Quesnel: “We have the experience”

After so much success in 2009, how Peugeot can do better in 2010?
I don't plan to do better, but to do at least as well. Rather than a double, a victory will be enough for me. That's already very complicated. We're going to work on it, we're going to do our best. Between Le Mans 2009 and Le Mans 2010, we planned to compete in eleven endurance sessions. To put the team in the best conditions and ready for the 24 Hours, after the double at Petit Le Mans, we planned to do Sebring, to go to Spa with three cars, before arriving at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In Spa, I know that Audi will be there and, as the race only lasts 1000 kilometers, it could be quite incredible.

I know the Peugeot is in its fourth year. I also know that Audi has worked a lot, that they will not repeat the same mistakes, that their car is certainly faster than ours. But they will have the pressure on their backs. For our part, we have experience, serenity, reliability. This will balance that out. We risk witnessing an anthology 24 Hours race. It must not be forgotten Aston Martin, which will be able to benefit from a regulation which further favors cars with petrol engines.

Do you really think Aston Martins can bother you?
When you have 70 horsepower difference between a gasoline car and a diesel car, yes. Last year, petrol cars were complaining about diesel performance. This year, the cursor has reversed. We are working a lot, Audi is doing the same as us but I think it will be very complicated.

Sébastien Loeb is ultimately not there. Can you tell us why?
Indeed, Sébastien Loeb will not be part of the Peugeot Total team this year. We decided to choose after the Rally from Sweden. We decided on the basis of a schedule shared between the Peugeot test sessions, the DS3 development sessions, the C4 test sessions, the five world championship rallies before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, plus the obligations Sébastien’s professionals? Unfortunately, the balance was no longer there since he only had three days to himself in March, only two days in April. On a sporting level, he was certainly very fast. But I need drivers arriving in top form at Le Mans. There, that would not have been the case.

Why did you dissociate Sébastien Bourdais of his former partners, Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin?
Because I needed a fast driver in the other car. Sébastien Bourdais is a solid driver. It seemed appropriate to us to put him in this car (No. 3). And, in his place, to put Nicolas Minassian, with Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin. I preferred not to put all my eggs in one basket. Especially since I am counting on all three cars and I want us to complete a race that I would describe as aggressive.