Peugeot to 'test different technical solutions' in Bahrain ahead of 2025 season

Will the Lion finally show his fangs for good? Endurance ? Peugeot seems to have found the right direction to follow in WEC with its 9 version 8X2024. Having struggled with its new car since its introduction at Imola in mid-April, the French manufacturer found performance and reliability in the last round at Fuji. In Japan, the French team had achieved its best overall result, with 4th place for the No. 93 and 8th place for the No. 94 thanks to an incredible end to the race for both 9X8s.

A result and momentum that will need to be confirmed this weekend at the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the last round of the 2024 WEC season. Peugeot knows the Sakhir track well since its return to the premier Endurance category, the Sochaux-based firm has already competed there twice in 2022 and 2023, albeit with the old 9X8 specification. Buoyed by Fuji's encouraging result, the French team is therefore arriving well prepared in the Gulf country, after having completed a private test session ahead of the Bahraini round.

"This result [from Fuji] rewarded a great collective effort and will inevitably have an impact on the morale of the troops for Bahrain, predicts Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of Peugeot Sport. We have proven that we are capable of doing great things. Of course, the Peugeot 9X8 evolution 2024 will discover the Sakhir circuit and preparing for the 8 Hours of Bahrain from Europe is always complicated, but we now have some experience of this circuit and the car. We are already looking ahead to the next WEC campaign and we are testing different technical solutions on the Peugeot 9X8.

2025 in sight at Peugeot

The 2025 season is already on everyone's mind at Peugeot, which intends to use this last race in Bahrain – and the Rookie Test that will follow – wisely to test new settings for the next campaign. "We have already raced twice in Bahrain, with the old Peugeot 9X8 it is true, but we have a lot of data which should help us at the start of the weekend, says Paul di Resta, driver of the Peugeot 9X8 n°94. We had a long break between Fuji and Bahrain, we had time to carry out tests, and in particular for 2025. We have been thinking about next season since the arrival of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There is a lot of development to be done, the whole team is mobilized and working hard to move forward."

Peugeot will start with a slight advantage in Bahrain, regarding the Balance of Performance published this Tuesday: the 9X8 will be the lightest (1031 kg) and most powerful (520 kW, or 707 horsepower) Hypercar in the category. However, it will have a big handicap above 250 km/h, since the Lioness will lose 5,2% of its power after reaching this speed in a straight line. From a championship point of view, even if Peugeot does not play for the title, the French team can still hope to finish in 4th place among the Constructors, currently held by Alpine with 52 points. Peugeot is in 6th place with 34 points before the final round.

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