Peugeot highlights “the team’s enormous progress” with the 9X8 at Fuji

Smiles but above all relief on the home side Peugeot Sport. After the catastrophic debut of the 9X8 at Monza in July, the French team made up for it on Sunday, during the 6 Hours of Fuji. The French team encountered no problems on Friday and Saturday, during practice and qualifying. During the race, the 9X8 n°94 rolled for a long time in the exhausts of theAlpine, before remaining in the garage for 20 minutes, due to an oil leak. The No. 93, slower than its sister car, remained “only” 6 minutes in its box over the six hours of racing, victim of the same problem.

Si la performance n’est pas encore là, avec encore un rythme bien plus faible que les Toyota, cela reste une belle amélioration en termes de fiabilité pour Peugeot. “These 6 Hours of Fuji demonstrate the enormous progress of the team, mechanics and engineers since Monza. We have resolved all the reliability issues encountered during our first run. Our weekend, Friday, Saturday and the first two hours of racing in Fuji went without any problems” said Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of Peugeot Sport.

“If we follow the same margin of progress for Bahrain, it will be more than positive”

Both 9X8s finished – the #93 in 4th place, the #94 in 20th place – which is a clear improvement compared to Monza, where only the #93 took the checkered flag. , in 33rd position. Olivier Jansonnie displays his optimism for the continuation of the adventure in WEC, with now the search for performance for the next race “ If we follow the same margin of progress for Bahrain, it will be more than positive, confided the French technical director. During the first race stints, we showed good pace. From now on, we will be able to focus on progress in performance. We encountered a problem, probably similar, on both cars. We also need to look deeper into the behavior and use of tires. On each circuit, we discover and learn! »  

Peugeot “could have fought for the podium” believes Duval

On the pilots' side, relief was mixed with a little frustration, especially for the #94 crew. Clearly in the rhythm of theAlpine, the podium was within reach before the oil leak ruined the trio's hopes. “Without this problem encountered on both cars and easily resolved, we could have fought regularly for the podium, said Loïc duval. It would have been tight but playable. I am a little surprised by our performance in the race compared to that in qualifying. We are closer to the competition. We understand the window of use for tires better even if we still have to learn. »

The No. 9 8X94, much faster than the No. 93, brought great reasons for satisfaction at Peugeot. At the wheel of James Rossiter, the French Hypercar came to tickle the ex-LMP1 ofAlpine, helped by the courtesy of the sister car driven by Jean-Éric Vergne. “I had a really fun stint because the car was perfectly balanced. I thank Jean-Eric [Vergne] for letting me pass because I was really able to push the pace. Except for this little off-road to avoid a GT, I must say that my session behind the wheel was very positive. I also thank the whole team because since Monza, what an evolution on the 9X8! ", rejoiced the 39-year-old British pilot. Next step for Peugeot: the 8 Hours of Bahrain (November 12), where the objective will be to seek performance and consolidate reliability with the 9X8.