Current ACO rules say that Hypercar entrants must commit at least one car to a full season in WEC to prevent teams just entering for just Le Mans, but it appears Peugeot may be given a dispensation – the French marque will be reluctant to make its debut until it feels the prototype is ready for homologation, meaning it cannot make fundamental changes from that point onwards.
“The 9X8 will make its race debut based on its level of readiness, reliability and competitiveness as agreed with the championship’s organisers who we will keep regularly updated as our development programme progresses,” notes Stellantis Motorsport Director Jean-Marc Finot.
“We could have opted for attending selected races only without committing to the season. That would have been possible but less coherent. Instead, we have chosen an approach that will enable the team to be fully immersed in the discipline, resulting in much closer collaboration with the organisers even if the 9X8 doesn’t contest every race as our development work and the homologation process continue.”
