Peugeot ready to make a big splash at the Le Mans 24 Hours
After the disappointment of the Spa 6 Hours, when the pace was there to finish in the top 6, Peugeot will be out for revenge at Le Mans. A track where 9X8s have provided some pleasant surprises in the past.
Frustration serves as motivation. Three weeks after the 6 Hours of Spa, the World Endurance Championship is back in action for the biggest race of the year: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In Sarthe, Peugeot will want to shine in front of their home crowd, and especially erase the disappointment of Spa. Showing a strong pace, both cars finished out of the points. The first retired, and the second due to a poor strategy. Nevertheless, these 9X8s are starting to become serious threats to the front of the pack.
“We are making progress,” emphasizes Jean-Marc Finot, head of Stellantis Motorsport. “Our last race at Spa-Francorchamps was very encouraging with a reliable and high-performance car both in qualifying and at the start of the race. It was very rewarding for the team to be able to compete with the best. This is also a good sign for Le Mans because the Spa-Francorchamps and 24 Hours of Le Mans circuits have some similarities.”
For Peugeot, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a major event in the season. It’s comparable to the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup in terms of notoriety, says Jean-Marc Finot.
The previous two years, the Peugeots had taken advantage of the rain to stand out on the Sarthe track. Considering this factor, which might appear again, and the performance at Spa, the 9X8 could be at the forefront. However, the drivers are more pessimistic.
We are expecting a difficult 24 Hours of Le Mans with strong competition. Last year, the weather was complicated. We quickly found ourselves behind and were never able to get back on the lead lap due to lack of performance. I love the week of Le Mans, the atmosphere, the fans, it puts everyone in a good mood and we will really need everyone’s support, says Paul Di Resta, who will be participating in the event for the seventh time.
For his part, Loïc Duval, one of the most experienced men in Sarthe with thirteen engagements, is more confident. « We have had two fairly decent 24 Hours of Le Mans thanks to good reliability. Now we need to add the performance seen during the last two meetings. If we manage to combine the two and avoid mistakes, we can aim for a top 5. »
