Panis: “The work should have paid off”

Olivier Panis, the 908 Oreca was second for a long time before experiencing a problem. Then Loïc duval had to abandon while returning to the third Audi. A big disappointment?
It?s true that it?s hard, it?s hard for the whole team, everyone fought, the drivers did incredible stints, I rode for two ?stints? All night long? So it was good until then. Give up one hour before arrival (see video), it?s true that it?s hard. But that?s the magic of Le Mans. There are nice moments, others difficult. This one is a difficult moment. The team showed composure and worked well throughout the race. The work we did for three years, should it have paid off? But OK? Postponed.

The triple abandonment of Peugeot official announcements add to your disappointment? Or does it “reassure” you to know that the car might have broken regardless of the drivers?
It?s not maybe. It's an engine failure as much for them as for us. I still think that Peugeot made a fantastic car, they validated lots of things. We were unlucky, it broke on all three cars. That?s how it is, that?s the race. It lasted 23 hours, it had to last 24. Next year, it will last 24 hours.

The irony of the story is that the quadruple retirement of the Peugeot, combined with the failures of other cars, brings the Oreca 01, your old car, to fourth place in the rankings. 24 Hours of Le Mans?
It's awesome. Very honestly, Nicolas (Stone) and I worked a lot on the Oreca 01 to develop it. All the work carried out by Oreca in three years resulted in the success of this car. Fourth, for the crew, it?s great.

After this difficult failure, will you continue the Oreca-908 program this season?
If it must exist, I will listen. But we are not there yet. We must already assimilate everything that happened this weekend. There are big debriefings ahead. The future, we will see later.