The wingless iteration of the 9X8 made its final WEC bow in Saturday’s Qatar 1812Km event at the Losail International Circuit ahead of being replaced by a more conventional design from April’s Six Hours of Imola.
A second-place result appeared to be on the cards until Jean-Eric Vergne slowed down on track on the penultimate lap after the #93 Peugeot ran out of fuel, forcing him to coast to the finish line on hybrid power alone.
Although Vergne was able to drag the hobbled Peugeot to the line and provisionally finish a lap down in seventh, the car he shared with Mikkel Jensen and Nico Muller was later excluded from the results for both failing to return to the pits after the fuel drama and not reaching the parc ferme on its own power.
However, the disqualification did not dampen the spirits of the French manufacturer, with its motorsport boss Jean-Marc Finot praising the team for the work put in to get the car into a podium position.
“So far we are very happy that the '23 car was fast and was in the game,” Finot told reporters.
”With the power we got and with the weight we got, it means that the design of this car, that has been designed on the '21 regulation, is okay. I'm proud of what the team did.
“This weekend the operation was quite okay. We didn't expect to lead the race in the first hour or to fight for the podium or the victory.
“Unfortunately, what happened on the last lap was not scheduled. We had an issue with the feeling of the car when we did the splash-and-dash. We didn't have the expected weight of fuel.”
Source: Autosport