Olivier, looking back, how do you analyze the team’s performance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
At the end of the race there was a lot of emotion and relief too. We were all aware of the perfectible side of our cars in terms of performance and reliability before this meeting. We weren’t really reassured during the tests. We worked both at the same time with a lot of energy and it paid off in the race.
Are there many regrets over the two driver errors that cost the standings dearly?
We still managed to lead the race for more than a hundred laps. The chaotic start to the event and the weather certainly helped us a little, it’s true, and so did the mistakes of our competitors. When the race got a bit more normal again and the track dried up, we didn’t have the pace to keep ourselves at the front.
The last quarter of the race was also very complicated…
The race was very positive until 8-9 p.m. after the start, then there were the reliability issues that caused us to lose a lot of time (the two Hypercars finished 8th and 27th, editor’s note). It’s a shame… We don’t come to Le Mans to finish eighth. We measure what separates us from the best. The team was extraordinarily united throughout the weekend. We didn’t give up despite a lot of problems. We made very few mistakes and we were good at strategy I think. We are convinced that we will come back in 2024 with a car that can win.
The car was launched a year ago in competition, is it well born?
There have been regulatory changes that have taken place since we started competing and it was too complicated for us to go back. The regulatory openings were made after the freezes of our technical concepts and we were unable to exploit them. It will be a bit of our job in the months to come to understand what we can keep and what we can redo for next year.
What is your leeway to evolve the car?
The principle of homologation is very clear: we have a certain number of tokens which allow us to make changes and these are subject to the goodwill of the ACO and the FIA. We are not 100% in control of our decisions.
Will the 9X8 keep its uniqueness without a rear wing?
The question of the rear wing is not settled. We are not in a logic of keeping a concept to keep a concept. We want to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and are watching the situation very coldly. We have no problem saying that we can change our concept if the regulations authorize us to do something more efficient.
What will be the goals for the end of the season?
Play the podiums. We weren’t that far behind in races like Portimao. We want to capitalize on what we demonstrated at Le Mans and focus on three races that we know about since we entered the World Endurance Championship last year after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Did you have any guarantees that Peugeot’s endurance program would be maintained?
Peugeot’s commitment to endurance is a CDI. We showed that we were there for a long time even if it is difficult to create an endurance program with a brand that has been absent from this discipline for a long time. We are on the right track and we will get there. Peugeot will be there next year at Le Mans. So far we haven’t had a discussion that could make us think otherwise.