Peugeot has finally brought the brand new 9X8 in the 2024 version to the track in a real race of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
At the 6h of Imola there were no expectations because the car was making its debut against its rivals and on a track never seen before, among other things made the heaviest Hypercar by the Balance of Performance, so what was in the minds of the French was based only on data collection and not encountering technical problems during the race.
Qualifying saw the #94 of Di Resta/Duval/Vandoorne finish 14th ahead of the #93 of Jensen/Müller/Vergne, with the first of the two involved in a collision at the start which caused loss of time and some damage as it slipped to the rear , while the other managed to grab ninth place which means the first points in the championship.
But, as mentioned, the general objectives were different and at the end of the race the Technical Director, Olivier Jansonnie, took stock of the situation with the journalists present on the Santerno, including Motorsport.com.
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
“In the end the pace saw us back around the Top 10 and we tried to maximize everything, but we knew it was a difficult track to overtake and the only real option was to adopt different strategies in the pit stops and act more quickly to try and gain positions, which we did”, says the Leone engineer.
“We are happy with how we managed these situations, when the rain came the wet tires were fitted at the right time and in the end the #93 scored points, while the #94 suffered some electronic problems which will have to be investigated because, after a reset that wasted our time, the car started again.”
“But at that point she had already ended up back due to the contact at the start which caused damage to the bodywork and tyres, and also to the jacks which did not lift at the pit stop. Then she also had a puncture in the 'Tamburello'. At that point it was gone now.”
“On the #93 there was a clutch problem during the race and here too we will need to analyze the data to understand why, but for Spa-Francorchamps the first objective is to do better in Qualifying.”
“Here we raced with a decidedly unfavorable BoP and it struck me because I didn't expect them to give us all those kg. But the FIA and ACO rely on the data collected in the tunnel when they homologate the cars and I don't think they wanted to be, like they usually say, be cautious. I simply believe that our new 9X8 is very good and therefore, consequently, the BoP assigned to us was based on this aspect”.
#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Loic Duval, Stoffel Vandoorne
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
Happy drivers, but without making any proclamations
At Imola, Motorsport.com was also able to meet the Peugeot drivers, trying to understand and get their impressions of a vehicle that completed between 12,000 and 15,000 km of tests during the winter and then arrived at the version that we saw for the first time. once in the race on Santerno.
“The car has been greatly improved in many aspects, then it is clear that the evaluations will have to be made after the first races because it is only through competition on the track against rivals that we see the results and how much we have grown. Furthermore, there is also the BoP playing a role, so at the moment the assessments are premature, but I firmly believe in the capabilities of the team”, said Jean-Eric Vergne.
“In the tests the sensations were good, especially with the wider tires which provide greater traction, but when you change parts of the car sometimes you gain something and lose something else, such as the fact that we will be able to activate front-wheel drive at 190km/h instead of 150km/h as it was previously.”
“Certainly having the same tires as the others will now provide us with better balance and a more accurate pace, understanding certain things better when we analyze them. If the car is good, it's good, then it doesn't mean that it will go fast everywhere; we know that Le Mans It's a track with particularities, so being competitive on another track doesn't guarantee you anything for the 24h.”
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
With Nico Müller the analysis was a little more in-depth, also touching on aspects of crew review.
“The tests of the new 9X8 were carried out at Paul Ricard, Aragon and Portimao, all very different tracks from Imola; in the latter the difference is how you jump on the curbs and not having a set-up base for the new car is clearly an extra difficulty”, analyzes the Swiss.
“On all the tracks we realized that the car behaves differently, we have to adapt, but we have also seen progress and the potential is greater. We always need to find the right compromise, now the operating window has changed, but we are still in the research and apprenticeship phase”.
“The thing I like most is the greater ease in fine-tuning the set-up compared to the first version, while in slower corners the wider tires guarantee greater traction. The behavior between fast corners and slow variations is now more homogeneous from a balancing point of view”.
“Rear wing? In the end the problems were a combination of everything: the original concept was based on a type of tire, which requires an aerodynamic balance adapted to them; then there was no need for the wing, but now that the weight distribution in relation to the tyres, having it is a gain for the entire package.”
“From an aerodynamic point of view, the nose is a little lower and the appendages in the central air intake between the headlights have also changed, but almost the entire surface of the car has been revised, even if at first glance it is mainly noticeable the wing, precisely because of the aforementioned modifications”.
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
“Paul and Loïc were also able to ride in the wet when they went to Portimao, while I didn't have the opportunity. Speaking to them, the sensations seemed positive, even if there wasn't a direct comparison with the old model, the which reassured us because the first 9X8 went very well when it rained and we feared it might lose something with the new ones.”
“Objectives? First of all we need to hope not to have problems in the first races, so as to be able to lap a lot and collect information that can be useful in the long term. I believe that the car can go well on different tracks, while the original version was more suitable for flat and high-speed circuits”.
“I think these continue to be the best for us, but good competitiveness can also be found elsewhere and already in Spa we will have a very important weekend to understand more and prepare well for Le Mans, as everyone wants, in the end.”
“The change of crews? The news of moving to the #93 initially surprised me and I think it was the same for my other colleagues. But it was explained to us that the reason was to try to optimize everything by also thinking about set-up preferences and our driving styles. It was seen that JEV, I and Mikkel are very similar, which helps to avoid having to struggle and seek compromises and, humanly, all six of us understand each other perfectly without difficulty, and we are there adapted to the needs of the team”.
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
Loïc Duval, who shares the Peugeot #94 with Paul Di Resta and Stoffel Vandoorne, also gave his impression of the new 9X8 when speaking to journalists present at Imola, including Motorsport.com.
“The new car still needs to be fine-tuned like the original 9X8; so far testing has focused on endurance ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and not pure performance,” explained the Frenchman.
“But the first version of the 9X8 was more or less at its peak in terms of performance and it will take a lot of work to get this model to perform up to the level of the previous one; it won't be something that will be seen overnight, but I can say that we have made a huge step forward.”
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
Vandoorne addressed the issue of tires and all that comes with starting a job with a new car.
“Tire degradation is an important aspect. We know how the previous car fared on certain tracks and conditions, what the advantages and disadvantages were. We have an idea of what the positive and negative aspects of the new car were,” underlines the Belgian.
“But when you go to do private tests alone there isn't necessarily a reference, so having one is always precious. We'll know more already at Spa. A race always subjects the cars to greater stress, there's a faster pace sustained and even the weekend is harder work for the mechanics to prepare the cars.”
“In testing sometimes there is more relaxation and a little more time to prepare things, while in the race you always have to be at the highest level. So it's not just a challenge for the car, but for all the members of the team. In order to win, you have to be able to achieve results under pressure and I believe that the only way to achieve this pressure is through competition.”
“Set-up? Sometimes durability tests rely a lot on reliability and how to solve it, and this is clearly a goal for the team too. We know that the last two seasons have been quite difficult from this point of view, so It's something we need to improve and we've spent a lot of time on it.”
“A bit of fine-tuning work, yes, but we didn't have time to analyze everything, so let's say that basically we had some good ideas. Personally, I feel like this 9X8 is a bit more of a racing car, the old one worked in some specific conditions, like Qatar, a perfect example with a smooth surface, high-speed corners, not too many low-speed ones, and that's where it was good.”
“The new car will have other advantages, hopefully with the aerodynamic base it will be much more consistent on rough tracks. The tires have also changed and this gives a more pleasant sensation.”
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
Finally, Di Resta is already thinking about the enormous work that awaits the Leone team in Spa for the 6h which will take place in a couple of weeks in the Ardennes.
“We wanted to see how we were compared to the competition, clearly we weren't fast enough for a series of reasons that we were aware of, starting from the fact that everyone else had already had the opportunity to lap at Imola before in the tests”, comments the Scot .
“We knew it would be tough, now we will go to Spa with the unknown of the weather. Last year it was quite cold and we would like more stable conditions, in a direction that allows us to test and prepare better, given that Imola and Belgium are two completely different circuits, as well as the tire compounds they will give us.”
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