1812km from Qatar – And Peugeot had its own “Le Mans 2016”…

The comparison was almost immediate. The scene, the image, the situation: everything was similar, except for the issues… and the circuit. « Toyota competed in the 23:56 hrs of Le Mans in 2016, Peugeot the 1808km of Qatar in 2024 » can be seen quickly on social networks. From now on, the two manufacturers are united by an improbable bond: that of losing everything a few minutes (or hectometers) from the finish, of victory for one, of a podium for the other.

Absolutely heartbreaking for @peugeotsport…💔#WEC #Qatar1812KM pic.twitter.com/90l7zJ7Dvc

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) March 2, 2024

Obviously, the comparison stops at the scene, and not at the stakes. Compare the 1812km of Qatar – a brand new event on the calendar WEC this year – with 24 Hours of Le Mans would be blasphemy, as the Sarthe event is legendary (and centuries old!). At the time, when the No. 050 Toyota TS5 Hybrid stopped on the pit straight due to a technical problem, the latter was leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was four minutes away from offering a first victory in the Sarthe to the Japanese manufacturer, after numerous unsuccessful attempts.

© Antonin Vincent / DPPI

Here, Peugeot was “only” competing for the podium with the 9X8 in Qatar, and even this 2nd place would have been highly symbolic for the Lion. The 9X8 without aileron competed in its last race on Saturday, before the introduction of a new, more conventional version at Imola (April 18-21). A 2nd place would have been synonymous with the best result for the 9X8 since Peugeot's return to Endurance mid-2022, which has only achieved one podium in the last eleven races, at Monza last year.

Peugeot, Toyota, same fight

Another point in common: the consequences of these two breakdowns. In 2016, the No. 5 Toyota was not even classified at the end of the event, since it completed its last lap at Le Mans in nearly 12 minutes, double what was authorized by the regulations at the time.

For its part, Peugeot was disqualified from the 1812km of Qatar since Jean-Éric Vergne, who was at the wheel when he ran out of fuel, was unable to reach the parc ferme, which is clearly required by the regulations. In both cases, the finish line was crossed, but in no case within the framework of the sporting regulations...

Jean-Marc Finot, Senior VP of Stellantis Motorsport, made the connection between the two events at the end of the 1812km of Qatar. “It reminds me of Le Mans 2016. We have to digest this, did he declare.We will be back at Imola with the hope that the car can be competitive with the 2024 version. It will depend on the weight and power we have, but we are on the right track. »

« It's incredible, on the last lap we ran out of fuel, probably because of a problem during the last refueling. We need to analyze what happened. It's hard, we deserved second place today, estimated Nico Müller for his part. We wanted to offer one last good result to this Peugeot 9X8 version 2023. »

ALSO READ > A “perfect start to the season on both sides of the Atlantic” for Porsche