André Negrão is happy with Signatech Alpine's fourth place finish in the 4 Hours of Shanghai, saying it 'kind of feels like a podium result' after the team's struggles earlier in the weekend.
Negrão started seventh in the LMP2 class after the team had a traction control issue in qualifying. The Brazilian's strong first stint in the #36 Alpine A470-Gibson moved the team up to fourth and briefly into the top three before a mistake in fourth place meant he was sixth when he handed over to Pierre Ragues.
"It was a difficult weekend from the start as we had struggled with the setup," Negrao said. We made a few drastic changes that improved the overall package but they were not enough. Our two problems in qualifying didn’t help us out, but the car felt good early in the race despite a significant tyre degradation."
Ragues and subsequent driver Thomas Laurent moved back up to fourth but lost out on a podium finish when Laurent spun at turn one in the closing stages, losing valuable time.
Seeing where we were on Friday morning, this fourth-place kind of feels like a podium result," Negrao continued. "It was a struggle, but fourth place is a good result and the points that go with it will be good for the team in the championship. I am now looking forward to continuing the battle in Bahrain!"
Signatech Alpine Elf now sits third in the LMP2 championship standings, thirteen points behind champion leaders Racing Team Nederland and eleven behind Jackie Chan DC Racing. Season 8 of the FIA World Endurance Championship continues with the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain on 12-14 December.
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