2009 24 Hours of Le Mans - Peugeot Protest

Peugeot Protest

On Monday, 8 June, following scrutineering and approval of the Audi R15 TDI by the ACO, Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel stated that the team may file a protest over the legality of certain elements of the R15 TDI's design. This protest was officially filed two days later, immediately before the start of practice. Peugeot believes that the R15 features aerodynamic elements on the front of the car which violate the ACO's regulations about devices which may increase the amount of front downforce. Peugeot, as well as fellow competitors Aston Martin Racing and Oreca, initially questioned these aerodynamic elements at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring in March, but were assured that the ACO would evaluate them prior to Le Mans.

Later that night, Peugeot received a response from the ACO stating that it would not uphold the protest. The ACO stated that they have the ability through their own regulations to determine if an aerodynamic element's sole purpose is to create downforce. Peugeot responded within an hour by appealing this decision. A decision on this appeal however would not be made until after the race had taken place, thus allowing Audi to continue to compete. Audi stated that they believed the matter was between Peugeot and the ACO, and that their car was legal.

Following the race, Peugeot announced that they were withdrawing their appeal of the scrutineer's decision. Peugeot cited a planned increase in communication between manufacturers and the ACO as their reasoning for the withdrawal.