Peugeot Total aim to score as much points as possible with unchanged car in Silverstone.

PHOTO CREDIT: Team Peugeot Total

Fresh from a victory in Belgium 10 days ago, Team Peugeot Total heads to England and the legendary Silverstone circuit: also known as ‘the home of British motorsport’. 

The Silverstone circuit was previously used for the World RX pre-season test and media day in March, so the drivers already have some limited experience of it. 10 days prior to that, Sébastien Loeb also won the opening round of the British Rallycross Championship there, which he contested as a practice event, along with Timmy Hansen, who finished 2nd. The 0.972-kilometre track is very technical and consists of 40% asphalt and 60% gravel.

Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director
“Our goal at Silverstone remains unchanged: we want to score as many points as possible in both the teams’ and drivers’ championships and make as much progress as we can up the classifications. The cars are also unchanged: we have the same specification as we did in Belgium, which worked well. Silverstone is of course very different: the track is slow. We have a small experience there but no real reference, so it’s hard to know exactly what to expect. The Silverstone round is being held as part of the Speedmachine Festival, with concerts and other entertainments planned, so we look forward to seeing how rallycross fits in with this interesting new concept organised by the promoter, and see if we can attract new people around motorsport competition.”

Sébastien Loeb [Championship Standings: 2nd place - 66 points]
“I’m feeling very positive after our win in Belgium and obviously the target is to continue on the same trajectory. I competed on the Silverstone track before, but the level of competition will be higher this weekend and also it was practically snowing back then, so I do not think you can really compare it! At any time of year, you can never predict the weather in England, so we have to be prepared for anything. The track itself is quite slow, which is a pity as I think there was space to make some faster sections as well, but we will take everything as it comes and just do our best as always, with the simple aim of improving our position in the championships. It’s the same for everybody.”

Timmy Hansen [Championship Standings: 5th place - 59 points]
“While Silverstone is nothing like any of the other tracks we’ve raced on, we’ve been quick in Barcelona, Montalegre and Mettet – which are all very different to each other – so there’s no reason to think that we can’t be quick in Silverstone too and fight for the win. The key thing I think will be to find good traction out of all the slow corners. We’ll see what the circuit is like when we get there – hopefully in a bit better condition to when we were there before – but the main thing is that it should be a really cool weekend with the Festival as well, so I think everyone will have a good time. I’m looking forward to getting there.”

Kevin Hansen - Independent Driver [Championship Standings: 12th place - 26 points]
“I’ve only tested at the Silverstone circuit, but I can say that it’s certainly very different to anything else: it’s very technical with most of the corners taken in second gear. The start-finish straight is really the only place where you get to open the car up a bit: the rest is mainly 90-degree corners and hairpin bends. I really enjoy the challenge of mastering different circuits though and I feel that I’ve learned a lot this year – about myself as well – so I’ll be walking into Silverstone with a big smile on my face! I’ve come close but not quite had the results I wanted so far: I think Silverstone could mark a real turning point. With another new circuit coming up later this year, at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Silverstone will be an interesting learning opportunity for all of us about how to tackle a new venue.”