After a fiercely contested 10-minute session, Théo Pourchaire (PEUGEOT 9X8 #94) secured fifth place on the starting grid, just 0.253 seconds off pole position. His teammate Nick Cassidy (PEUGEOT 9X8 #93) qualified ninth.
The Italian weather during this first race weekend of November did not make it easy for the drivers and teams ahead of qualifying at Monza. All three free practice sessions were held on a damp track, with the field running on wet-weather tyres. For the first time this weekend, track conditions allowed drivers to run on slick tyres.
Théo Pourchaire and Nick Cassidy headed into qualifying with the objective of securing the best possible grid positions for their respective cars. Both PEUGEOT 9X8s looked particularly strong in the circuit's fast opening sector, repeatedly setting some of the quickest times between the start-finish line and the braking zone for the second chicane.
With both cars starting from fifth and ninth on the grid, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies will now look to end the 2026 season on a positive note by scoring as many points as possible over the six-hour race.
The final race start of the season will be given this Sunday at 11:00. The srace will be broadcast live on FIAWEC+ and on television.
Emmanuel Esnault, Team Principal - Team Peugeot TotalEnergies
“It is certainly very satisfying to have both cars in the top 10. That was one of our objectives for the weekend. The next one is to reach the top five tomorrow. Nick did a good job in his first qualifying session, as did Théo. The team did a great job adapting the car to the track conditions for qualifying. It is now up to us to turn all this into a good result tomorrow. Most importantly, the whole team continues to give everything to extract the maximum performance from our cars. One thing is certain: we will give our all right through to the final metre of this season’s race.”
Nick Cassidy (PEUGEOT 9X8 #93)
“I’m very happy to have put the car through to Hyperpole. It was my first qualifying session with the team and I’d like to thank them for the trust they have placed in me. Our engineer did a great job and, overall, the whole team and the drivers have been working really well since the start of the weekend. I’m really looking forward to competing in the final race of the season tomorrow.”
Théo Pourchaire (PEUGEOT 9X8 #94)
“This was my second qualifying session with the PEUGEOT 9X8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship and I’m very happy to have made it through to Hyperpole. Fifth place is a very satisfying result and will give us a good starting position for the race. I’m very happy and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. I’m confident that we will have a good opportunity to fight for a strong result in the final race of the year.”
