Peugeot worked on its suspension during the winter

Peugeot arrives at Losail on a circuit that the French manufacturer appreciates. Last year, the Lion firm had come close to signing a podium with the old version of the 9X8, which made its jubilee on the Qatari circuit before giving way to its version with wing. This new iteration has changes during the winter with new suspensions at the front and rear.

« In fact, this is something we have been testing for some time now, explained Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of Peugeot Sport, in Qatar. This is an optimization of the suspension to achieve a better aerodynamic effect. We do not change the aerodynamics, but we can at least improve it. »

If the old version of the car had shown itself to be particularly at ease on the Qatari billiard table, it had on the contrary had experienced more bumpy circuits, in particular at Sebring. We believe this is an improvement for all circuits, adds Jansonnie. On some circuits our performance was particularly poor. Austin, for example, was not a good race for us. This traction is definitely better for us. »

« If you remember the history of this car, we first took it to race at Imola less than a year ago, adds the person concerned. It is difficult to assess your weaknesses when you are only testing and you are alone on the track. It took us a few races before we could assess our weaknesses. We found some interesting things in the comparison between what the competitors are doing and what we were not able to do. Le Mans was very clear on that. I think by the end of Austin we knew what we were looking for. From there it was just a matter of designing, developing, testing, and then winterizing and finally deciding. »

When asked how many jokers were used with this new development and how many remain at Peugeot, Olivier Jansonnie did not provide an answer on this subject.

ALSO READ > The 1812 km program of Qatar 2025