PECH UND PANNEN Peugeot copied the Toyota drama of 2016 in Le Mans with Nico Müller at the WEC opener in Qatar and rolled out in second place without fuel. After the race, his #93 was even disqualified.

 

Nico Müller and Peugeot have been left behind in their previous appearances in the World Endurance Championship. The Bernese driver's best result to date was a fourth place in Bahrain in 2022. At the WEC opener in Qatar, he came within a whisker of his first podium finish. Müller & Co. were in second place until the last lap after numerous laps in the lead, when Müller's team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne ran out of fuel on the last lap. The Peugeot 9X8 with the #93 reached the finish line (with electric power) in seventh place. The frustration was great. And it got even bigger. Because Vergne was no longer able to drive to the parc fermé under his own power, Müller's Peugeot was disqualified.

WEC Switzerland pitch 2024
You can see Nico Müller and Eric Vergne's disappointment at missing the race.

Nico Müller: "It's unbelievable. We run out of fuel on the last lap, probably because of a problem at the last refueling stop. We have to analyze what happened. It's tough, we deserved second place today. We were in the top three for the whole race. We would have loved to retire the 9X8 with a top result."

No chance for Sébastien Buemi

The best of the five Swiss hypercar drivers was Sébastien Buemi (gallery right). However, the Vaud native could not be satisfied with ninth place either. For once, both Toyota cars had no chance. The two GR010s were the heaviest cars due to the balance of performance and were therefore never able to compete for a podium place. Neel Jani in the Proton Porsche finished directly behind Buemi in tenth place. As the third-best privateer, Jani was the only Swiss driver to finish on the podium (gallery far left).

The two WEC rookies Edoardo Mortara (Lamborghini) and Raffaele Marciello (BMW) finished 14th and 15th respectively, with Marciello's BMW having to have its brakes changed in the final hour. Mortara's Lambo was the slowest hypercar over the entire weekend. Victory in the first race went to the Penske-Porsche team with Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor.

Fifth place for Thomas Flohr

Ferrari driver Thomas Flohr took fifth place in the new GT3 championship, while Grégoire Saucy finished 14th. The McLaren of the Jurassien driver suffered a bump at the start and had to have the suspension repaired. Later, Saucy's car also collided with one of the Ferraris. All You can find the results HERE.

The next FIA WEC race takes place in Imola in mid-April. Müller will then attack with a new Peugeot.Max Esteron with a good result

The Swiss figurehead in junior formula racing, Jenzer Motorsport, competed in two races at the weekend. At the FIA Formula 3 season opener in Bahrain (as part of Formula 1), Jenzer and American Max Esteron (center gallery) secured a very good sixth place in the first race.

Jenzer Motorsport fared even better in the Spanish Formula 4 winter series. There, the team from Lyss was able to celebrate two podium finishes in the rookie classification thanks to two third places for the Hungarian Adam Hideg. For Enea Frey, the third race weekend in Alcaniz ended in 24th, 16th and 16th place.

Photos: Peugeot, Toyota, Porsche, Dutch Photo Agency
Source: Auto Sport Switzerland
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