In versaillesand with ACE as a witness, presented Peugeot his new project for WECthe one that began last year in Monza and with whom he wants to compete and fight for victories in the era of Hypercar with his 9X8. “We don’t want to reveal all the details right now, but basically we have improved all the things that we thought we needed to improve performance and also to fix some of the problems we had in the last few races. Will we notice any difference when we see the car? Yes”, he affirms Olivier Jansonnietechnical director of Peugeot in a meeting with the press at the base of operations of the French brand.
The concept of 9X8 continues to be groundbreakinga compact car, without a spoiler, something for which they shamelessly bet on the lion brand, which sharpens its claws to compete against Toyota, Ferrari (with 50 for Miguel mill), Porsche, Cadillacand glickenhaus with other car concepts, the track will tell who gets it right, but Jansonnie explains his vision: “There are several ways to achieve the same goals and I think the one we use is the one that hasn’t been used, that’s the fact. I want to say that the design of the car has to be understood as a complete package. Everyone has used what they think is best.”
In satoryheadquarters of Peugeot, they have left nothing to chance to face the Hypercar era. With several already packed containers looking at Sebring (site of the prologue and the first race of the championship, March 17) work is done at full capacity, squeezing the engines in the most realistic conditions possible, looking for weaknesses and improving strengths. What has to be broken, it is better that it be broken in workshops, they explain in Peugeot. Everything is manufactured and tested there: engines, suspensions, electrical systems…
They look with ambition to 2023
With that base and counting on the fact that Peugeot only did the last half of the season of the WEC in 2023, ACE asks directly to paul diresta if it is possible to already win races to Toyota. And the response of the Scotsman with the past tense in F1 just as clear and direct: “I don’t see why not.” Even so, Di Resta is aware that the Japanese are the favorites, despite the landing of numerous brands: “They have been competing during this LMP1 hybrid era. So they have the foundation that no one else has. All the rest of us are trying to build them and trying to learn quickly ”, he settles.
And on the horizon, marked the date in red, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Special edition for being the centenary, and more for a French team racing at home with a French pilot in its crewJean-Eric Vergne. “The car is fantastic”, he indicates, at the same time that he wants to use that ‘pressure’ from running at home to his advantage: “I have seen a very big improvement since the first day we drove the car. It can be said that yes there will be extra pressure, but the extra pressure should drive you more. I think it’s going to be a fantastic race. But in terms of my work and my motivation, it doesn’t change anything. I don’t even think about it ”, she ends.