The French producer has admitted shock on the BoP for its Le Mans Hypercar, now often known as the 9X8 2024, which is able to hit the observe 31kg heavier and with 10kW (13bhp) much less energy than its predecessor did on the Qatar WEC season-opener in March.
The rise in minimal weight and the lower in energy for the Peugeot at this weekend’s Imola 6 Hours have come within the face of extra a beneficial BoP for all its opponents within the Hypercar class: weight has been decreased and energy elevated for the opposite eight automobile sorts.
“We had an adjustment and it isn’t simple, for certain,” mentioned Olivier Jansonnie, technical director of the in-house Peugeot Sport squad.
“The BoP needed to change, that was clear, however we weren’t anticipating it to be that robust.
“We had been a bit stunned, however in the long run they [rule makers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest] have the knowledge, and we have now to belief the system and that they’ve finished the suitable job.”
Requested if he thought the FIA and the ACO had been taking a cautious strategy on the Peugeot’s BoP for the primary race of the up to date 9X8, Jansonnie replied: “It’s not being cautious.
“They act on what they see after which consider the efficiency of our automobile on the homologation. Judging by that, we should have finished an excellent automobile.”
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Images
The revised BoP for the Peugeot follows a change in idea of the 9X8: equal-width 31cm tyres entrance and rear have been deserted in favour of the 29cm fronts and 34cm rears run by all of the competitors in Hypercar.
This has resulted in new aerodynamics, together with the addition of a traditional rear wing, across the identical monocoque and operating gear of the unique 9X8 that joined the WEC in mid-2022.
It’s thought to be a brand new automobile by the rule makers for the needs of the BoP as a result of it has been rehomologated.
Peugeot’s new LMH has now accomplished 12-15,000km in testing since operating for the primary time on the finish of final 12 months over 4 endurance simulations at Paul Ricard (twice), Portimao and Aragon.
However Jansonnie conceded that his crew nonetheless wanted time to optimise the 9X8 2024.
“Now we have so much to study with this automobile,” he defined. “I’m not saying we’re beginning over again, however there’s a lot to study on the set-up.”
Loic Duval, who shares the #94 Peugeot with Paul di Resta and Stoffel Vandoorne, admitted that the brand new automobile had but to be fine-tuned in the identical means as the unique 9X8, which misplaced second place within the closing phases of the Qatar 1812Km when it ran out of gas.
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Images
He identified that testing up to now had been centered on endurance operating forward of the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC spherical in June and never “digging into pure efficiency”.
Duval urged that the mk1 9X8 was kind of maxed out by way of efficiency and that “it’s going to take a number of work to function this automobile on the degree of the earlier one on the finish”.
“This we don’t nonetheless have and received’t have it, like tomorrow; it takes somewhat little bit of time,” he added. However he mentioned the mk2 model was “a giant, huge step ahead”.
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