Peugeot so close to the points despite disappointing performance
Peugeot was far from the mark all week. The only bright spot for the French brand was an eleventh-place finish for the #94, which drove a clean race.
An insufficient pace. Throughout the week, Peugeot did not hold its rank and was a major disappointment. From the test day onwards, the 9X8s were lagging behind. Despite extensive running to prepare the cars, the Lion brand failed to reverse the trend.
This lack of performance was felt in qualifying with an elimination in the first phase. To try to climb the rankings, Peugeot implemented a conservation strategy: drive slower to consume less fuel and wear out the tires less. In the end, this allowed for fewer pit stops.
The problems did not spare the #93 which hit the wall at the beginning of the race at the entry of the Porsche curves, causing significant damage to the car. After a quick pit stop, it returned to the race. However, it was stopped for nearly ten minutes during the night due to a steering issue.
The sister car was much cleaner and it showed in the results with an eleventh place finish. The points were not far off, but Alpine was stronger at the end of the event. It’s a zero for Peugeot at Le Mans.
« We knew, given the rules, that we were going to have a rhythm handicap in this race. We saw it in the qualifications, it was no surprise to anyone. So we established a strategy to account for this rhythm, with “energy saving,” increasing the number of laps per stint, and reducing the number of stints. It worked with the #94 that was fighting with the Cadillac that started on the front row after six hours of racing. I am very proud of the team that delivered a magnificent performance, in a very professional manner with the same rigor and commitment as for podium places », highlights Jean-Marc Finot, Senior VP of Stellantis Motorsport.
