PARIS, France — Officials of the Peugeot Brand, in a surprise announcement today, disclosed that they have closed the endurance racing program and will not compete in either the World Endurance Challenge nor in the 24 hours of Le Mans inj 2012. The release did not speak to the future, but it would seem doubtful that the French Lion will return the frey in the short term. No mention was made of possibility of privateers running a car or two during the 2012 year or after.
The release noted: “After 14 victories in the last 16 races, including a double at the Le Mans 24 Hours 2009 as part of the ILMC championship won by Peugeot two years running, in 2010 and 2011, the Brand has decided to close its 2012 endurance programme and will not be taking part in the next Le Mans 24 Hours.”
The release noted that the decision was made “against the backdrop of the challenging economic environment in Europe coupled with a particularly busy year for the Brand in terms of new vehicle launches. In this context, Peugeot prefers to concentrate its 2012 resources on its commercial performance and, in particular, ensuring the successful launches of the 208, 3008 HYbrid4, 508 RXH, 508 HYbrid4 and 4008 which will take forward the Brand’s strategy of moving upmarket and extending its global presence.”
As successful as the Peugeot Brand is globally, it currently does not have a presence in the United States, where its cheif competition on the race trace, Audi, is very successful.
Officials at Peugeot also noted in the release,” In keeping with its social responsibility obligations and as part of the GPEC (forward management of jobs and skills) agreement signed by five trade unions, all of the employees concerned will be offered redeployment solutions within the Group thanks to a special system set up to oversee and lead occupational training/retraining as well as internal mobility.” However, no mention was made of the disposition of drivers for the endurance team.
The Peugeot as mentioned above, while not as successful as they wanted to be at Le Mans, took first and second in 2009, but in that was their only in five years at the famed event. The team certainly had the opportunity to win at least three other times.
In 2008 they had a very fast car but it when the rains hit the race track at Le Mans, the Audi was faster and took the win; In 2010, afer their win the year before, they again brought a fast car to Le Mans but due to mechanical issues not one Peugeot finished the storied race; and last year when two of the Audis crashed out in the first half of the race, the Peugeot had a sterling opportunity to take home the win, out-numbering the Audi on the race track by a four to one margin. But it was the Audi that took the win, albeit by a less than 14 second margin after 24 hours.
The announcement takes some of the wind oit of the sales of World Endurance Championship that was put together over the last year when the FIA and the ACO finally got together to develop a true world endurance series.
Peugeot in 2012 had been expected to run a hybrid version of last year’s second-generation 908 both at Le Mans and in the WEC.
The end of the Peugeot program means that Audi will be the only manufacturer contesting a full season of WEC events in LMP1. Toyota will contest only selected events and Le Mans with its new gasoline-electric LMP1 hybrid.
