Peugeot “Looking for Podiums” After Le Mans Boost

Peugeot is “looking for podiums” in the final three rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship season as it seeks to build on an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The French manufacturer had what was likely its strongest run to date at the centenary edition of the French endurance classic, with the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 shared between Gustavo Menezes, Loic Duval and Nico Mueller leading portions of the race.

Ultimately, an accident for Menezes in the 12th hour and late engine issues prevented a strong finish, while the No. 93 car driven by Di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne and Loic Duval finished eighth overall.

Peugeot is this weekend returning to the site of its Hypercar debut last year and is targeting improved results at the Italian circuit as well as Fuji and Bahrain.

“I think we’re looking for podiums,” said Peugeot’s WEC technical director Olivier Jansonnie.

“We probably said that before Le Mans already, but it’s part of what we’re trying to achieve for sure.

“I think we’ve shown in Le Mans we are capable on some occasions and some specific track conditions to fight with the top guys. Not for 24 hours, but we did it for some hours at least, with several drivers and several cars.

“It happened to be the 94 due to some reasons, strategy, and sporting issues with the other cars, but it could have been the 93 as well. I think we’ve shown that we can fight at that level for some hours in the race.

“When you can achieve that and complete full reliability, which without this is nothing, then you must be able to fight for podiums.”

Jansonnie admitted that Peugeot’s quest for its first WEC podium is “not easy”, saying that the team is still not in a comfortable position in terms of performance.

However, he thinks Peugeot “can fight” for a podium if it executes a perfect race in terms of strategy and reliability.

Di Resta, meanwhile, said the progress achieved leading up to and during the 24 Hours of Le Mans signified a “turning point” for the team.

“I think we can be satisfied with where we went there,” Di Resta told Sportscar365.

“Given the difficulties of starting a new program, it doesn’t underestimate the man-hours you put into it. It’s not always been straightforward.

“Clearly the main target was to be in a decent position at that race, reliability-wise most importantly, and equally where the performance was.

“It’s no secret our performance has not been up to scratch before that, we’ve been off the mark compared to certainly our other Hypercar competitors, Ferrari and Toyota.

“They’ve proved that they were a step in front, but I think Le Mans, we had a test before Le Mans that I think was a turning point in terms of what we understood from the car.

“That was just a point of a backlist of things we wanted to get through but just couldn’t because other objectives were coming up before that and prioritized.”

Di Resta said that Peugeot staff have grown into their roles better and become more relaxed in their working environment, seeing it as a sign that the team is on an upwards trend.

“The engineers told me they managed to get back to the hotel by nine o’clock last night,” he said. “That’s been unheard of in the last three years.

“I’m satisfied with what’s going on and decisions being made, but until you stand on the top step and you’re dominant, I don’t think you can honestly say you’re in the right place and in the right sweet spot.

“I’m not saying that in a bad way, I’m just being truthful [in] I think how people are approaching it.

“You should never give up, leave no stone unturned until you do that. I think as long as that mentality is within our team, that’s what you’ll keep doing.”

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report