Peugeot: must try harder
Posted by Michael Harvey at 1:00PM on Monday 16 June, 2008 10 Comments
Keep reading. There's some really big news about future Le Mans here, but can I talk about the weekend first?
Thank you. Your patience will be rewarded. Promise.
I'm not sure I know what FAP is, but whatever, it just became a whole lot more expensive for Peugeot.
Oouuuuuuuch: that was an embarrassment. Peugeot's 908 HDi FAPs were meant to win, yes? That's why Sarkozy was there. That's why the ever-charmless, PR special needs candidate Jacques Villeneuve (or JFV as we like to call him round here) grumpily soiled the podium with the quote: "No, I'm not happy with second. We came here to win."
A huge cock-up really.
Michel Barge - Peugeot Sport director - should be grateful Roman Abramovich doesn't run that team; he'd be out of a job today and not instead preparing to the drop the same small fortune again next year getting that technology brand - FAP - front of camera, front of mind, right across Europe.
That's the thing about modern racing programmes like Peugeot's FAP and Audi's TDI Power; they don't race to win, but to ram their marketing messages down folk's throats.
I guess we should congratulate the Germans here; although my eight-year old son is already mightily bored that nobody but Audi has won in his lifetime.
Yes, Bentley, but he's figured that one out, he's that smart, and in any case, he wants Aston Martin to win.
And with that that to the big news... Well, maybe the big gossip. Only it's more than gossip because it did come from the top men at Aston Martin and Jaguar.
Then again it was in the early hours of the morning. And I wasn't entirely sober. But...
Jaguar and Aston Martin are both planning Le Mans prototypes.
Like the FAPs and the TDI Powers. Only fuelled with petrol. Aston has already started its programme with the V12 powered Lola prototype.
Jag is a bit further back, still in GT3, but the boss man says he just needs a handful of rupees. I think Aston has already got its dinars. Or whatever they have mountains of in Kuwait.
All both teams need now is the Le Mans organisers to rewrite the rules to make the diesels slower.
Trouble is, they ain't going to do that until the FAPs win. Which is why all of us, and not just the Peugeot board, need to be pissed with M. Barge today.
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10 Comments for "Peugeot: must try harder"
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After 13 long hours of cheering for Peugeot, I was devastated when it started to rain. The french were screwed. And Michel Barge really needs to lighten up, he's not gonna be fired. Yet.
As for Jag in LMP's I sure would like to see a line up were Pug, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, Aston and Jag fighting for overall victory. Throw in Mercedes and Nissan and it would be like 1998 all over again...
Has anyone else noticed how the French tend to mess with the rules until they win?
Let's change the tire rules in F1 so Renault, and the wonderful Michelin tires can actually beat the Ferraris.
Let's diddle with the Le Mans rules so the Courages can be faster than the R8s (that didn't work either).
The seat-belt thing this year - which couldn't really be enforced on the Pugs - was a weak attempt really. I expected something a bit more creative.
Maybe it's all a coincidence...
To be fair to Peugeot, Audi only won by being the tortoise to Peugeot's hare. The 908 FAP was the better car really, they just ran ahead and crashed.
Oh, and great to hear about that gossip. We need more British Racing Green on the racing scene.
I wanted Audi to win Le Mans not Peugeot, because of Jacques Villeneuve I don't like him. What a fool he is. But Audi is brilliant. McNish, Dindo and TK were brilliant. Audi are the best, they took on Peugeot who were faster and prove to the Peugeot people that Audi are still the best. The only time Peugeot will win is if Audi are in the LMP2 class.
I'm also glad that Audi beat Peugeot, mainly because they were the underdogs, not normal for the Germans, and it proved that the fastest car does not neccesarily win.
Beyond that, didn't the Astons look gorgeous at the end of the race?
Wouldn't imagine Jaguar being in LMP1 too soon, but certainly GT2 looks likely to start, and i can see Aston carrying on with the Lola project.,/p>
Justin Law took his Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12 to victory in the legends race too, and that was the real highlight for me.
Honestly? I never wanted Peugeot to win. Yes, at one point they were sort of faster, but they were French and thus wouldn't last. Never doubted that Tom K would take his 8th win, which would catapult him into eternal fame. Did I mention the fact that I'm Danish? Well yes, I am.
Audi has showed this time that it doesn't only take a fast car to win Le Mans, but also a good team behind the pitwall.
Audi had faster pitstops than the Peugeots and were tactically far beyond Peugeot (which really showed in the last hour when Peugeot made a terrible tyre choice mistake).
Some people say that it has become dull, but when the two leading cars are still in the same lap after 23.5 hours how much more excitement do you need?
Another thing which made Peugeot less deserving to win were the overheating problems they had during the night. Things like that shouldn't occur during the race, especially when you're competing at the top.
Audi's plan was to put pressure on Peugeot and they succeeded in that marvelously.
I disagree with Mikeado, because surely designing a car capable of sticking to the road is part of what makes a good race team, so even if the Audi only won because the Pug crashed is unfair. Part of the skill needed to win is that of staying on tarmac. Surely?
Eh, exactly when did all three Peugeot's crash in the race?
Fact is either the Peugeot's and/or it's drivers can't drive fast in the rain while the Audi's can. That and the longer fuel mileage (=less pitstops) and the quadro stints (=faster pitstops) the Audi drivers in the #2 car made the difference.
Do only Peugeot and Audi market their products during the race? I wouldn't say so - Aston and other companies do the same. This is the face of the current motor racing.
And I would never dare to say the racing teams of Peugeot and Audi lacked the spirit of racing ('they don't race to win, but to ram their marketing messages').
They were driving with the same spirit as the whole rest of the pack for sure.
The Le Mans rules are equal for everyone - why don't Aston and Jag build a diesel prototype? It's their choice - if they have enough 'racing spirit' they should give up their 'marketing' - which is obviously directed at promoting petrol engines - and build an equal competitor for Audi and Peugeot .