Peugeot 9X8 2024: “We are confident that we have repositioned our car in relation to the competition”

The new Peugeot 9X8 will make its competitive debut this weekend at the 6 Hours of Imola, after a year of development and some 8,000 kilometers of development. Launched on 25 March and redesigned under its new company, Peugeot makes a bold arrival on Italian soil. In July 2021, a model without aileron was presented as an innovation but in the end, Peugeot fell off the line, also abandoning the installation of square tires, the Peugeot 9X8 now has 29 cm front and 34 cm rear tires.

Peugeot will have two goals this weekend. On the one hand, to recover from the final of the previous race in Qatar and to confirm the technical options of this version of the Peugeot 9X8 2024. Italy also has a special flavor for Peugeot as it is at the event of the 6 Hours of ‘Imola. that Peugeot Sport was successfully recalled twice in 2011.

“My feelings? First of all, I’m very proud to be able to double this project for more than a year”recognizes Olivier Jansonnie, Technical Director of Peugeot Sport WEC. “Our design and operations teams have put a lot of work into respecting our sports program and the 2023 version and developing the Peugeot 9X8 2024, whose characteristics have changed over the course of the year to incorporate everything we were learning in terms of reliability, aerodynamic development and knowledge of the new tires that we rolled in mid-2023 on the “mule” car.

The Peugeot 9X8 2024 was unveiled on March 25, after an endurance session at the Motorland Aragon circuit (Spain). Since its first orbit in early December 2023, it has traveled nearly 8,000 km. “I think the car is ready for Imola”continues Olivier Jansonnie. “It’s a circuit that has never been used in the FIA ​​​​WEC championship and that we don’t know very well. We didn’t try it there, but that’s what happened in Qatar and we did well, so I’m not too worried. We worked on simulations and we could see that Imola was a typical circuit for high power”. “Unlike the Peugeot 9X8 2023 which we had time to improve and which we gave the quintessence, we still have a lot to learn from the Peugeot 9X8 2024. We know that it is more efficient, even if it is always difficult. judgment because we still do not know what mass it will drive and What strength. We are sure that we have reset our car in relation to the competition, but how much will the first race tell us?

The Peugeot 9X8 is also decorated with a new livery that combines white, gray and kryptonite green, which contrasts with the gray previously seen on the first version of the 9X8. The 2023 version presented at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans was a huge success with the public, which led Peugeot to keep it for the rest of the season.

The first free practice sessions for the 6 Hours of Imola start this Friday at 12:00 pm with the race taking place this Sunday from 1:00 am.

Image credit : Intensemans.fr