Peugeot will embark on its first full season in the WEC this year after completing 3 in-person long-distance drills with the 9X8. Two of them have already taken positions of more than 30 hours each, with a third planned before the opening of the championship in March at Sebring, where the Prologue and then the 1000 Miles will take position.
Peugeot’s competitive debut with its Hypercar last July, in Monza, logically highlighted the areas of progress on which to work. On Christmas Eve, the French manufacturer carried out a first simulation of staying power at the Paul Ricard circuit, then a moment in Portimão at the beginning of the year. The 3rd simulation is imminent and may be positioned at the Motorland Aragón circuit.
Interviewed via Motorsport. com, technical director Olivier Jansonnie evokes “some positive problems and some negative problems” when referring to the first two simulations. “At this level of the program, we have a combined feeling, not everything is black and white,” he says. “We had confirmation of some bugs and also brought in new systems that were pretty smart from the start. “
However, confidence remains in the ranks of Peugeot Sport, 4 months after the step back of the Lion to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Being one hundred percent fit for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in December or January wouldn’t have made sense,” he said. “It would have meant we hadn’t pushed progression hard enough, so we’re not there yet. Sebring is imminent, so we have to go through the last level of validation to outline our package to go through there. “
In 2022, Peugeot participated in 3 occasions of the WEC and no 9X8 raced without encountering any problems. An oil leak affected the two Hypercars at Fuji in September, while in Bahrain in November, the gearbox and fuel pump failed.
If the third test of staying power is decisive, Peugeot has ruled out the option of organizing personal checks at Sebring, unlike Ferrari with its 499P until recently. send a car to Sebring. “
In addition, for this year, Peugeot must now comply with a restriction of the planned tests. Only one progression car is used in the permanent power simulations and the 9X8 in its 2023 specification will maintain its philosophy without rear wing. However, Olivier Jansonnie guarantees that some differences will be visually identifiable. Each manufacturer can use five wildcards to evaluate their hypercar during its homologation cycle, similar adjustments to reliability are unlimited.