It’s official, Team Peugeot will contest this year’s Petite Le mans at the Road Atlanta circuit in the USA.  Peugeot Sport Director Michel Barge, said the entry into the American classic would be an important part of the teams preparation for next year’s Le mans 24 Hour endurance classic which saw the 908 HDi FAPs finish second, third and fifth in the teams second appearance at Le Sarthe.

“Like any top sportsman who senses he or she has the ability, we are obviously disappointed to have so narrowly missed out on victory in June. Even so, we played a leading role in what proved to be a thrilling race and we can be proud of the tremendous, exemplary work our team has put in since the beginning of this project.  he said. Mr Barge said that the team was  looking forward to the release race regulations for 2009 which the ACO is due to reveal in the coming weeks.

A programme of testing and racing has been established and this includes the entry of two 908 HDi FAPs for the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on October 1-4. The teams will consist of drivers  Marc GENE/Christian KLIEN/Nicolas MINASSIAN in the No. 7 machine and Pedro LAMY/Stéphane SARRAZIN/Alexander WURZ in car No. 8. 

Peugeot Technical Director Bruno Famin said that last June’s Le Mans showed, (that) “it takes experience to take on a competitor that has the benefit of 10 years of this race behind it and which stays match fit by contesting 12 more races during the season compared with Peugeot, namely the ALMS in which it faces opponents like Porsche and Acura. Petit Le Mans is about traffic, safety car interventions and strategy, but it is above all 1,000 miles – or up to 10 hours – of fierce racing, which is sufficient to enable us to collect some very valuable data and information.“ 

The news has of course delighted ALMS organisers “Peugeot thrilled our fans with their stunningly beautiful cars, leading-edge clean diesel technology and fantastic speed,“ said Scott Atherton, Series President and CEO. “Our fans at Petit Le Mans…are in for the same treat. he said. The return to the ALMS is likely to be a temporary one however with Peugeot marketing manager Michel Peugeot telling In Pit Lane at Le Mans in 2007 that there was little value in doing the series full time as Peugeot currently does not market cars into the USA. The decision will also be welcomed by Audi given the team more relevant competition in the P1 class.

For all the latest American Le Mans Series News check out the series website.