The first race of the new Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship will be the 6h of Monza.
The confirmation came this afternoon, with the House of the Lion practically returning a year later to the … scene of the crime.
On the weekend of 8-10 July the fourth event of the 2022 World Endurance season will take place on the Temple of Speed, but already in the same month of 2021 the French brought the first version of their prototype there, which we had been able to touch with hand and analyze closely in every detail.
Almost 12 months have passed since then and, above all, kilometers and kilometers, with the men of Peugeot Sport who have worked hard to arrive at further solutions for the vehicle – without a rear wing, as promised since the fall of the veils – and renouncing the homologation to race this year’s 24h of Le Mans.
The transalpine Hypercar has evolved thanks to the enormous amount of effort put into track tests by Jean-Éric Vergne, Loïc Duval, Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Gustavo Menezes and test driver James Rossiter, as well as Kevin Magnussen before the Dane renounced the commitment by answering the call from Haas to Formula 1.
In addition to the renewed lines and aerodynamic appendages, the 9X8 LMH for the first time is shown in the final color with which it will cross arms in the 6h of Monza against Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine with the six official drivers mentioned above.
This has been granted by the FIA and by ACO, who will accept race-by-race registrations from competitors with LMH and LMDh still under development and without definitive homologation until the end of the year.
The livery is not too different from what we had initially been able to appreciate, with the gray base and black inserts, with yellow-fluo finishes in the bonnet-fin air intake, in the aerodynamic flaps placed on the front splitter under the lights, and laterally to those of the rear.
“Let’s say that we are a bit at the end of the story, we started with the idea of not using the rear wing and we confirm that it will be like this, after having worked a lot on the track because it was all to be verified”, said the Technical Director, Olivier Jansonnie.
“They have been very busy months where we have put together over 10,000km of testing, but there is still a lot to do and we will try again before we go racing. At the same time we have already started the homologation process with crash-tests, we are at the stage final approval of the specifications, the ok will come in the coming weeks. “
“We have modified some parts, such as the headlights and the lighting system, but also some aerodynamic appendages, including some parts present on the series products. The car is still stable at the rear, after the changes we are happy with our product “.
Rossiter was very excited: “For me it was an incredible adventure that began with working on the simulator, where the concept of this car was born. In December there was the first roll-out, a very demanding challenge, but which has seen us evolve slowly until we have the definitive car “.
“For Monza I am really enthusiastic and motivated, it is magical and special to finally be able to race from life with this car”.
Duval is no exception: “It is great to be able to return to racing Le Mans to give the assault to absolute success after so long. Doing it with the Peugeot reminds me of the first race I did with the 908 and embarking on such an adventure with a French team like me is wonderful. “
Di Resta is also one of the pioneers of the project: “The program started practically before it left! We were in the studio working on a project and on the simulator, today having the car here on the track and within range of the race debut is the demonstration of how much everyone believed this thing. It’s amazing and exciting. “
Jensen added: “It’s great for me to be here after getting the car to the track first and working so hard with the engineers and the team. I’m looking forward to being in the race and at Le Mans next year, I’m proud of what has been done “.
Vergne agrees to the enthusiasm of his colleagues: “I am very lucky because I race with two brands of the same family in Formula E and in the WEC. I have worked a lot, exploiting the experience of the electric world, giving the team a hand in this area. “.
Menezes commented: “For me it is a pleasure to be able to race with an LMH. I am the only driver of the team who had never raced with a hybrid car, but the whole team gave me a great hand to understand more of this incredible. experience. We have a very demanding challenge ahead, but also high expectations, let’s see what we can do “.
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