The release of the provisional WEC entry list confirmed the grid’s expansion to 39 cars. Peugeot is one of the championship’s ‘new’ faces, having returned to the top endurance category with the new Peugeot 9X8. The LMH prototype of the lion’s signature will be unveiled in 2022, although the exact date has yet to be determined. Peugeot Sport is unlikely to compete in all of the events on the schedule, since the firm will be pressed for time to build and homologate the 9X8.
Peugeot was able to avoid the 1,000 Miles of Sebring and the 6 Hours of Spa in order to make his 9X8 debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the WEC’s centerpiece and the queen of endurance. The World Endurance Championship, on the other hand, has cautioned Peugeot that this cannot be the situation. To prove the ‘Balance of Performance,’ the Peugeot 9X8 will have to race before Le Mans. As a result, the 6 Hours of Spa is considered the most likely venue for the Peugeot 9X8’s debut.
The WEC’s Frédéric Lequien was in charge of declaring the aforementioned criterion, guaranteeing that Peugeot’s two entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11 and 12 are conditional on the team participating in at least one of the two tests prior to the French event.
They must have conducted an event previously, therefore we expect to have them in Spa, Lequien said in this respect. I don’t work for Peugeot, so I’d suggest contacting them to see whether they’ll be ready for Sebring. They’ll have a tough time in Sebring, but they’ll be OK after that.
In this vein, the WEC’s head of communications remarked, “We need to see the vehicle in competition before the 24 Hours of Le Mans.” It’s just a technical concern, since we need to witness the car’s performance in order to establish the ‘Balance of Performance’ and evaluate the data gathered from its appearance on the circuit. It is strictly a sports problem, not a commercial one.
Meanwhile, Peugeot has remained tight-lipped about its genuine intentions. At truth, the Peugeot 9X8 has yet to make its track premiere, with its only public appearance being a shakedown in an unknown location in mid-December.
However, it is not excluded out that Peugeot Sport’s work on the LMH prototype has progressed to the point where the manufacturer has already begun its circuit testing program, with a test session scheduled for the end of the year and another scheduled for the opening days of 2022.
The WEC’s starting field for the 2022 season is the largest in the league’s history. The FIA World Endurance Championship, now in its eleventh year, will include 39 sports cars competing in the Hypercar, LMP2, LMGTE-Pro, and LMGTE-Am classes.
After its first year, the premier Hypercar category expands to six vehicles. Toyota, the defending champion, will start with two Toyota GR010 hybrids and will face manufacturer competition for the first time in the season when Peugeot returns. It’s unclear when the French will begin the race with their two Peugeot 9×8 Hybrids that have been registered.
In the hypercar class, Toyota and Peugeot face off against US privateer Glickenhaus, who is racing his hypercar for the first time in the WEC. The team intends to compete two cars in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alpine has returned with a grandfathered LMP1 in anticipation of the hypercar’s arrival in 2024. The ByKolles team isn’t included among the starters.
WEC: LMP2 with a record-breaking start field
In the LMP2 class, a total of 15 cars will race, which is four more than in 2021. The US top team Penske, which is preparing for the LMDh alliance with Porsche, as well as Prema with Robert Kubica, Vector Sport, and Team Ultimate, are all newcomers.
Richard Mille Racing will start with an all-female squad for the second year in a row, however the drivers have yet to be announced. WRT, the Le Mans class champion, expands to two cars, while AF Corse moves from GT to LMP2.
Rene Binder of Austria joins the well-known G-Drive Racing squad for the first time in a complete WEC season. “I’m returning to G-Drive Racing to take on a new thrilling challenge – the FIA World Endurance Championship,” the 30-year-old adds as he prepares for his fourth outing at Le Mans. “Thank you to everyone who has entrusted me with their trust! I’ll try my best to deliver as promised, and I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the #26 vehicle.”
Keyword: Peugeot 9X8, Has Not Yet Been Officially Unveiled