FIA WEC: Quick Mikkel Jensen Missed Out on Spa Podium

An unfortunate timed pit stop cost the Danish Peugeot works driver a shot at the podium in round three of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francorchamps.

Things were looking promising for Mikkel Jensen and the rest of the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies crew during Saturday afternoon’s third round of the World Endurance Championship at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The Danish factory driver, alongside teammates Jean-Éric Vergne and Paul Di Resta, was flying in the six-hour world championship race, where their Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar proved to be highly competitive in front of nearly 100,000 spectators at the Belgian circuit.

However, the Danish-French-British trio had to settle for a disappointing 11th place in the tightly contested race after an ill-timed pit stop four hours in ultimately proved costly for the team.

“Four hours into the race we were running in fourth and had really strong pace in the car. Unfortunately, we missed a pit stop opportunity under a safety car, which meant we had to do an extra lap while all our competitors pitted and gained a huge advantage. That blunder dropped us all the way down to 16th once the race went green again, and from there it was a tough battle to recover,” said Mikkel Jensen.

“It's hugely frustrating, especially because we were genuinely competitive today. I believe a podium finish was within reach, but we threw that chance away. Still, there’s a lot of positives to take from the weekend, which was also our main objective in getting ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month. So, no top result today, but a big confidence boost ahead of the season’s highlight, the Dane added.

This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – the 93rd running of the legendary endurance race – will take place on 14–15 June. It will mark Mikkel Jensen’s sixth start at the classic, where he has previously competed in the GT, LMP2, and Hypercar classes.