Nicolas Lapierre remains with Signatech Alpine

Nicolas Lapierre will return for a sixth FIA World Endurance Championship season and will defend his LMP2 title with the Signatech Alpine team.

The Frenchman, who won the championship crown with Gustavo Menezes and Stéphane Richelmi in 2016, has been retained but his team mates have yet to be announced.  With Californian Menezes being upgraded to gold status for 2017 the same trio will not be able to race together again LMP2 rules require that each car must have at least one silver or bronze-ranked driver.

Team boss Philippe Sinault said: "We're very pleased that Nicolas has renewed his faith in Signatech Alpine.  Building on the winning formula of 2016, this is a very important first step as we prepare for the coming season." 

Quote courtesy of Autosport.com