Peugeot’s Progress at Le Mans: A Second Quicker Than Last Year, Says Finot

In a positive development for the French manufacturer, Peugeot team boss and VP of Stellantis Motorsport, Jean-Marc Finot, revealed that the team is “heading in the right direction” as they managed to shave off a second from their lap time compared to last year’s performance at Le Mans.

Speaking to the Media

Speaking to the media after the qualifying session for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Finot emphasized the significance of the improvement, considering the car is heavier and less powerful than its predecessor.

“If we compare the lap time with last year, despite the car being a heavier and less powerful, we are one second faster than we used to be last year. So it’s in the right direction,” Finot stated.

Qualifying Performance

Jean-Eric Vergne qualified the #93 Peugeot in 16th place, posting a 3:26.195 lap time. This marks a notable improvement from last year’s qualifying session, where Mikkel Jensen set a 3:27.260 lap time in the same session. Moreover, Vergne’s lap time was only 1.760 seconds off the session-topping time from BMW’s Dries Vanthoor, a significant reduction from last year’s 2.047-second gap.

Car Updates

Peugeot unveiled a brand-new car at the 6 Hours of Imola, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 2023 season. Although still named ‘9X8’, the car has undergone significant changes, including new tire sizes (29-inch at the front and 34-inch at the rear) and the addition of a rear wing to rebalance the car after the tire dimension changes.

Setup Optimization

Finot acknowledged that the team still has work to do on the setup, particularly in the free practice sessions (FP2, FP3, and FP4), to optimize their pace for the race.

“This is the first time with this car on this track. So we still have some work on the setup to do… We will use these free practice sessions to optimize the pace for the race,” he said.

Competitive Field

While the team is not entirely satisfied with their pace, Finot pointed out that the competition is fierce, with 12 cars separated by just one second.

“Of course, we are not happy with the pace, we would have loved to be faster… However, it’s still very close because we are just at 1.7 seconds in P16. We already have 12 cars in just one second.”

Finot also highlighted the unique challenges posed by the Le Mans circuit, which is significantly longer than other tracks on the WEC calendar.

“Le Mans is a very long, long track, at least, twice more than all the tracks. So it means that once again, it’s 0.4 on the track. So it means that the Hypercar class is a very competitive. The cars are very close,” he observed.

Traffic Management Issues

Both Vergne and teammate Stoffel Vandoorne set their laps early in the session but were unable to improve them due to traffic management issues.

“We made our best lap time at the beginning. Despite the improvement of the car, we have been bothered by the traffic, we did not manage well,” Finot explained.

As Peugeot continues to refine their setup and strategy, one thing is clear: the team is making progress and is determined to make a strong impression in the FIA WEC 2023 season.

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