Pagenaud spoke to Peugeot about return for 2022 WEC
Daytona 24 Hours winner Simon Pagenaud has revealed he talked to Peugeot about joining its World Endurance Championship assault as he looks to fulfil his ambition to win Le Mans.
The Frenchman, who triumphed at the Indy 500 with Penske in 2019, outlined his desire to win the Le Mans 24 Hours after claiming his first victory in its US equivalent at Daytona last weekend with the Meyer Shank Racing Acura squad.
He explained that it was "only natural" that he talked to a manufacturer with which he contested the French enduro three times, which included a second-place finish in the last of his participations in the race back in 2011.
"As a Frenchman I'm still working like hell to go back to Le Mans to try to win it," he told Autosport.
"I'm following what's happening with the Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh classes very closely, because I want to go back to Le Mans and tick that box after falling short by 13s in 2011.
"It's all about winning the big races for me."
He explained that the details of his conversations with Peugeot will "remain confidential" and that there "were a lot of factors why it couldn't happen".
Peugeot Hypercar 9X8
Photo by: Monza Eni Circuit
Pagenaud, who has moved from Penske to MSR for what will be his 11th full IndyCar campaign in 2022, acknowledged the difficulty of returning to Le Mans while he remains in the North American single-seater series.
He insisted that he had no plans to turn his back on IndyCar.
"I have a long-term vision of my future in IndyCar; I'm only 37 and I'm not done yet," said the 2016 series champion with Penske.
"There are IndyCar drivers like Sebastien [Bourdais] and Scott Dixon who have done it in recent years, so it's not impossible.
"I'm going to continue to push the doors to see if I can make it happen."
Le Mans clashes with the Road America IndyCar round this year, while there are three other date conflicts between the WEC and the IndyCar Series in 2022.
The IndyCar schedule traditionally doesn't have a race on Le Mans weekend, but teams competing in the prototype ranks of the WEC generally run three drivers across the full season.
Bourdais and Dixon were regulars at Le Mans with the Ganassi Ford GTE Pro squad at the end of 2010s, but they were stepping in as additional drivers at a team contesting the IMSA series with two regulars.
Related video
Lamborghini decision imminent on LMDh project for 2024
Celebrating the weird and wonderful monsters of sportscar racing
In the third episode on the behind-the-scenes at the Monza round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, attention turns to the pre-race preparations.
WRT to run BMW's factory LMDh team in WEC after Audi split
Successful sportscar outfit WRT will run BMW's World Endurance Championship LMDh programme in 2024 after splitting with Audi, and is expected to race the Bavarian marque's GT3 machinery next season.
WRT and Audi to part ways at the end of 2022
The Belgian WRT squad will end its partnership with Audi in the GT3 arena after 13 seasons at the end of this year.
Porsche unveils latest generation 911 GT3 car
Porsche has focused on driveability on the new GT3 contender it unveiled ahead of this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours.
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return
The Peugeot 9X8 will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend. The French manufacturer has gone radical and will be hoping it doesn’t need to overhaul its contender, as it did with its first Le Mans challenger…
Why Peugeot's sportscar return will capture the imagination
OPINION: Peugeot will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend with the 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar that has ignored design conventions by eschewing a rear wing. Its distinctive look will help sportscar racing appeal to fresh audiences as a new golden era is ushered in
How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
How an Italian junior formula giant is readying for its Le Mans future
Prema remains a colossus in single-seaters, but the serial Formula 2 and Formula 3 title-winning squad has joined forces with top GT squad Iron Lynx for an attack on sportscars in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Ahead of its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its sights are firmly fixed on LMP2 glory – and a future in Hypercars next year...
The British rookies targeting a good first impression at Le Mans
Three young Britons will make their first starts in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend in the highly-competitive 23-car GTE Am field. But how did they get here? Autosport hears their stories.
The wingless wonder Peugeot hopes will restore it to Le Mans glory
Peugeot went radical with the initial plan for its Le Mans Hypercar project, and then stuck to its guns. Here’s how things are shaping up a few weeks before the debut of the 9X8 in next month's Monza World Endurance Championship round
How Toyota’s sole survivor turned the tables at Spa
After a chastening opening to the season at Sebring that ended in an enormous accident, Toyota's #7 crew got their World Endurance Championship underway with victory at a treacherously slippery Spa to make up for its sister car's Sebring defeat to Alpine, as Glickenhaus's promising qualifying turned to disaster in the race