Loïc Duval: “It’s not through performance that we will win Le Mans this year”
The French driver finished the qualifications in 11th place. For him, Peugeot is where it belongs and the team won't be able to rely on performance to climb up the rankings in the race.
The frustration was present after the qualifications. Loïc Duval did not manage to do better than the 11th time of the session. Not qualified for ], the Frenchman struggled with traffic. Nevertheless, he believes that Peugeot is « in the right place. We did what we could. But, we are not light years away.
Despite this remorse, the former Audi driver is satisfied with the behavior of the 9X8. We evolve, then we discover new circuits, there is always a discovery phase. We get closer little by little, we won’t gain two seconds overnight.
The Tricolour believes that the pace of the Peugeot in the race will not allow him to gain positions legitimately. With his team, he will keep an eye on any issues his competitors might have.
« I think that the differences are the same in the race [compared to qualifying], it will come down to tire degradation, being as clean as possible. We’ll see what can happen depending on the reliability of each other. One thing is certain, it’s not on performance that we will win Le Mans this year. »
The 9X8 will have to cope with a top speed lower than that of other Hypercars. « It won’t be easy. »
