Racing, and winning, is good for the brand, but it takes up a lot of resources, which is not abundant in lean times. So many manufacturers have pulled the plug on racing recently, and this time it’s Peugeot announcing that it will end its endurance racing programme with immediate effect.
This means that Peugeot will cease to challenge Audi in sportscar racing, something the French manufacturer has been doing very well. Peugeot ran variants of its diesel 908 prototype in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours and the Le Mans series since 2007. The lion’s finest hour was the Le Mans victory in 2009. Last year, Peugeot won the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup title.
“This decision has been taken in the context of a difficult economic environment in Europe. Peugeot has chosen to concentrate resources on its sales performance in 2012,” Peugeot said in a statement yesterday.
Peugeot’s decision means that this year’s World Endurance Championship will be a lonely affair. Looking further ahead, Toyota has a new LMP1 programme and Porsche is set to join the sport.
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
Sayanglah, Audi keseorangan…
Quite unfortunate and sudden. The 908 had always been the faster machine against the Audi and very impressive since 2007 but you need more than just fast machinery to win at Le Mans 24. It would have been another great battle of the titans this year if Peugeot stayed. Hopefully there will be some customer teams running the Peugeot. They won’t be as strong as the factory Peugeot but at least something. We shall see.
They have had customer cars in LeMans but the difference in budget was very evident. The Oraca Pugs were at least 2 seconds off as they were alwys runing the Pug’s frm the previous years. Even if they get the car from last eyar dun tink they can match Audi.
Last year was a total heart breaker the Pug’s were in a class of their own in terms of performance. They could run laps around the Audi if needed but decide to be too conservative which cost them at the end of the race. It was calculated after the race that if they were to run even 3-5 seconds faster on alternate stints they would have had the necessary lead ahead of Audi.
Anyone rember the 2012 race….that was a real spectacle…the pugs were 5 seconds faster thena the audi’s but could not beat the sheer durability of the germs ;!)
Win Le Mans but lose on sales..
All due to the fact that Audi produces more attractive car than Pug.
it was good while it lasted, thanks Peugeot!
Tats very sad indeed since they are the only team tat can kick Audi’s arse….
Sad… Just when I found something more interesting than F1… Last year race was epic. Peugeot and Audi fought until the last minute.
Their pain of losing the title to the single surviving Audi during last years Le Mans will take many years to heal.
thats ok bro remember when they went all guns blazing in 2010??…go fast lose be conservative lose…i gues it was written for them not to win after 09
hope the new competitors would be able to beat audi this year
That is very unlikely. New competitors like Toyota will spend their first year just coming to grips with their car. If they can finish LM24 its good achievement already.
Now Audi can syiok sendiri.
so Audi je LMS? tp xkesah.. sdp lg tgk GT1 punye category~
err u dun seem to know much about the Le Mans do you…GT1 is sprint racing with 2 races on weekends…. Le Mans is endurance racing where they race at speeds more that the GT1 car and maintain it for 24 hours…go figure!!!
Audi forever alone
they will have toyota for company now.