Peugeot Sport has admitted it faced difficulties with tire management and race pace after finishing eighth and ninth in the season finale of the Bahrain 8 Hours.
The final race of the season in Bahrain had no safety car interruptions during the eight-hour race, which began during the day and ended at night.
After qualifying on rows 5 and 6 of the grid, Peugeot was unable to show any one-lap strength over its rivals in qualifying, starting and finishing the race towards the back of the Hypercar field. did.
Peugeot’s technical director Olivier Jeansonny said: “There were no events that had a major impact on this eight-hour race.”
“There was no safety car and there were only two full-course yellows, so there wasn’t much action on the track, which was a bit disappointing.
“The results are all connected to the car’s race performance.
“We fought at different levels, unfortunately not at the forefront, but that’s what we expected.
“On the other hand, it was positive that we did not make any mistakes and the team showed great efficiency during the pit stops.”
#93 qualified ahead of #94 and ahead of the #4 Vanwall team.
The first corner drama occurred just after lights out, but neither Peugeot 9X8 was involved in the Turn 1 incident.
Despite this, they were unable to compete with their main rivals, Porsche and Penske.
The No. 93 car received a drive-through penalty for speeding due to the first full-course yellow, while Luis Perez Compans’ No. 83 Richard Mille Ferrari 488 GTE was forced to pass by Paul di Resta’s car. Peugeot faced major dramas such as unintentional contact with. #93 at T12.
Despite a successful reliability story, Peugeot was unable to competitively overhaul the tire management and race pace of its surrounding rivals.
Mikel Jensen, driver of Peugeot number 93, said: It was all about tire management, and we couldn’t deliver true performance.
“I think we still learned a lot. We picked up some things during the race and tried them out, which is a positive thing. , which was better than my first stint.”
Loïc Duval, driver of the No. 94 car, added: “Overall, the first double stint was good. Tire degradation was a little too important in the first stint, but that was because I spent a lot of time behind the Cadillac.
“My second stint was very good and stable. I made some progress compared to free practice and it meant I was moving in the right direction.
“In the last stint, I got caught by the front wagon and got a little frustrated and slowed down my performance a little bit.”
After all, tire management is a key factor at the Sakhir International Circuit due to the venue’s characteristic sand grains and heavy braking zones.
During the eight-hour race, Peugeot did not face the reliability problems seen previously, but was unable to follow up on its first podium at Monza.