By Carlo Platella
“We can’t wait to get started. The performance in qualifying wasn’t what we wanted, but I think our competitiveness in the race will be better. We can do well.” Thus Jean-Eric Vergne leads the charge at Peugeot, although at Le Mans the two 9X8s start from fifteenth and twentieth position. The French Hypercar’s new package is still far from being optimised, but the team is already confident of being able to achieve a good result.
Fast curves to improve
2024 is Peugeot’s second Le Mans since its return to Endurance, but the extent of the changes made to the car with the Imola updates deprives the team of references. “Compared to last year we have changed our package profoundly, so all the setup and optimization for this track is different.” explains technical director Olivier Jansonnie. “During the tests we had to relearn everything. Obviously we had worked on the simulator before, but there is nothing like the track.”
At Peugeot there is full awareness of the areas where improvement can be made. “We still have work to do mainly in fast corners”, Jansonnie explains. Stoffel Vandoorne echoes this: “Where we struggled a little more is in the Porsche corners, where with the fluctuations in ground clearance we lose a little stability, balance and confidence. It’s an area where we need to improve.” Starting from Imola the 9X8 mounts a rear wing, thus avoiding relying entirely on the floor to generate downforce. Nonetheless, Peugeot is not yet at the level of the best in stabilizing the heights from the ground while driving to reduce losses in load and aerodynamic balance.
“The situation has certainly improved, but it is still sensitive”; explains Vandoorne. “When working on tuning you choose the ground clearance to the millimeter, while when the car jumps it moves by centimeters. Obviously this impacts balance. We can still make some progress in the mechanical setup to better control the aerodynamic platform. We still have work to do.” However, there is no shortage of positive feedback from the updated package. The new 9X8, for example, appears significantly improved in terms of traction in slow corners and aerodynamic penetration, gaining speed on the straight which is a fundamental quality at Le Mans.
Confidence for the race
Despite the awareness that they still have a lot to learn about the new car, Peugeot reveals cautious optimism ahead of the race. “In qualifying we are 1.7 seconds behind. At Le Mans, however, it’s not so much. A few years there are those who won with a much greater delay in qualifying”, comments Jansonnie, who reveals: “During the tests and the first free practices we mainly worked on the set-up for the race. In free practice we chose not to optimize everything possible for qualifying. The race will tell us if the approach was the correct one.”
When asked about the possibility of aiming for a top ten finish, the technical director replies: “We aim much higher. The starting position is not important, while the pace is much more. We also expect that hierarchies will evolve during the race. Furthermore, where we do very well is in the wet.” Already last year, Peugeot demonstrated its ability to manage the unpredictability of the weather very well, making the right strategic calls when the rain arrived and at times finding itself in the lead of the race.
The optimism of the French company, however, is not limited to the upcoming 24 hours. The awareness of still having ample margins for growth with the renewed 9X8 in fact gives us hope for the near future. Vandoorne concludes: “It’s definitely a step forward. We haven’t fully optimized the car yet, but we’ve started from scratch, there’s still some work to do. However, this machine has greater potential. We simply still have to unlock it.”
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