Does anyoi=one know when will Peugeot Sport announce their drivers for the LMS and ofcours Le Mans ?
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Does anyoi=one know when will Peugeot Sport announce their drivers for the LMS and ofcours Le Mans ?
A very strong rumour says that Sebastien Bourdais is one of the driver. He will drive the 908 at the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
The announcement of all the drivers will be made in December (or maybe at the beginning of January).
Some other rumours : Dindo Capello, Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis, Nic Minassian, Guy Smith, Sarrazin, Oliver Gavin, Pedro De la Rosa and some others.
The rumour about Dindo Capello is almost as strong as the rumour about Bourdais. As for the others, it's quite speculation yet.
Nothing more about the rumour of Guy Smith ?? :confused:
About Guy Smith nothing new.
But something new today: according to Dailysportscar, Panis won't be with Peugeot.
I don't know why but I have the feeling that we are very close to the official announcement (I hope!).
That doesn't surprise me if Olivier won't run with the 908 next year :rolleyes:
But if I learn Sebastien(Bourdais)won't be part of the team neither, I'll be more than shocked(heart attack) :eek: :s
New rumour today from someone posting on the Endurance-info forum (but I don't know how reliable he is). The drivers will be announced after January the 20th according to what he heard.
If it 's true, maybe we could have some surprises.
Very long time to wait !!! :(
Yes long time to wait !
Seems strange to me. Something is happening with the drivers.
Maybe they try to sign one of them and it's more difficult than expected I don't know.
Anyway this issue is important and comlicated. So we can understand it takes time.
On the other hand, maybe everything is already decided and signed and they just don't want to reveal the names before the end of January from a marketing point of view.
Interesting news and confirmation of an announcement of the line-up not before mid January.
According to Autosport (a great site by the way!) Alesi won't drive the 908.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/55939
Could be a good idea to go with one or two out of Alesi/Panis/De la Rosa, bit of experience there to help nurture the new car and other drivers.
Makes sense indeed. Maybe De la Rosa then because it's quite obvious now that Alesi and Panis won't drive the 908 next year.Quote:
Originally Posted by viper_man
The huge experience of the Spanish as test driver in a top team as Mc Laren maybe helpful.
Regarding De La Rosa, it will depend on Mc Laren decision.
Will the F1 team allow him to sign with Peugeot too?
He has already signed a new contract with Mc Laren as test driver for 2007.
We will have to wait until January the 10th or January the 11th to see the first shakedown of the car.
It's a longer time to wait than I expected and not a good news. They initialy wanted the car on track on December the 10th.
That confirms that 2007 will be a tough time for them: the unescapable learning time.
This news is quite important I think. That could mean that Audi is one step closer to an another win in June.
Sorry it's in French :
http://www.lemans.maville.com/actu/r...o-355779_.html
By the way there is a big mistake in this article: they speak about ALMS but we have to read LMS.
Oh no !!! Again later now ???? ;(
Apparently Peugeot will announce their lineup in mid January. What's sure is that Eric Hélary, 1993 Le Mans winner, has been confirmed as a test driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by alleskids
cheers,
According to someone posting on the Endurance-info forum, all Peugeot drivers will drive exclusively with Peugeot in 2007: no other programmes for them in a major championship.
If he tells the truth (I am not 100 % sure about that) that would unfortunetly mean : no Bourdais at Peugeot !!! :(
Pity if it's true because Bourdais wanted to drive the 908. I don't know what happened.
Otherwise, according to L'Equipe newspaper, Peugeot will reveal their line-up on January the 10th or the 11th (at the time of the first shakedown of the car).
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1LM1
It's still better than after 20th january ;)
I think the drivers would be taken from Pescarolo: Comas, Ayari, Collard...
As far as I know, it won't happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by eloyf1
Collard continues with Porsche (and Pescarolo). I think Peugeot was seriously considering him as an option but now it's over.
As for the others, Peugeot said that they will choose their drivers according to 3 criteria: the speed, the reliability and the team spirit. Moreover, they want young drivers.
Ayari continues with Oreca I think and Peugeot consider that other drivers meet the 3 criteria better than him.
As for Comas, it's more or less the same and he is not anymore the younger driver on the market.
My guess is that Peugeot want Nic Minassian.
Collard not, but the others, I'm sure...Quote:
Originally Posted by 1LM1
Quote:
Originally Posted by eloyf1
I didn't know that.
So you assert that Comas and Ayari have been chosen by Peugeot??
I admit it's a real surprise to me.
How do you know that?
I found earlier today on the internet an information from a very reliable person: Peugeot have already signed 5 out of the 6 drivers they want.
Can you confirm that Ayari and Comas are among them?
Thinking about Comas, I am not so surprised actually.
I think he fully meets the 3 qualities (speed, reliability and team spirit) that Peugeot expect from a driver. What surprises me is that I heard that Peugeot is looking for young drivers. And as Capello has probably been chosen too, I am surprised.
But I think Comas (former very good F1 driver) is a very good choice.
As for Ayari, I am surprised.
I think I am surprised because the comments on him from Pescarolo about his mistake (at Le Mans 2005) and about what Ayari said after this mistake.
I assert it 'cause I read they would test de Peugeot this month (But it has been posponed)... I may be worng, but I'm sure I read it somewhere (Autosport???)Quote:
Originally Posted by 1LM1
I think on Hélary too... When I say Ayari could be one of the drivers, I have to remember he drove a Peugeot 406 Coupé Silhouette in ST...
I think on Hélary too... When I say Ayari could be one of the drivers, I have to remember he drove a Peugeot 406/7 Coupé Silhouette in ST (Like Hélary...)... And what about Bouchut??? He is old, but...
Ok thanks for the explanation.
I think I understand now. You may have got confused between Hélary and Ayari. The two names are confusing and they were indeed both Peugeot drivers in ST as you said. Hélary is the one who is supposed to do the shakedown. He is the test driver. He won't drive the 908 in races, it's official.
Bouchut said he won't drive the 908 in an interview earlier when asked what he would do next year.
Besides, if he won Le Mans in 1993 with Hélary as team mate with the Peugeot 905 (the other team mate was Geoff Brabham btw), they hate each other.
Anyway thanks for the news about Comas and wait and see regarding Ayari.
Peugeot said that 5 of the 6 drivers have been signed
Quote:
Originally Posted by harvick#1
So we can begin to place some bets!
According to someone living in Montreal, SpeedTV announced in last evening television news that Peugeot have signed Stephane Sarrazin!
So my bet is:
Sarrazin, Minassian (or Comas if eloyf1 is right), Bourdais, Capello, De La Rosa and Gavin.
But regarding De La Rosa and Gavin, it's pure speculation ;)
Some more news !!! :D
Official presentation of car + drivers next 10th or 11th january 2007...
Official news about the V12 HDI being tested currently, very soon, on 15th december(official numbers should be unveiled about performances of this engine) !!! :bounce:
Yes, Peugeot will communicate about the first test of the engine on the bed. So some interesting news expected for us fans on Friday the 15th. :)
Here is the link:
http://www.mondial.peugeot.fr//compe...2-a7f3973e32ca
Autosport provides us some interesting news today:
Peugeot will complete the first car before the end the year. So the first tests should take place very soon in January.
Another great news is that the engine passed a first 24 hours test on the dyno. :up:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56014
We also learn in this article that Peugeot intends to test at Sebring not only after but also BEFORE the 12 hours race. They think the track is very suitable for their needs.
Only good news !! :bounce:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1LM1
so I wonder why they won't run the 12 Hours of Sebring then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by harvick#1
I think it's too early for them to enter a race.
It's never too early to test but they have to be careful not to race too early.
And the prestigious Sebring race is maybe a little too much for starters.
They will have a huge tests programme with probably a lot of work to modify some parts of the car and no time to do that before June. They probably want to focus on this work and try to improve the car.
Maybe they would have learnt more things if they had chosen to race at Sebring but in the other hand, if they add Sebring to the programme they will be too much under pressure. They need some serenity to work in this period.
Ouestfrance newspaper from yesterday(17th december)has got some other news !! :bounce:
According to them, the french drivers of the 908 will be Sébastien Bourdais, Nicolas Minassian and Stéphane Sarrazin :up:
Among the foreign drivers they only mention British Guy Smith as likely to be part of the team...
Anyway, they say everything will be known on 10th january 2007(including presentation of the official car) ;)
So if we add this to the past rumours, Peugeot's line-up for 2007 le Mans will be:
-Sébastien Bourdais
-Nicolas Minassian
-Stéphane Sarrazin
-Guy Smith
-Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello
-Frank Biela
:D
Well its looking good: Smith, Biela and Capello sharing a car would be fantastic!
Yes that would be!
But a new rumour today on the Endurance-Info's forum: Biela and Capello would not be with Peugeot.
If true, that's a big surprise regarding Capello because the rumour was strong.
I really wonder who would be the last two drivers of the line-up then !! :s