Disappointment for Mikkel Jensen After Tough Le Mans

The French Peugeot prototypes never found their rhythm in this year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with both factory cars finishing outside the top 10 in the Hypercar class.

Once again, Mikkel Jensen and his teammates from Team Peugeot TotalEnergies were unable to secure a top result in the 24-hour classic at Le Mans. The legendary French endurance race – the highlight of the year for the French factory team – turned into an exceptionally long and frustrating ordeal for the Dane, who finished in a disappointing 17th place in the 21-car Hypercar field.

“It was really poor, and of course we’re deeply disappointed. We knew from the start that we would struggle to fight at the front simply because we weren’t fast enough. But with consistent driving, good strategy, and a bit of luck along the way, the goal was to finish in the top half of the field. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” said Mikkel Jensen.

The trouble began already during the first hour of the race on Saturday afternoon, when teammate Paul Di Resta went off track and hit a barrier, forcing the car into the pits for a new rear-end cover. The incident cost several positions, but the team was working its way back when, around midnight, the French Hypercar suddenly lost power steering and had to return to the pits, where the car remained in the garage for more than 15 minutes.

“That was effectively the end of the race for us. We got back on track and kept going – because that’s what you do at Le Mans – but there was no chance of making up the lost laps,” explained Mikkel Jensen.

“It was a shame, because apart from the lack of top speed, our Peugeot 9X8 actually ran well and felt stable. I believe we could have finished in a decent position if we hadn’t been hit by those issues. Since our debut at Le Mans, the results have only gotten worse, which is clearly not good enough, and we have a lot of work ahead of us before the next round of the world championship,” he added.

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place on the Brazilian Formula 1 circuit Interlagos in São Paulo on July 13. However, Mikkel Jensen will already be back in action this coming weekend, competing in the LMP2 class at the American six-hour race at Watkins Glen in upstate New York with TDS Racing.