Quesnel: “With a clear conscience”

Peugeot, after two failures against Audi, managed to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans last season. One after the disillusionment of 2008, the French manufacturer was able to put everything in order to achieve a double and, finally, beat the firm in the rings. Following on from this victory, Peugeot won at Petit Le Mans in 2009, and at Sebring and Spa in 2010. Precedents which reinforce the frustration of having seen all the Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs abandon at Le Mans this week. -end. But, if he is disappointed, the director of Peugeot Sport is not despondent and looks to the future.

« It’s a race that got off to a very fast start, comments Olivier Quesnel. There is an opponent who is very, very strong. We were faster but less reliable. It was done with a knife and it fell on us. Trees don't reach the sky: we're coming off four consecutive doubles and I suspected there would be a backlash. It happened here, it?s a shame. But, honestly, we did everything necessary. We will look at why all this happened and then we will draw conclusions. »

If he appears disappointed, the director of Peugeot Sport knows that he must re-motivate his troops and move forward, especially after such a failure. Asked about his feelings at the end of the race, Olivier Quesnel does not fall into pessimism, admitting to having “ with a clear conscience, because we had done everything necessary. Obviously, that wasn't enough. The sanction has been imposed, it is harsh, but it must be, somewhere, justified. We have to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. »

Now, Peugeot Sport must get the machine back on track and identify what went wrong with the Peugeot 908. Olivier Quesnel is confident. “ We have the right to be unhappy this evening (Sunday) but tomorrow (Monday), we will get back to work. »

Furthermore, the abandonment of the four Peugeot 908 HDi FAP during these 24 Hours of Le Mans does not call into question an already established sporting program (Silverstone, Petit Le Mans, Zhuhai) and Olivier Quesnel believes that the "defeat" at Le Mans is an isolated fact, which will have no consequence on Peugeot's involvement in endurance. “ No way. We fought well, we did what we could. What's more, Peugeot is a company whose sporting values ​​are known and recognized, and our presence in motorsport is not a function of a hypothetical sporting result. I even had the agreement of all the big bosses to push, even if it meant things were broken. We tried, it clearly demonstrates Peugeot's values, knowing how to take risks but maintaining a certain ethics. »