Gustavo Menezes: “A great feeling to lead the 24 Hours of Le Mans” with Peugeot

No one expected them to be in this position and yet, Peugeot carried out the 24 Hours of Le Mans during one hour. The French team was leading the Sarthe event when a flood poured onto the circuit. The No. 94 Peugeot, driven by Gustavo Menezes who was more comfortable in the rain, moved to the front a few moments before the Safety Car was deployed. The American, surprised by his position, recounts this little unexpected moment of glory.

“It was a great feeling to lead the 24 Hours of Le Mans, explains the driver of the No. 94. Of course, it's only a small step in a marathon, but it's still very nice for Peugeot in this Centenary edition, at home, to be in the spotlight. It's a very good start, we didn't expect to be in this position. »

Thanks to the hybrid four-wheel drive system, the Peugeot 9X8 was able to take advantage of this advantage to perform well in the pouring rain. “ Obviously, the conditions were extremely difficult. It felt more like survival, admits Gustavo Menezes. The car was pretty good with slick tires on a wet track. I managed the traffic well, I also had a little luck with the latecomers. Once it was wet I was comfortable and managed to pass the others. »

“Once the Safety Car was deployed, it started to rain a lot. It was so rainy that I couldn't even turn, even at 40 km/h.he adds. We put on the rain tires, and I was a little surprised to see that the Ferrari remained on slick tires. I told myself that if it rained even more, I didn't want to be in their position. A few laps later, we could no longer even see the trajectory between the Mulsanne chicanes. »

Peugeot surprised by the length of the Safety Car

However, Peugeot quickly lost control of the race. The French team and its American driver preferred to stay on wet tires on a drying track. Surprised by the length of the race neutralization, Menezes did not succeed in his strategic choice.

“It was a good decision to neutralize the race at that moment, even if the safety car stayed a little too long for my liking because it destroyed the strategies, confided the American. With this new [Safety Car] procedure, we were a little too conservative and that is partly my fault. There were 20 hours of racing left, so putting on slicks on a track that was still wet was not an obvious decision knowing that there was still a lot going to happen. If I could go back in time, of course I would wear slick tires. But I'm just happy the car is still in one piece and driving well. » 

At 22 p.m., the No. 94 Peugeot was in 3rd place overall, behind the two Ferraris.

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