No. 93 and no. 94 Peugeot 9X8s end the 6 Hours of São Paulo 8th and 16th

Having opted to start on hard tyres after a tough time in qualifying (where they finished 16th and 17th), the PEUGEOT 9X8 Hypercars quickly moved up the overall standings. An hour into the race, a superb overtaking move by Nico Müller took the no. 93 PEUGEOT 9X8 past a Porsche into 12th position, just ahead of the no. 94 car driven by Loïc Duval, who had been given a five-second penalty following an on-track collision.

Nico and Loïc continued in the PEUGEOT for a second stint with a tyre strategy that fit the track conditions perfectly. In the no. 93 car, Swiss ace Nico Müller overtook three Hypercars in quick succession to climb to eighth overall, whilst his team-mate was lapping close to the top ten despite being handed another penalty. Just before their second refuelling stops, pit stops by the other frontrunners meant the no. 93 and no. 94 PEUGEOT 9X8s moved up into second and seventh places!

Nico Müller (85 laps, 366km) and Loïc Duval (83 laps) then handed over to Mikkel Jensen and Paul di Resta, who drove brilliantly to hold position through a second double stint. Shortly after the race's halfway point, the Dane (no. 93 PEUGEOT 9X8) had the 73,000+ fans at Interlagos on the edge of their seats with a spectacular battle with Ferrari and Porsche for fifth place.

After two hours of effort on the season’s shortest – but nonetheless very demanding – track, Mikkel and Paul handed over driving duties to Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne, who fought hard up until the chequered flag. With 235 laps (1,012km) covered without any technical hitches, the no. 93 PEUGEOT 9X8 crossed the finishing line in eighth place, while the no. 94 car ended the race in 16th position.

“We had the best strategy possible on hard tyres at the start of the race,” summarised Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport Technical Director. “It paid off because the no. 93 car quickly moved up the standings. We achieved our target for this race, which was to fight with BMW, Alpine and Lamborghini and in the end, we finished ahead of them. We clearly didn't have the pace but I think we managed to get the best out of what we could do. I'm pleased with the way we went about things. We definitely had the right strategy. We now need to find some pace so that we can fight at the front.”

The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to the American continent for round six, Lone Star Le Mans, held in Austin, Texas, on 1 September.

Jean-Marc Finot, Stellantis Motorsport Senior VP

“Being around one second off pole position in qualifying, the high level of competition in this championship unfortunately placed us at the back of the grid. We had a good race thanks to a flawless tyre strategy at the start, which enabled the no. 93 car to make a great comeback. Unfortunately, the no. 94 car was given a penalty and then got held up in traffic. Eighth place is good, but we’re not totally satisfied because we want to fight for podium positions. However, the team did a good job to get the most out of the package at this race.”

Mikkel Jensen (no. 93 PEUGEOT 9X8)

“If you had offered me an eighth-place finish this morning, I’d have grabbed it after qualifying in 17th position. Things worked out well in the race for us because the car handled well on the hard tyres. We noticed that some competitors were struggling with the medium tyres whereas the PEUGEOT was pretty quick on the hard compound. The team had an excellent strategy at the start with new tyres on the right for Nico. We then managed to do double stints, so we did a good job today.”

Loïc Duval (no. 94 PEUGEOT 9X8)

“We were given a five-second penalty for a minor on-track collision and then a ten-second penalty in the pit lane. Despite this, we were still in contention to finish in the middle of the pack. But we lacked paced in the latter part of the stint and it was difficult on the rear tyres. Our tyre strategy was good in the early stages of the race, but then our competitors adapted and it became increasingly difficult to make a difference.”