Quesnel: “Endurance, an empty shell”

At the end of this 2009 season, how do you judge endurance compared to other disciplines you know?
Before talking about this season as a whole, I want to say that I discovered a team Peugeot Sport which had been much criticized but which is remarkable, as its results demonstrated. But I also had confirmation that endurance is a discipline which is not structured, which is based on a test. This situation cannot continue. We must be able to amortize the same budget over several races, therefore over a championship.

Having left Le Mans, he misses the stress of competition. When I compare with what I experience in rally, it is not normal. Apart from the 24 Hours, endurance is an empty shell. Instead of doing tests to prepare, it would be nice to ride in front of the public during title races. All you have to do is press the button which will trigger a phenomenon capable of interest five, six or seven manufacturers.

We are currently in a context which sees manufacturers leaving the F1 as new technologies are implemented to address environmental issues. In the imagination of the general public, Le Mans is used to validate this type of work. Endurance is a gold mine and has a card to play in the years to come. You simply have to structure the activity.

You have given up on competing in the Le Mans Series championship. For what ?
If I understand correctly, and if I believe the will of its promoter, this is a competition which is intended to take off greatly. I think that this requires decisions which, in the short term, are difficult to live with, but which, in the medium term, will pay off handsomely. At one point or another, you will have to invest, whether in promotion, circuits, calendar or TV coverage. This year, Peugeot only went to Spa, but that was enough to find itself faced with an F1 Grand Prix. This is a first problem.

On the track, we had to deal with a certain number of cars driven by people who have no place in a debate that aims to be at a very high level, even if the nature of endurance is to mix protos and GTs. At Petit Le Mans, the vast majority of the GT2s were driven by professionals and everything went well. What I notice is that strangely, without any consultation, Audi was at Sebring and so were we; Audi was at Petit Le Mans and so were we, Peugeot was at Spa and Audi didn't come? Draw whatever conclusions you want.

For me, Endurance means races of at least ten hours. Let's have a world endurance championship and, suddenly, everything will be structured. Under the aegis of the FIA ​​or the ACO, it doesn't matter, but it cannot be a cheap championship. We need a global competition which involves historic meetings and, at the same time, series at a continental level which interest teams which perhaps do not have the means or the desire to compete against teams of? factory. If tomorrow we find ourselves with four manufacturers in the Le Mans Series or the ALMS, we will all develop a car for the 24 Hours and another, which will have nothing to do with it, for the 1000 km races.

Find the entire interview with Olivier Quesnel, as well as the 2009 Endurance report produced by Jean-Marc Teissedre, in AUTOhebdo number 1726 available on newsstands.