Di Resta Concedes Peugeot “Nowhere Near The Fight”

Paul di Resta has conceded that Peugeot is “nowhere near the fight” in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans following a disappointing first qualifying session for the French brand in which both of its 9X8s missed the cut for Hyperpole.

Peugeot was the only manufacturer to fail to get at least one car in the top 15 in Wednesday’s first session, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne ending up 17th and 18th in the No. 94 and No. 93 cars respectively.

Di Resta, who shares the No. 93 car with Vergne and Mikkel Jensen, admits that the team has had to moderate its ambitions for its third attempt at Le Mans glory with the 9X8 program owing to the car’s lack of pure performance.

“I think we are very realistic about our goals for the race as a team and where we are,” said di Resta. “We’re not in the fight. We’re nowhere near the fight for various reasons.

“We have put more preparation into it than we’ve ever done. I think the team has come here with ambitions and stability, but unfortunately, the lap time is not where it needs to be for us to be in it. So you can only do what you can do.

“It is what it is, it’s reality, and I think we can only try and maximize what we can, try and make no mistakes and try and optimize.”

Di Resta highlighted the fact that the No. 93 Peugeot lost a strong chance of a result due to a strategic mishap in the previous WEC round at Spa, where the 9X8 had a much more favorable Balance of Performance than the one it has at Le Mans.

“We were in the race at Spa, fighting for the race,” he said. “We even managed to save some tires, and we were going to be quite strong at the end. We were on for a podium. Nobody’s changed anything. By how it is, that’s where you are.

“I was racing the Cadillacs quite comfortably at Spa in the first stint and second stint. They qualified first yesterday to get into Hyperpole and we were where we were.”

Di Resta was reluctant to set any exact targets for the race when asked if the French marque can aspire to beat its 11th-place finish from last year, when its 2024-spec 9X8 was only in its third race and racing at Le Mans for the first time.

The Scottish driver denied that Peugeot’s lack of performance was having an adverse impact on team morale when pressed by Sportscar365.

“It’s not what anybody signs up for is it?” said di Resta. “It’s [about] keeping that motivation high. I think people see the effort. The boys won the Pit Stop challenge for the second year out of three. They’re working their asses off.

“You look how they’ve done it, every detail. But unfortunately, the lap time doesn’t present itself where we need to be in the range.

“I don’t think anybody is working any less on this team and I can honestly say they’re doing what they can and it’s a nice environment, so I am proud of them.

“But the way the rules are, it doesn’t let you evolve like you would like to evolve if you’re on the back foot. It’s like you’ve got your hands tied and you’re handcuffed.”