It has now been two months since the brand new Peugeot 9X8 made its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship and it is time to get back into action.
Over the weekend the Hypercar del Leone will be on stage at the 6h of Fuji with vehicles # 93 and # 94 entrusted respectively to Di Resta / Jensen / Vergne and Duval / Menezes / Rossiter.
Surely the debut in Monza left behind aftermath and some perplexity about the actual goodness of the project, which proved to be rather immature and also with considerable gaps in reliability given the various problems accused in Brianza.
There is the problem of the homologation, which having already been carried out will keep the 9X8 intact for 5 years (and with 5 development tokens to use); in France they knew that the path would not be a walk in the park and these summer weeks, rather than for holidays, were used to put everything together and carry out the necessary analyzes to become more competitive.
# 94 Peugeot Totalenergies 9X8 by Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
“The first race in Monza was necessary, we had reached the limit of evolution in the private tests and to accelerate our preparation and developments it was time to confront ourselves directly with our rivals and with the reality of the race format in a sporting weekend. ”, Explains the Technical Director of Peugeot Sport, Olivier Jansonnie.
“We have collected a lot of information about the car and the team. We also had some problems that we had never encountered before during the tests, some we were able to solve on site, on others we have continued to work since after Monza. It is a proven and typical process in motor racing “.
“At this early stage, we have to recognize that we are more focused on solving reliability and performance issues than on refining race strategies. This is completely normal for a new project, which is confronted with rivals who, in some cases, have more than ten years of experience in the discipline “.
“We are all very competitive in the team, we have a car and a team that have significant room for improvement and we have not encountered problems that we are unable to solve. This is very positive”.
# 94 Peugeot Totalenergies 9X8 by Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Al Fuji is a challenge within the challenge, both from a sporting and logistical and organizational point of view; Peugeot has never been on the 4.56 km track located in the Rising Sun and every minute of testing is to be fully exploited.
“We will be discovering the circuit for the first time in Japan, so we have to make sure we optimize every session on the track, from Friday to Sunday.”
“For these trips we have to adapt our working method because we do not have our classic structures like the ones we use for European races, intended as trucks and motorhomes”.
# 94 Peugeot Totalenergies 9X8 by Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
On the drivers front, Jean-Éric Vergne is aware that he will have to roll up his sleeves and think about continuing the search for improvements after the Monza debut.
“Monza could have been better for us, but it was entirely predictable at an early stage of such an ambitious project. Our car had some problems in the race that led us to retire “, comments the Frenchman.
“During the run I completed in free practice, I was close to Toyota in terms of race pace, which shows that we have a good level with our unconventional car. I had no doubts about it.”
“The first race was another milestone in this exciting project and now, for Fuji, the goals are shifting again. But that’s what drives the adrenaline in motorsport.”
# 94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8 by Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
Gustavo Menezes also agrees: “We gained a lot of confidence from our first race in Monza, because it clearly showed that our car has potential. We still have to make progress, it is sure, but we are all fully motivated for the challenge that awaits us “.
“In Monza I learned a lot as a driver. I got to see how the 9X8 behaved in traffic and in comparison with the other Hypercars. After the work done during the private tests, it was a new step forward to evaluate our position in this area “.
“At Fuji, our strategy will be the same: we will focus on our car, our team and our work, and then see where we get.”
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