Peugeot took home unexpected points at the 6 Hours of Fuji, the penultimate event of the FIA World Endurance Championship held last weekend.
In Japan, the 9X8s had arrived fresh from two really difficult and negative tests like those offered in Brazil and the United States, but this time things managed to go in the right direction, despite the effort involved.
Just when everything seemed to be heading towards another not-so-good result, the strategy adopted by the Lion team had a stroke of luck; the entry of the Safety Car in the final two hours allowed the #93 of Jensen/Muller/Vergne to make the most of the new Michelin tyres and climb position after position, climbing the standings to fourth place, while the #94 of Di Resta/Duval/Vandoorne crossed the finish line in eighth.
This is the best overall result for the French Hypercar since it was updated and made its debut at Imola, which has in a certain sense galvanised the team’s top brass quite a bit, as Technical Director Olivier Jansonnie explains.
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
“It was a race full of twists and turns, with many collisions, Full Course Yellow and Safety Car. We are satisfied with what we achieved, even if we still lack a bit of pace. Maybe we didn’t have the most competitive car and looking at the lap times, to be honest, we are not yet at our best in terms of pace, but we managed to compensate for everything with a very good strategy”, admits the engineer, who then smiles also thinking about other aspects of a certain weight.
“And to be honest, there was also a bit of luck, but it’s also true that we haven’t had any in other circumstances. Now the races are very close and the gaps are minimal, so accidents and penalties happen that can change things a lot.”
“It’s a result that gives us a great boost, we’ve been through very difficult times without getting results, with a lot of pressure on us after events like Sao Paulo and Austin. Austin especially was a very negative race for us, so Fuji was very hard to prepare for. We always work at the same level and this time we managed to put everything together, while our rivals made some mistakes, which helped us a lot”.
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
The mistakes of others helped Peugeot, which at a certain point tried an emergency strategy to get back on track, sacrificing the first few hours to then be able to push in the last few and attempt a comeback that, in the end, was sensationally successful, given that the 9X8 #93 seemed like lightning against other cars that were literally struggling. And the podium slipped away by just over 3″…
“We are happy with the strategy, we took a couple of risks during the race. We knew we had saved more tyres than our direct rivals and this would have allowed us to have a faster pace at the end of the race.”
“It also required some sacrifices at the beginning, but it was a good team effort because some drivers had to try to save their tyres for the end. We kept pushing on the track even if the lap times were not good, because we knew that at the end we would have fresher tyres.”
“The drivers’ performance in the final stint was extraordinary. Overall, I am very satisfied and proud of everyone in the team; this result rewards everyone’s commitment.”
#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Loic Duval, Stoffel Vandoorne
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
Jean-Marc Finot, Vice President of Stellantis Motorsport, added: “Both 9X8s finished the 6 Hours of Fuji, with the #93 coming very close to the podium. This marks a significant improvement compared to previous races and rewards the team which, considering its efforts and personal investment, truly deserved this result.”
“We had a great tyre strategy which made the difference by saving fresh tyres for the end of the race. This result brings joy to Peugeot fans, which is our greatest reward. Today our drivers had a lot of fun driving both 9X8s, which performed impeccably! However, we still need to have more pace to aim for the podium; that remains our goal.”
On the drivers’ front, Jensen underlines the real war in the final stages that saw him climb the rankings thanks to a series of overtakings: “There was a great battle on the track and I pushed hard to stay on the lead lap, but I had no idea of my position! I overtook the Alpine despite my tyres being destroyed, but I continued to keep the same pace. I’m very happy with this 4th place, it’s a great result”.
A little more disappointed Vandoorne: “It was a complicated race, with many incidents on the track and numerous interruptions. Loïc made a great start, which put us on a good path. Afterwards, we were a little unlucky with some Safety Cars, but overall 8th place remains a good result in this highly competitive championship. It was a great day for the team!”
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