Team Peugeot TotalEnergies got both of its 9X8 hypercars into Hyperpole for the final round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship at Monza. Théo Pourchaire qualified fifth in the #94, 0.253 seconds off pole, and Nick Cassidy will start ninth in the #93. The six-hour season finale starts on Sunday, 8 November.
Peugeot will start the last race of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship with both of its cars inside the top 10. Both 9X8s made it into Hyperpole, the shootout that decides the top ten grid places, in the final qualifying session of the season at Monza.
Théo Pourchaire was the quicker of the two, putting the #94 car fifth on the grid. After a closely fought 10-minute session he finished 0.253 seconds behind the pole time. Nick Cassidy, who was in his first qualifying session with the team, will start the #93 from ninth.
First dry running of the weekend
The early-November weather in Italy made preparation hard. All three free practice sessions ran on a damp track, so the whole field used wet-weather tyres. Qualifying was the first time all weekend that conditions allowed teams to run slick tyres, which left little dry running before the grid was set.
The team says both cars were especially strong in Monza’s fast first sector. They regularly set some of the quickest times from the start-finish line to the braking zone for the second chicane.
Team targets a top-five finish
Team Principal Emmanuel Esnault said getting both cars into the top 10 was one of the team’s goals for the weekend. The next goal is a top-five finish.
“It is certainly very satisfying to have both cars in the top 10. That was one of our objectives for the weekend. The next one is to reach the top five tomorrow. Nick did a good job in his first qualifying session, as did Théo. The team did a great job adapting the car to the track conditions for qualifying. It is now up to us to turn all this into a good result tomorrow.”
Esnault added: “One thing is certain: we will give our all right through to the final metre of this season’s race.”
What the drivers said
Cassidy thanked the team for its trust after his first qualifying run in the 9X8: “I’m very happy to have put the car through to Hyperpole. It was my first qualifying session with the team and I’d like to thank them for the trust they have placed in me.”
Pourchaire was in only his second WEC qualifying session with the car and was pleased with fifth: “Fifth place is a very satisfying result and will give us a good starting position for the race. I’m very happy and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
What it means
With cars starting fifth and ninth, Peugeot’s aim for the six-hour race is to end the 2026 season well and score as many points as possible. Pourchaire’s grid slot gives the team its best chance of reaching the top-five target. Cassidy will need to make up ground from ninth.
The Monza 6 Hours starts on Sunday, 8 November at 11:00 local time and will be shown live on FIAWEC+ and on television.
Source: www.fiawec.com