Photo : LAURENT CARTALADE / VISION SPORT - LAURENT CARTALADE / VSA

 

In charge of stickers for the Signatech Alpine team's Alpine a 450b-Nissan, Yann explains the different types of stickers: "There are different sorts of Venilia (the brand of stickers used) according to the application that we want to do, like for example for sponsors we use 'Venilia Standard'. When it is heated, the sticker deforms but when it cools, it has a tendancy to return to its original shape. A second type is the 'Venilia special covering' which has a special glue and is micro-gridded: when the sticker is heated in preparation for application onto a car, it deforms. This second type of sticker is utilized for covering large surfaces."

Once the sticker is placed, that is not the end of it: "When it is still hot and placed on the car body, we then use a sort of squeegee to remove air bubbles. Then, we reheat the sticker a second time in place to polymerize the glue. That means we raise the temperature of the glue (between 80 and 90 degrees) for it to have its true sticking power. Otherwise, small angles and corners will have a tendancy to turn up. And, with the speeds, the brake dust due to carbon, all of that becomes lodged inside and little by little the sticker becomes unglued. And of course that is not good in terms of aerodynamics."

Henceforth this technique is used at all the teams. "Now, the teams tend not to use anything but the Venilia except the Signatech Alpine car because of the special blue hue of the brand, we have to use paint." For when it is necessary, "a front-end sticker, for example, takes approximately three or four hours." These days, media exposure is a central part of the teams' communication. Placement on the car is paramount, confirms Yann: "The placement of the different stickers is decided in advance over the winter by the sponsors and the team manager who, following the budget allocated by the different sponsors, then come to an agreement where the sponsors will be situated. The bigger the check, the more impactful the sticker!"

David Bristol / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, FRIDAY MAY 30 2014, TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE VERFICIATIONS. The No. 36 Alpine A450-b Nissan.