Should we already be worried about Peugeot in the WEC?

Facts : Peugeot did not know a WEC Prologue most serene, judging by the discreet times of the 9X8 as well as its limited running in Florida last weekend (March 11-12). As the 2023 campaign begins this Friday March 17 with the 1000 Miles of Sebring, should we sound the alarm in the Lion camp?

Yes, by Julien Billiotte

If there's one thing I wouldn't take away from Peugeot, it's having designed and produced a magnificent car. Unfortunately, the adage that a good car is also fast only exists at season launches where optimistic statements are part of the decorum.

However, since its competitive debut at Monza last summer, the superb 9X8 has not scored a single Hypercar podium. In a category which had a maximum of 6 entrants last year, admit that it looks bad.

Peugeot has often repeated that the three races in which it took part in 2022 were life-size tests for its Lionesses. Either. From then on, I expected to see them jump out of their den at the end of winter. For now, I'm clearly still hungry.

Beyond the repeated reliability problems, it is the rhythm of the 9X8 during the Prologue which does not invite optimism in me. And this while the BoP that I love so much favors the slowest cars.

The Sebring circuit and its bumps as emblematic as they are damaging to the machines already has the appearance of a station of the cross for a car which tends to suffer from a porpoising that we thought was confined to the Formula 1.

Of course, a great performance at the Centenary of 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 10-11), the only race that really counts in the eyes of all the manufacturers lined up in WEC, would sweep away the difficulties encountered until then. But again, at the risk of stating the obvious, 24 hours is a long time.

And if by chance the Sarthe epic of the Lion were to turn sour, how would the management of Stellantis and its CEO Carlos Tavares react?

It's time for the 9X8s to show their claws! But do they even have it?

No, by Gautier Calmels

Before finishing off the bruised lion, we must salute the approach of Peugeot which has gone to the limit of the possibilities offered by the regulations by developing a unique LMH in conformity with the Hypercar spirit which aims to be a transfer from the road to the track.

The absence of a rear wing is in no way a tasteless marketing move as we experienced with the distressing NISSAN GT-R NISMO. It is a very daring technical choice but structurally viable and developed jointly by the design office and the sports branch of the brand. Could the two have gone astray? I do not think so.

Certainly, the technical incidents and the lack of reliability which spoiled the 2022 season and the Sebring prologue are totally inexcusable at this level of competition, but we cannot judge a long-term project on its genesis. Who still remembers the double retirement of the 905 at the 24 1991 Hours of Le Mans after only 6 hours of racing?  

The aerodynamic concept of the 9X8 has absolutely no chance of performing well this weekend at Sebring, it's an open secret. With their small rear tires and aerodynamic downforce based essentially on ground effect, the 9X8 and its drivers will suffer martyrdom on the bumpy surface and aggressive vibrators of the former military airfield. But what will it be on high-speed tracks such as Monza and… Le Mans?

The 9X8 is intended to be feline and will be much more at ease in the Mulsannes than locked between 4 walls in Sebring. And winning the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 10-11) is well worth some mockery.