A two-day test for the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

The team ORECA-Matmut gave its Peugeot 908 HDi FAP its first shakedown last week. The French squad will continue its preparation for the 2010 season during the official Le Mans Series test days on Sunday and Monday on the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit. The drivers and the engineering team have set themselves multiple objectives.

“These tests are the continuation of our apprenticeship phase of the 908 HDi FAP, which began last week in private testing on the HTTT circuit,” explains David Floury. “Olivier and Nicolas have to finalise their driving positions and familiarise themselves with how the car works. It’s the same thing for the mechanics. We wanted to test in all kinds of conditions and we completed our programme; we were able to run on a wet track, a drying one and finally one that was completely dry. That gave us a fair amount of information: now it’s
time to move on to the next stage of our programme.”

Panis and Lapierre will be backed up by Loïc Duval who will be having his first outing in the Peugeot. The team will give him enough driving time to help him adapt to his new car. In parallel, the French squad will run through a wide-ranging number of setups. “Our aim is to carry out the best possible development programme on the 908 HDi FAP,” continues the technical director. “We’re going to concentrate in certain clearly-defined areas and not dissipate our efforts. It’s a prototype that’s now at its peak after several years’ development - and we all know how successful it’s been. So we’re going to begin on the bases recommended by Peugeot Sport, and then make some adjustments to improve our understanding of the car, see how it reacts to changes, the way it evolves over a full stint etc.”

Taking all these objectives into account the drivers will do fairly long stints. On Sunday, they will run till midnight to rack up the kilometers at nighttime to prepare for future races in the best possible conditions. David Floury sums up: “It’s a test in the true sense of the word. We’re also thinking about the Castellet 8- Hour race and, of course, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which we’re going to prepare for. That means a lot of work on the track but also in the pits where we’ll carry out multiple pit stop simulations.”

The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP will wear its new livery at the test days, a graphic evolution of the Mondrian style already seen on the team’s cars over the past two years.