The result after the 6 Hours of Imola reflected neither the effort nor the possibilities for Malthe Jakobsen and Peugeot TotalEnergies.
The Peugeot factory driver from Thy came to Imola with the ambition to bring the Peugeot TotalEnergies #94 car into the top ten, and in the opening practice sessions this seemed to be a realistic goal for a long time. Lap times were approaching those of the best Hypercar cars and, despite not having fully capitalised on qualifying, the goal was clear when Sunday’s six-hour race started.
The trio of Jakobsen, Vandoorne and Duval were well on their way to realising their ambition of a top 10 finish, but after the final round of pit stops the 94 car had fallen from eighth place to a disappointing 14th.
“The result is disappointing, especially when I look at what we achieved in the race. There were plenty of good opportunities and we drove a strong race out there, where I had good battles with Porsche, Cadillac and could easily hang on to the Toyota as well”, says Malthe Jakobsen, who as expected also gained a lot of valuable experience with the Peugeot 9X8 on the tight, classic race track:
“It was a super cool race, where I really had to focus when I had to overtake the GT cars, because there’s not much room to overtake. So it’s definitely been a fun and educational weekend for me again, and I feel like I’m growing with the task every time I’m in the car.”
In just three weeks, Malthe Jakobsen and Peugeot TotalEnergies will be back on track when the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is held at Spa-Francorchamps on 10 May. The race also marks the last venue on the calendar before the highlight of the year; the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June:
“We just need to get back on the horse and continue the hard work towards Spa-Francorchamps. We have all the elements to deliver a good result. Now we need to put them together, because then I have no doubt that we will arrive at Le Mans stronger and deliver a good result for our home crowd – and not least the Danish fans”, says Malthe Jakobsen.
