8 Hours of Bahrain: last race of the season before heading toward 2024

·       The two PEUGEOT 9X8 end the 8 Hours of Bahrain P8 and P9

·       A consistent day to night race

·       End of the 2023 season for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

The 8 Hours of Bahrain, finale race of the 2023 FIA WEC got underway today on the Bahrain International Circuit and Team Peugeot TotalEnergies had a consistent race throughout the day and into night without any major issues.

Jean-Eric Vergne, at the wheel of the #93 PEUGEOT 9X8 and Loïc Duval in the #94 took a good start, avoiding the incidents at the front and climbing up some positions. After the first turn, Jean-Eric Vergne was in fifth position and Loïc Duval eighth. The race continued without any technical issues and the drivers were able to drive solid stints. Mikkel Jensen, then Paul Di Resta took over in the #93 PEUGEOT 9X8 and Gustavo Menezes and Nico Müller in the #94 giving their maximum to be in the rhythm of the leaders of the race. All Peugeot Sport drivers had a consistent race, without making any mistakes.

The tyre management was one of the most difficult challenges of this race, in conditions where the track temperatures were consistently changing from day to night. Despite a lack of potential on this track that has a lot of tight turns, both PEUGEOT 9X8 confirmed their reliability that kept progressing all season long. The team showed once again its strong and smooth operating efficiency.

At the end of the 8-hour race, and after a solid stint, Mikkel Jensen, at the wheel of the #93 PEUGEOT 9X8 took the chequered flag in 9th position. Gustavo Menezes, for his last race with Team Peugeot TotalEnergies ended 8th. After a challenging season, the whole team is already focus on the 2024 season. A lot of work will have to be done through the winter to come back stronger next season in the Hypercar class that promises to be even more competitive.

WHAT THEY SAID

Olivier Jansonnie – Peugeot Sport technical director : “This 8-hour race did not have any impactful events. No safety car, only two Full Course Yellow, so not a lot of action on track which is a little bit disappointing. The results are then all linked to the race performances of the cars. We fought at different levels, unfortunately not at the front but that’s what we were expecting. On the other hand, we did not make any mistakes which is positive, and the team showed great efficiency during the pitstops.”

Mikkel Jensen – Peugeot #93: “It was a tough weekend and a tough race. It was all about tyre management and we did not really have the performance. I think we still learnt a lot; we found and tried some things during the race, which is positive. My last stint was better than the first as I managed it better. During my first stint I learned about”

Loïc Duval – Peugeot #94: “In general, I had a good first double stint. During my first stint, the tyre degradation was a bit too important, but this is because I spent a lot of time behind the Cadillac. My second stint was quite good, consistent. We made progress compared to the free practices which means that we went in the right direction. My last stint was a bit frustrating as I was caught in the leading wagon, and I lost a bit of performance. Once again, we did what we had to do in terms of work and development of the car. We did not have any issues on both cars which is positive. I also have a thought for Gustavo who’s last race it was with us.”

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