Team Peugeot TotalEnergies left the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo empty-handed after both 9X8 Hypercars picked up penalties that wiped out promising early running. The #94 climbed inside the top five and the #93 briefly ran second before the sanctions dropped them down the order. The pair eventually crossed the line 14th and 16th as the FIA World Endurance Championship headed into its summer break.

Peugeot’s endurance campaign hit another setback at Brazil’s Autódromo José Carlos Pace, where both PEUGEOT 9X8 cars threw away competitive positions after being handed penalties in the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

A promising opening

Overnight rain left parts of the Interlagos circuit damp at the start of the six-hour race, but conditions stayed dry enough for slick tyres. Loïc Duval held eighth in the #94, having started from that slot, while Paul Di Resta hauled the #93 forward from 13th, gaining four places before the first round of stops.

The team then split strategy between its two cars. The #93 stayed out on the same set of four tyres and rose as high as second overall, while the #94 took on two fresh right-side tyres. The #94 was running inside the top five before handing over to Nick Cassidy and Théo Pourchaire, both of whom rejoined on four new slicks.

Penalties undo the effort

Just before half-distance, both cars were sanctioned — a stop-and-go for the #94 and a drive-through for the #93 — undoing the ground made on track. Stoffel Vandoorne and Malthe Jakobsen took over for a final double stint as fog rolled across Interlagos, cutting visibility sharply in the closing hours.

Despite a few drops of rain in the final 20 minutes, the track stayed dry to the flag. Both 9X8 cars held a steady pace to the end, the #94 finishing 14th and the #93 16th.

“Overall, the performance was there, with a solid start to the race,” said team principal Emmanuel Esnault. “The rest of the race was more difficult, as we paid a high price for our mistakes. Our competitors were stronger than us this weekend, so it’s up to us to keep working.”

Duval was candid about his own error, saying he thought he had activated the pit limiter on his final pit entry despite the car having “top-10 pace.” Pourchaire pointed to the sanctions as the decisive factor, noting the #94 “had the potential to fight for points” from eighth on the grid.

What it means

The result leaves Peugeot still chasing a breakthrough in a fiercely competitive Hypercar class, where a single penalty can turn a points finish into a lost afternoon. The summer break offers a chance to regroup before the championship resumes at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in early September.

The WEC restarts in Austin in early September.

Source: www.media.stellantis.com