The official Prologue for the 2025 FIA WEC Championship featured around fourteen hours of running on the 5.418 km Losail International Circuit, split into two daytime and two nighttime sessions. Thirty-six cars, including eighteen Hypercar prototypes, participated in this Prologue.
Behind the wheel of the PEUGEOT 9X8, the six drivers of the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies covered a total of 3586 kilometers under varying conditions, which allowed them to work on prototype setups and tire strategies ahead of the race. Jean-Eric Vergne (#93) and Stoffel Vandoorne (#94) each completed over two consecutive stints.
“We did double stints with the medium and hard tires,” confirms Olivier Jansonnie, Technical Director of Peugeot Sport. “We saw that the track conditions changed a lot, and we expect the temperatures to be even cooler for the race.”
Despite several red flags and Full Course Yellows caused by various on-track incidents, Mikkel Jensen, Paul di Resta, Malthe Jakobsen, and Loïc Duval were able to complete numerous laps to follow the testing program planned for this Prologue.
“These four sessions really tested the crews and the cars with a lot of track time,” summarizes Olivier Jansonnie. “We now have three days to analyze the data collected from each car, cross-reference the information, assess the technical results, and prepare the two PEUGEOT 9X8s for Wednesday’s free practice.”
The 1812 km Qatar race (approximately 10 hours of racing) will start on Friday, February 28, at 14:00 local time (12:00 French time).
Stoffel Vandoorne (PEUGEOT 9X8 #94)
“Compared to last year, the feeling is a little different on this circuit with the PEUGEOT 9X8 2024 evolution. We had a good Prologue and worked well on the car/tire package to prepare for the race,” said the Belgian driver.
Loïc Duval (PEUGEOT 9X8 #94)
“We’ve made good progress compared to our January tests. We tested a lot of things in different conditions, and I think we’ve definitely taken a step forward compared to 2024.”
Jean-Eric Vergne (PEUGEOT 9X8 #93)
“The car is performing quite well. We are mid-grid but we can still improve the car for next week. It could be a good race weekend for us.”
Paul di Resta (PEUGEOT 9X8 #93)
“It’s great to be back in Qatar, a circuit I enjoy. We followed the program we had planned for the Prologue. The competition is set to be intense, as always in WEC, and we know we’ll need to be consistent in the race.”
