Théo Pourchaire after the 6 Hours of Spa: “eyes are turned towards Le Mans”

Despite a first pole position for Peugeot in WEC, the Peugeot 9X8 #94 left the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps before the finish after an accident that occurred late in the race. Théo Pourchaire leaves Belgium with frustration ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Three weeks after the opening of the World Endurance Championship season at Imola, Théo Pourchaire was back behind the wheel of the Peugeot #94 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The weekend had started in the best possible way for the French crew.

Thanks to the performance achieved in qualifying, the Peugeot 9X8 #94 in the hands of Malte Jakobsen secured pole position with an advantage of 0.043 seconds. A first in WEC for four years for the brand with the lion. An important performance for the French manufacturer after several difficult seasons since their return to the world endurance championship.

An accident ends the hopes of Peugeot #94

During the race, Peugeot #94 confirmed its return to the front. The crew was competing in the top 5 and the strategy suggested a podium finish was possible.

At 5:50 p.m., the race took a turn. Exiting the pits, Malthe Jakobsen collided with the Mercedes #79 which spun out in a dirty section of the track. The accident resulted in the retirement of Peugeot #94 a few hours before the finish.

After the race, Théo Pourchaire spoke of a missed opportunity as the team seemed able to achieve a good result at Spa-Francorchamps.

After the race, the driver from Grasse reflects on this Belgian weekend: “I had just finished my stint. We were running in the top 5. I think I did a good double stint, I gave everything for the team as always. The team had a very good weekend after a difficult start. They improved the car a lot. As I said, securing pole with Malthe was incredible. Maybe a podium was possible with the strategy, but we’ll never know. Now all eyes are on Le Mans, but it’s tough. This one is difficult because we had big points to gain and maybe a podium at the end of this race. But yes… unfortunately, that’s racing.”

Now the #94 crew will have to wait until June 8 to return to the track for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The appointment is set for the legendary race on the weekend of June 13 and 14.