Peugeot wants to “fight for victory” at Sebring

Peugeot still has everything to prove in 2023. Certainly, the French manufacturer arrived in WEC mid-season in 2022, but multiple reliability issues have hidden the real potential of the 9X8. After an intense winter in terms of development, with more than 10 kilometers of cumulative tests and full-scale tests at Paul-Ricard (Var) or even at Motorlanc Aragon (Spain), the Lion brand has refined its mount to be ready for Sebring (USA), which opens the season next week (1000 Miles of Sebring the 17th of March)

Peugeot aims for victory at Sebring

A real challenge awaits the French Hypercar, on the atypical and bumpy Florida route. “This rugged circuit is very demanding for the ground connections and transmissions, underlines Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of Peugeot Sport. Having passed Sebring without incident is a necessary condition to tackle the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even if we know that this will not be enough because nothing can replace a real 24-hour race”.

At Sebring, Peugeot will also benefit from a BoP slightly more favorable than its “equivalent” opponents (with a hybrid Hypercar LMH designed 100% by the manufacturer), Ferrari et Toyota. Enough to give a small advantage to the French team, whose objective is stated for the first race of the season. “ Se fight for victory for all races, assumes Jean-Marc Finot, director of Stellantis Motorsport. Afterwards we know that nothing is certain, it will be hard and we are not the only ones on the grid to have this objective”

On the drivers' side, we prefer to wait for the outcome of the American round to determine an objective, facing tough and vast competition in 2023. “This season we need to set achievable goals and this will only be possible after the first race at Sebring, estimates Jean-Éric Vergne, who accumulates Endurance et Formula e. Today, we cannot compare ourselves to the other teams because we have never competed against them. This will be the team's first full season, and we will face very experienced competitors. It is important that we all improve (…) in order to be in a position to win races. »

Le Mans already in the sights

Besides Sebring, Peugeot's underlying goal is to be ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 10-11). The meeting has already been made by the six drivers who make up the two crews of the Lion brand. “Since the last race in Bahrain, we have spent quite a bit of time in the simulator and done several test sessions.

We not only drove the car but we also spent time together off the track to get to know each other better, to understand each other better, which is very valuable., confides Nico Müller, the latest arrival of the gang at Peugeot. 2023 will represent the golden age of endurance with also the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will definitely be the ultimate goal, and we will fight for victory. »

Peugeot will have the first answers regarding the performance and reliability of its 9X8 at Sebring, first for the Prologue (March 11-12) then for the 1000 Miles, which will take place on March 17.

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