a number of confusing elements that have yet to be satisfactorily explained.
How the WEC's heavyweight duel reached its controversial flashpoint
The Ferrari versus Porsche fight for the FIA World Endurance Championship's GTE Pro title had been a finely-poised affair, right up until Alessandro Pier Guidi's punt on Michael Christensen in the closing stages of the Bahrain 8 Hours handed Ferrari a provisional title, pending Porsche's appeal. Here's how the controversy played out.
The remarkable fixes Toyota used to avert another Le Mans disaster
The 1-2 finish achieved by Toyota at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours was a result that will have surprised few, given its status as pre-event favourite. But the result was anything but straightforward, as worsening fuel pressure concerns required the team's drivers and engineers to pursue "creative fixes" on the fly. Here is the full story of how it reached the end without a lengthy pit visit
The 10 greatest drives of lost legend Jo Siffert
It's 50 years since Jo Siffert was killed in his prime at Brands Hatch. The Swiss scored just two world championship wins in a Formula 1 career spent largely with privateer teams, but showed on numerous occasions in single-seaters and in sportscars with Porsche that he could beat any of the best drivers of his era given the right equipment.
Inside the Le Mans finish too barmy for Hollywood
Team WRT has been at the forefront of GT racing for years and made a successful move to prototypes for 2021, capped by an LMP2 win on its Le Mans debut. It could've been even better had the race been one lap shorter, when its cars ran 1-2, but the stranger-than-fiction reality has spurred the team to reach greater heights.
Why Toyota's Le Mans victory was not as simple as it looked
Toyota scored its fourth Le Mans 24 Hours victory and a 1-2, with the #7 car of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez beating the #8. But although it looked straightforward from the outside, Toyota faced serious problem that had to be solved with some quick-thinking and ingenuity.