Despite this setback, Toyota was never worried, even if the N.709 and the N.708 of Glickenhaus showed their seriousness for their second participation on the Sarthe circuit, by taking third and fourth places respectively. , five and ten laps behind the Toyota N.8.
“We learned a lot, the team improved a lot, and we also improved the car.“, explained Friday to AFP Jim Glickenhaus, the former New York director and producer with a cowboy look who dreams of beating his idols from Scuderia Ferrari next year.
From the next round of the World Championship (WEC), Peugeot will return to endurance, with a revolutionary hypercar, without rear wing. Other big names in motorsport – Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW, Cadillac… – will meet at Le Mans, in June 2023, in the queen category, for the centenary edition (first race in 1923).
Last car engaged in hypercar this year, Alpine may have trouble following, after the bitter failure of the N.36 this year.
She had managed to slip into third place on the starting grid, thanks to a temporary power bonus granted by the organizers, but she was sandwiched by the two Glickenhaus from the start.
Then she chained mechanical incidents, passing through the gravel, leaving the track… to finish 23rd, 18 laps behind the Toyotas. This poor performance cost the French manufacturer the lead in the WEC standings, in favor of Toyota.