Peugeot celebrates 100 years at Le Mans
Peugeot TotalEnergies’ pair of 9X8 Hypercars passed through scrutineering this afternoon, both sporting an additional logo celebrating 100 years since Peugeot made its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut.
The French marque, which has gone on to win the race three times, entered a pair of Type 174 Sports in 1926, and led early on, only for both cars to fall by the wayside overnight due to a broken windscreen and starter trouble respectively.
Pourchaire enjoying second Le Mans start, first for Peugeot
Any French driver at Le Mans will draw a crowd of ravenous journalists eager to speak with them, doubly so if they’re representing one of the proud French manufacturers.
For Hypercar rookie and Le Mans 24H sophomore Theo Pourchaire, who drew a fairly large crowd of interviewers around him, it’s a dream scenario.
“It’s going to be great,” said an upbeat Pourchaire. “And to be representing Peugeot, to be a French driver, I lived in Le Mans for four years…yeah, it’s awesome.
“I know there’s a bit of pressure because I want to do well here, but I’m really happy to be here.”
Pourchaire debuted at Le Mans last year in the LMP2 class, driving for Algarve Pro Racing. This year, he steps up to the Peugeot TotalEnergies factory Hypercar team, driving the Peugeot 9X8 which has had a select few precious moments at Le Mans.
“I think we’ll know more after the Test Day on Sunday,” Pourchaire said about Peugeot’s chances. “I think expectations are that we will be fast in qualifying, I’m pretty sure the car is quick on one lap. A bit more difficult on a full stint, but this track has also a lot of straight lines, so not stressing so much the rear tyres – which is our most difficult point to manage.
“Let’s see. I think hopefully we’ll be in the mix. And then in the race, if we avoid mistakes from the drivers, from the teams, if we avoid any issues on the car, maybe we can fight for good positions.”
No matter what, the opportunity to race at Le Mans as a factory driver to be paid for his services is something that anyone who’s followed Pourchaire throughout his career has said is well overdue.
“It’s so awesome, you know, it’s my first time as a professional racing driver in Le Mans,” he continued. “I’m French, racing in France, I’m representing a French manufacturer, it’s so perfect. And hopefully the best would be to win the race. We know that’s a tough thing to do. But I’m really happy to be here.”
Aston Martin adds Union Jack
For their second appearance at Le Mans, both Aston Martin Valkyries will run with a Union Jack painted on the front splitter.
This coloured version of the flag joins the design already incorporated into its rear bodywork.
James plays down Valkyrie expectations
Will the Aston Martin Valkyries spring a surprise at Le Mans this year on their second attempt? Heart of Racing team principal Ian James was keen to play down his expectations for the only non-hybrid LMH Hypercars in the field, despite the team’s strong showing at Spa, which saw the #007 claim a fourth-place finish.
“Last year we turned up, and we were nervous about how the car would be. Reliability was on our mind, as it always is, but this year we come here relaxed,” he said. “We’ve improved the car a bit, but we’re one of the cars that hasn’t had a Joker upgrade.
“I don’t think any of the form is going to transfer over, with the way the performance parameters are at this event. I think we’ll be in the mix in the midfield, but there are a few cars I expect to be out front. Getting a car into the top 10 would be a real achievement, as we have the same car we had at the start of the programme; others have moved on.”
TF Sport changes yellow
Also with a tweaked livery is the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, which has returned to a more traditional shade of Corvette yellow for Le Mans.
It evokes memories of the last time that Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg won Le Mans in a yellow #33 Corvette, in 2023.
Unfinished business for Masson in LMP2: ‘We all want to win this race’
Instead of taking up his regular WEC role as part of the Akkodis ASP Team in LMGT3, Esteban Masson is coming back to LMP2 to complete some unfinished business.
Masson drives the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECA in the European Le Mans Series, a continuation of Panis Racing’s collaboration with TDS Racing which won last year’s ELMS LMP2 title, and came within half an hour of winning LMP2 at Le Mans.
“It’s just always such an amazing feeling, to come back to Le Mans – with the same team for the first time,” said Masson.
“It’s just a one-off, so we all want to win this race. We came close last year.”
Were it not for a suspension problem in the last 30 minutes of the race, the Panis VDS Racing trio of Masson, Oliver Gray, and Franck Perera probably should have won last year’s race.
But this year, Masson and Gray are back with the new-look Forestier/Panis car, which has already won on its first time of asking in the ELMS, and could be a favourite for the win in ’26.
“I think we have to do everything right, obviously,” Masson continued. “We have to do everything well. We won the first race of the ELMS this year. We have good momentum, and we need to keep on going like this, and to continue to do our best and see what we can do.”
Masson will also turn laps in the new-look Toyota TR010-Hybrid during Sunday’s test day.
Last year Masson became the first non-Japanese driver to join the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) development programme. He still wears the TGR-DC badge on his racing suit even though he is no longer racing full-time in Japan, and he’s been touted as a leading candidate to take a future seat at Toyota Racing if it ever becomes available.
“I’m working closely with them,” Masson says of his current relationship with Toyota. “They’re really pushing and helping me the way they have to do it. They do everything great, and I feel comfortable.
“I’m in really good teams, able to fight for victories, championships, so I’m exactly where I need to be to be well-prepped for this. And then, it’s just a matter of timing, I guess.
“Hopefully I will be able to get a chance to have a seat in the Hypercar, that’s the goal – let’s see when. Hopefully if it arrives, I hope it’s gonna be soon.”
Deletraz ready after late Cadillac call-up
Louis Deletraz is ready and present for Hertz Team JOTA, once again taking the seat usually filled by Alex Lynn in the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R.
The Swiss received the call-up late on, but due to his wealth of experience in the car in IMSA GTP and his run with JOTA at Spa last month, he is relaxed ahead of his first Hypercar start at Le Mans.
Five of his six starts in the race have come in LMP2, with his only previous top-class entry coming back in 2020 as part of Rebellion Racing’s LMP1 crew. Crucially, his late switch of teams from AO by TF to JOTA also means he won’t be defending his LMP2 Pro/Am victory from last year.
“This story with JOTA has been long and has been step-by-step; first was Spa because Alex couldn’t race, and then we set a date to decide on Le Mans if Alex was still unable to drive. I only learned about it a few days before it was announced in the press,” he explained.
“I’m super happy to be racing in the top class again and with a competitive car. It was good to do Spa, to learn how to work with the team. A lot of the crew has raced in the past with either WRT or TF Sport with me, so I know a lot of them, and it’s made it easy.
“I feel sad I cannot be with AO by TF, but that’s life; it’s a great opportunity, and everyone understands.”
Hasse-Clot ready for double-duty
Valentin Hasse-Clot is taking on an impressive task next weekend, with the 30-year-old the only driver competing in both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Road to Le Mans support race.
The Frenchman will race for Racing Spirit of Leman in both events, sharing the #59 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 with Marius Fossard and Clement Mateu in the 24 Hours, and the #10 Vantage AMR GT3 Evo with Philipp Sager in the Le Mans Cup event.
“It’s all about being organised,” Hasse-Clot tells DSC.
“I think I’m going to avoid being the starting or finishing driver in a session as much as possible, so I don’t have to travel all the way to the Road to Le Mans Paddock. I’ll try to keep all my gear in the 24 Hours of Le Mans garage. It’s the same team, so the Road to Le Mans car is going to be parked in front of the main garage.
“On paper, it shouldn’t be too much of a trouble. I’ll to turn it into simply an advantage of having more laps than any other drivers. And there is no more race on Saturday, it’s only on Friday morning.
Alongside being with the same team, one key benefit for Hasse-Clot is that Bronze-rated Sager will be working with a separate driver coach, meaning that Hasse-Clot is not required
“[Sager] brought a coach for the event, so I don’t have to do debriefs and stuff like that. I basically just have to drive the car,” he explains.
CLX young guns embark on Le Mans journey
CLX Racing’s #37 trio of Theodor Jensen, Adrien Closmenil and Ian Aguilera should be on everyone’s radar to track next week. With all three of them just 19-years-old, it’s the youngest combined crew in the field.
It will be a tough event for the three of them, as they work together to navigate race week without an experienced hand sharing the car with them. But all three are excited and unfazed by the situation, with Jensen telling DSC that they are calm and keeping their targets realistic.
“I don’t have any expectations,” he said. “I don’t expect to win; we will try, but we know it’s a tough race. We just have to survive for 20 hours, then we can start to push. We’ve prepped a lot and we’re ready to go, but it will be a new experience. Adrien and I raced together in Le Mans Cup here last year, but we didn’t get many laps, so we have a lot to learn. If we could be top five that would be great, anything more than that would be a bonus.”
Not only is Jensen new to the Le Mans 24 Hours, but he’s also still pretty new to LMP2, having stepped up from LMP3 for this season off the back of his ELMS LMP3 title win with the CLX team last year.
“It’s not completely different from LMP3; it’s just faster and has more grip,” he added. “We’ve done plenty of test days though, including a test to prepare for this race at Magny Cours with the lower power. You definitely notice that!”
Priaulx confident in Mustang GT3 package
Ford factory driver Sebastian Priaulx is thrilled to be back at Le Mans for the first time since 2022, and eager to represent Ford Racing at one of the most prestigious races on the planet.
His return to La Sarthe comes at a hugely busy time in his career, spent juggling Hypercar development duties, an ELMS programme in LMP2, an Endurance Cup ride with the factory IMSA GTD Pro team and a WEC programme with the Mustang in LMGT3.
Still, Priaulx tells DSC he feels ready for action at Le Mans and fancies his chances of a strong result in the Mustang, which achieved a podium at the event in its previous iteration back in 2024.
“I feel race-ready,” he said. “Le Mans is always a place you come to learn, so I’m ready for this year’s race, and it’s good work ahead of next year (in Hypercar). It’s been busy, but it’s always good to be in a car and feel race fit.
“Hopefully there’s not as much hiding from teams as in the past. Hopefully it’s close, because the Ford has been strong here before. It’s tricky to tell (how strong the Evo will be at La Sarthe). It’s definitely got a better aero package and the braking performance is better. It’s a step forward, and every little helps for a race like this.”
Images courtesy of Peter May
