Peugeot admits it is “lacking performance” after tough test day

Loic Duval has conceded that Peugeot is “lacking performance” heading into this week’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Duval made that comment after a difficult outing for Peugeot in the traditional Le Mans test on Sunday, where the two 9X8s finished 19th and 21st among 21 cars in the Hypercar class.

More concerningly, both cars were over three seconds slower than the chart-setting #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, which topped the session in the hands of Brendon Hartley.

The poor showing continues a disappointing run of form for the French manufacturer in the 2025 World Endurance Championship, where its factory team has yet to finish higher than ninth across the opening three rounds.

Although Peugeot will have further opportunities to hone the car in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, Duval gave a bleak outlook about Peugeot’s prospects for the 93rd running of Le Mans.

“The track was quite good from the start, with decent grip,” said Duval, who won Le Mans outright with Audi in 2013.

“We went through our planned test program with different slick tires and various car setups. We also did long runs and completed the number of stints we aimed for on a single set of tires to prepare for the race. 

“The car has a good balance, but we’re still lacking performance. It’s up to us to extract the most from our package.”

Mikkel Jensen, who shares the #93 car with Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne, was more optimistic about Peugeot’s chances, saying “The track has changed slightly compared to last year, especially the entrance to the Porsche Curves which is now less bumpy and therefore faster, and the exit of Tertre Rouge which has smoother tarmac.

“We can now run the car a bit lower, which improves its behavior across the entire circuit. The engineers will now analyze the data for Wednesday.”