WEC: Théo Pourchaire and Peugeot finish in the top 10 in Austin

After nearly two months of break, the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship resumed in Texas. In Austin, Théo Pourchaire and Team Peugeot TotalEnergies finished 10th in the 6 Hours of Austin with the PEUGEOT 9X8 #94.

Starting from 12th position, the PEUGEOT 9X8 #94 of Loïc Duval, Théo Pourchaire and Malthe Jakobsen had an encouraging start to the race. Loïc Duval, competing on the opening stint with medium tires, gained four positions. After the first relatively early stop, Théo Pourchaire took the wheel with four fresh medium tires.

However, conditions were particularly unusual at the Circuit of the Americas. A thunderstorm had hit just minutes before the start. Two additional formation laps were needed before the track dried sufficiently. Competitors finally started on slick tires, with temperatures exceeding 40°C on track.

“A good opening stint for me with some great battles. I was very, very hot in the car so I handed over to Théo for the second stint. Unfortunately, we had to change our tire strategy plan, which had an impact on the end of the race for Malthe and he wasn’t able to defend his 7th place to the end,” explained Loïc Duval, the starter from the beginning of the season.

Approaching the midway point, a Virtual Safety Car allowed the Peugeot #94 to make another stop and change drivers. Malthe Jakobsen then took over from Théo Pourchaire whose race was brief but clean.

In the final quarter of the race, another Virtual Safety Car offered a new strategic window for the French team. While running seventh, Malthe Jakobsen pitted on lap 138. The Danish driver then returned to the track for a final stint of nearly 50 minutes.

The restart led to several battles on track. After more than three hours on track, Malthe Jakobsen ultimately secured 10th place for the PEUGEOT 9X8 #94. The trio of Loïc Duval, Théo Pourchaire and Malthe Jakobsen thus leaves Austin with a top 10 finish 40 seconds behind the race leader.

For Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, this Texas race came after difficult preparations marked by very special track conditions. In free practice, the #94 had not managed to get close to the top positions. The best competitors were running around 1’53 per lap, with an average gap of approximately one second. In qualifying, the Peugeot #94 had secured 12th place.

After the 6 Hours of Austin, the FIA WEC championship will now head to Japan. The 6 Hours of Fuji will take place in three weeks, with another expected outing for Grassois Théo Pourchaire and Team Peugeot TotalEnergies.