Peugeot believes it can reach a new level and secure its first Hypercar victory in the World Endurance Championship this year.
Peugeot’s return to the top tier of endurance racing has not gone as planned. Since entering the WEC’s Hypercar category in 2022, the manufacturer has struggled to live up to its prestigious history in the discipline.
Fourth in the standings in 2022, fifth in 2023, sixth in 2024, and seventh last year, Peugeot has continued to slip down the order as more manufacturers joined the class.
For 2026, the Lion brand has decided to start afresh, with a completely new livery and a new leadership structure following the appointment of Emmanuel Esnault as team principal and Olivier Jansonnie as head of Stellantis Motorsport.
Despite the disappointing results in recent years, the end of the 2025 season offered reasons for optimism. With podiums at Lone Star Le Mans and the Fuji 6 Hours, Peugeot believes it has taken a step forward and now aims for its first victory in the category.
“I think we were very competitive at the end of last year,” said Peugeot Sport CEO Alain Favey during the 2026 livery presentation in Paris. “If you remember the last races, we had two podiums, and we were a bit unlucky with some of the race events, as it always happens. So I think victory would have been possible last year already, and I think it will be possible this year too.”
For a major manufacturer like Peugeot, finishing seventh in the standings – only ahead of newcomer Aston Martin – was a huge disappointment.
“Today, we are fully focused on 2026,” said Peugeot team principal Emmanuel Esnault. “2027 is another challenge. We want to start the season properly to keep the momentum we had at the end of the season last year.
“The team showed that in terms of operations, it was working, in terms of pitstop preparation, sporting management of an event. So we have to consolidate that.
“I will not give you a number or a position. Obviously, doing better than seventh in the championship in the final ranking [is the minimum], because it’s definitely not the place to go. We will be happy if we give a clean sheet at the end of the year without any stupid mistakes or opportunities lost.”
Asked what would make 2026 a successful season, Esnault explained: “We are happy if we don’t make any mistakes, if we deliver always the car at the right spec to our drivers, if we don’t lose stupidly some nice opportunities, sporting-wise, in terms of strategy, in terms of drivers’ management during the race.”
Peugeot 9X8
Photo by: Peugeot Sport
Using the new technical “jokers”
While Peugeot initially considered designing a completely new hypercar for 2026, the team ultimately opted for a more cautious approach: the 2026 car will be an evolved 9X8. This decision was driven by a new clause in the 2026 technical regulations, allowing struggling manufacturers to request additional updates – the so-called ‘evo jokers’ – beyond their initial allocation.
According to the rule, “additional evolutions (evo jokers) may be granted in case of a significant verified performance deficit, as determined by the governing body”. This is a valuable opportunity for Peugeot, which had already used its two homologations and exhausted the five jokers initially planned for the 9X8’s five-year cycle through 2027.
While discussions with the FIA continue to define the precise nature of these additional updates, Esnault explained: “There are some very little tweaks due to the change of homologation. You know now you have to homologate the car in the Windshield wind tunnel in the US. You can no longer use the one previously, as up to now, in Switzerland.
“There are a few cosmetic, aerodynamic tweaks, but to remain in the homologation window. And the rest is purely a set-up adjustment to unlock performance of the car.
“We have a test session next week in Portimao, so we are testing some solutions which do not require any homologation change or whatever. It’s just that we try to unlock performance from the car.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
