A first day of running-in for Peugeot at Monza

The results of the first day of Peugeot at the 6 Hours of Monza is mixed. On the one hand, the No. 93 completed 40 laps on the track and set the third fastest time in the first Free Practice session behind Glickenhaus and Alpine. On the other hand, the No. 94 remained in its garage after eight short laps carried out by James Rossiter. “We have had some issues that are still being investigated”, explained the Briton after the session.

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“It’s always handicapping, whether it’s a first race or not, adds his friend from the 94, Loïc duval. It's annoying to have little driving when the time devoted to it is limited. » However, the French driver put things into perspective and preferred to remember the good side of the session. “The sister car has messed up quite a bit. It's up to us to try to catch up, but that shouldn't be the main objective, because that's where we're going to make mistakes. »

With two new cars whose burn-in was carried out a little over a week in advance on the Magny-Cours circuit, seeing a technical problem appear on one of the two 9X8s is not surprising. “It bothered us, but it’s not a major problem”, reassured Duval. The Habs were able to return to the track for four loops at the end of the session, bringing the number of laps completed by their prototype to 12. A return to the track to determine if the solution to the problem had been found. If this was not already the case, “this shouldn’t be a problem tomorrow (Saturday. Editor’s note),” he assures.

His compatriot Jean-Éric Vergne remained cautious despite the 40 laps completed by the No. 93 and the third fastest time. “It’s always complicated to judge, tempered IS IN. I don't know enough yet to tell me if it's good or not. The only thing we can do is evaluate our car and improve it if necessary for the race. » A day which ended with a funny mishap for Jean-Éric Vergne. While he was due to carry out a driver extraction exercise requested by the FIA, stewards arrived late and used the fire extinguisher on the car while it was still unsecured. 

See you this Saturday at 9 a.m. for the next Free Practice session.