The virtual 24h du Mans 2023 welcomed a special crew this year. Team name? Peugeot Sport. Yes, after 3 victories at Le Mans in 1992, 1993 and 2009, followed by a withdrawal from endurance racing in 2011, Peugeot Sport is making a comeback in the World Endurance Championship. And to mark the occasion, they also wanted to take part in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans.
I was lucky enough to be invited by the brand to follow the event at their HQ in Satory, near Versailles. It was the perfect opportunity to take you along with me to follow the race preparations and interview the drivers. So, ready to make the trip together?
Here we go 🙂
A major challenge for a legendary manufacturer
As I said in the introduction, Peugeot Sport is making its comeback in endurance racing. For the occasion, they have entered the new Peugeot 9X8 in the FIA WEC. The Hypercar sits proudly at the heart of the room in which we are welcomed.
But we haven’t come this far just to admire its distinctive curves, thanks to theabsence of a rear spoiler. No, we’re here because Peugeot Sport has decided to enter a crew for the virtual 24 hours of Le Mans. The biggest simracing eSports event of the year, organized by Motorsport Games on the rFactor 2 game.
Peugeot sees this event as a way of taking its first official steps in simracing. At the same time, it’s a way of putting the spotlight on its real-life racing ambitions. The stakes are all the higher, as this kind of team created by a real manufacturer inevitably attracts more attention from other teams and the public alike. Especially as they have chosen to race in the LMP2 category (Hypercars are not present on rFactor 2). This category also includes Team Redline , whose star driver is Max Verstappen.
To leave nothing to chance, the Peugeot Sport teams have decided to be accompanied by none other than the R8G. Romain Grosjean ‘s eSports team is one of the most serious teams in the virtual world.
Because let’s not forget, even if we’re all fans of simracing here, there’s still a big gap between real and virtual racing. Peugeot therefore needed professional simracers to accompany the real drivers on the driving part, as well as a technical and engineering team capable of creating a customized setup for the virtual vehicle.
The arrival on site
It’s against this backdrop that the brand has also chosen to prepare the event at its Satory HQ. So, rather than being scattered around the world, the drivers will be on site with the rest of the team. A great way to encourage team building between professional pilots and simracers.
As we enter the main hall, we are first struck by the beauty of the 9X8. Then, as we turn our gaze to the left of the room, we’re surprised to see a 908, the last model to compete in endurance racing before the manufacturer withdrew in 2011.
Then panels of cubicles delimit the area in which we find the two simulators as well as the engineers’ workstations.
Finally, at the back of the room, there’s a podium on which stands one of the trophies won by Peugeot Sport at the Le Mans 24-hour race (2009). And, of course, there are screens everywhere to follow the race in real time.
The crew in charge of Peugeot Sport’s LMP2 car
But after a few minutes of drooling over all these surprises, it’s time to meet the humans behind the computers and simulators. As you know, to take part in the virtual 24h of Le Mans, each crew must include at least two professional drivers and two simracers. And the selected drivers are probably the nicest surprise we could have had.
See the article summarizing the crews and rules for the 2023 Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans
Gustavo Menezes, Pro Driver in the LMH class with the #94 TotalEnergies Peugeot
This 28-year-old American driver is a regular at Le Mans. He took part in the legendary race from 2016, that year winning the 24h du mans as well as the LMP2 championship. It continued until 2020, when its crew finished second in the LMP1 category at Le Mans.
In 2023, he’ll be back in the cockpit of the Peugeot 9X8 #94, but until the start of the WEC season, he’s ready to swallow up the miles on the virtual track.
Malthe Jakobsen, Pro Driver
This 19-year-old Danish driver has already proved his worth by winning the European Le Mans Series LMP3 in 2022.
He also had the privilege of testing in the Peugeot 9X8 last November for the Rookie Tests in Bahrain.
Maxime Brient, Sim Racer Pro
This 25-year-old French professional simracer brings his expertise to the team. This is his third appearance in the virtual 24h du Mans, and he will be a valuable asset in preparing the other drivers, as well as in setting up the vehicle and equipment.
Elliott Vayron, Simracer
Elliott Vayron is the surprise of the team! This 16-year-old driver already has a wealth of experience in real racing. His participation and results in the F4 2022 championship have shown him to be one of the most consistent drivers in his discipline.
When I say it’s a surprise, it’s because Valentin Mandernach was originally intended to complete the crew. But as he caught COVID a few days before the race, he had to give way to Elliott. As a result, he only had a few days to train!
Kévin Lacour, Reserve Driver
To choose their reserve driver, Peugeot Sport decided to launch an internal competition. The winner was Kévin Lacour, performance engineer on the 9X8 #93. He thus becomes a full member of the eSports team.
Simracing equipment prepared for the virtual 24h of Le Mans
It’s all up to the team to shine on the Le Mans track recreated in the rFactor 2 game. To give them every chance of success, and to facilitate driver training, there are two chassis in the box. The one on the right will be used during the race. The one on the left will be used for training, and can also be used as a back-up chassis in the event of a technical problem.
- Rig : Playseat Formula
- Wheelbase : Fanatec DD2
- Wheel : Fanatec Clubsport Formula V2.5
- Pedals : Venym Atrax (3 pedals pour the principal rig and 2 pedals pour the second rig)
Preparing the drivers
For some of the drivers, preparation began several months ago. But for Eliott Vayron, who is replacing Valentin Mandernach at short notice, there’s not a second to lose. From Tuesday 10th, he set to work to make up for lost time.
The Oreca 07 LMP2, the only LMP2 allowed in this competition, was tuned by the R8G team’s engineers. They were helped by feedback from the drivers. The Fanatec DD2 force feedback has also been carefully tuned, thanks to the experience of Maxime Brient and feedback from professional drivers.
On the brake side, however, we’re going to have to make some compromises. While simracers prefer long, soft brake pedals to avoid fatigue on long runs, pro riders want exactly the opposite. In the end, a compromise was found. They will use the Medium (green) treads of the Venym Atrax pedalset. And the pro riders will wear socks, while the simracers will wear shoes.
Note: I’m preparing an article for you in the next few days on the REALITY of racing car brake pedals, with interviews with the 3 pro drivers.
In terms of driving, it’s pretty interesting! Maxime Brient, the simracer pro, will be accompanying the real drivers to help them perform in the game. Say what you like… RFactor 2 isn’t (according to these same pro drivers) really a simulator at the pinnacle of realism. Whether in terms of grip, braking, vibrators, steering, setups, achievable times or track limits. It’s all very different. So we need to brief them on the limits to which they can push their virtual vehicle.
Test runs and first scares
January 12 is the test race. All crews are invited to log on for a test run of a few laps. But nothing goes quite as planned. A problem with the server meant that the first 3 laps of the race were considered training laps. Almost all drivers then received automatic Drive Through penalties.
This test obviously doesn’t reassure the teams. As everyone is well aware, server problems on rFactor 2 are present at every event. It’s one of the teams’ biggest fears. For a simple technical problem totally beyond their control, they could see months of work and a lot of invested money go up in smoke.
Friday: qualifying day
Qualifying takes place on Friday at 7.10pm. And before that, it’s a busy day. While Gustavo Menezes and Malthe Jakobsen are doing their sports training, Eliott Vayron and Maxime Brient are running laps around the track.
We learn that it’s going to rain. Maxime decides to do some laps in the rain to get used to the car’s handling. He gets his bearings, and the team watches closely. The aim is to find out how many laps he can do in the pouring rain before he has to go to the pits to put on the rain tires. Once the rain starts, they have 15 minutes before they have to change tires. All this while gradually increasing the Traction Control to 8 to ensure optimum grip.
Once they’ve warmed up, it’s time to test some fast laps. Of the 4 drivers, only three are able to take part in the qualifying session, as Maxime Brient is “on call” on another project and can’t risk being called in during the session. The three remaining drivers dropped their times, but it was Elliott Vayron who was chosen to run in qualifying. A fine achievement by the young driver, who had only a few days to train!
His times were almost identical to those of his colleagues. Above all, he didn’t have a single time cancelled for running off the track. And given that they’ll only have 2 attempts at qualifying, it’s with him that the chances are greatest of getting a respectable and, above all, clean time.
The qualifying session
The session starts at 7.10pm, and almost everyone leaves the pit box to let Elliott concentrate. I take my place in front of the broadcast screens with the other drivers to follow the qualifying session. The times are flying. The Porsche and Redline teams seem to be in a different time zone.
Suddenly, the pro drivers protest. “Y’a Track Limit là!!” Indeed, it’s clear that all the leading vehicles are exceeding the track limits on several sectors without being penalized. Maxime Brient, the simracer, reassures them that it’s normal on rF2, and that these corners can be taken wider to save time… So there you go.
Elliott hangs on and on his second attempt gets the car into P15! A more than respectable performance when you remember the circumstances that brought him here. Gustavo Menezes smiles at the pole time, however, and reminds us with a broad grin on his face that to lap the circuit in 3:20:5 with an Oreca 07 LMP2 is physically impossible in real life. Real times are between 3:28 and 3:30. But don’t worry, we’ll be talking about the differences between virtual and real very soon 😉
Anyway, congratulations Elliott! The car will start tomorrow from 15th place, with Malthe Jakobsen at the wheel for the first stint.
Saturday: The start of the virtual 24 hours of Le Mans
It’s race day. The strategies are ready, the drivers trained and ready to go. The whole Peugeot Sport team is looking forward to the moment. At 2.00 p.m. it’s off, Malthe is steady and cautious. We remember that this is a 24-hour endurance race, so we have to avoid mistakes at all costs, and above all make sure we finish the race.
But just 1 hour 10 minutes into the race, the first technical problem appeared. The Peugeot was disconnected from the server. Other teams were also ejected. It took a long, long time to get back on track. Driver ejections and red flags followed at regular intervals. Were drivers and teams dreading network problems? They’re in for a treat.
Race management even decided to cancel the rain that was due to arrive during the race. All team strategies were immediately scrapped. And with them, the interest of the drivers. But Peugeot held on, and despite all the problems associated with the game, finished a respectable 18th. When a certain Max Verstappen chose to retire after one too many server disconnections (race management refused to give him back the laps he had lost, the rest is history)
A first participation applauded
Peugeot Sport’s first participation in the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans was a serious one. The team went to great lengths to find the right drivers and partners. The objective was certainly not to win, but to have a clean race, to go all the way and prepare for the rest of the season with peace of mind. In that sense, it was a great success. If the team decides to continue its eSports adventures, Flo and I will be delighted to follow it closely!
rFactor 2 and Motorsport Games once again under the spotlight
But how can we end this article without mentioning the Motorsport Games debacle. After legal worries, extravagant audience figures, undivided control over major licenses, and in-game problems… No joy!
To take part in this edition of the virtual 24 hours of Le Mans, the teams had to spend an enormous amount of time preparing. That means committing financial resources, paying people to prepare the equipment, and paying drivers too. And then there’s the entry fee (rumor has it: €2,000 per car entered). All this to ensure that the race is constantly interrupted by server problems that render all strategies null and void! Not to mention the fact that race results were VERY badly affected, since disconnected drivers didn’t always recover lost laps, and of course the intervals between cars were also wiped out every time.
We’ve known for a long time that the takeover of Studio 397 by Motorsport Games risked putting rFactor 2 in an unenviable situation. Now it’s a done deal. Pro drivers and Simracers alike want improvements, and they want them now. Whether it’s the Track Limit, the management of vibrators, the steering shaft, braking or, above all, the stability of the servers during the race.
A big thank you to Peugeot Sport
Finally, I’d like to thank Peugeot Sport once again for bringing me one step closer to a childhood dream. Spending time with the drivers, meeting the teams, asking thousands of questions I’d only dreamed of asking… In short, it was a real pleasure to be there.
And I’ll see you very soon on the site for a series of exclusive articles and interviews conducted on site 😉
