Alex Quinn will not have to wait until 2027 to make his debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship after all, with Team Peugeot TotalEnergies announcing today that the rising British star will join its race line-up for the final two rounds of the current campaign.
Peugeot revealed last week that recently-crowned IMSA LMP2 class champion Quinn will be promoted from his present role as test and development driver to a fully-fledged race seat with the Lions next year.
Now, the French manufacturer has confirmed that the 25-year-old will make an immediate step up to international endurance racing’s very highest level, replacing Stoffel Vandoorne – who departed the squad after Fuji – alongside Nick Cassidy and Paul Di Resta in the #93 9X8 Hypercar both in Catalunya this weekend (16-18 October) and then again next month at Monza (6-8 November).
“I’m really excited to get on-track in Barcelona,” enthused Quinn, a class-winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this year. “I already feel at home with the Peugeot team, but the aim will be to streamline the settling-in process as much as possible. It’ll be a proud moment in my career, so I want to do a good job but also enjoy it along the way!”
The sister #94 Peugeot achieved the marque’s best finish of a thus far difficult campaign last time out with sixth place in Japan – its third points-scoring result in four races. Théo Pourchaire forms part of that car’s driving crew alongside countryman Loïc Duval and fellow young gun Malthe Jakobsen, and the 23-year-old Frenchman is hopeful the trio can maintain their positive momentum in the forthcoming first leg of FIA WEC’s end-of-season European double-header.
“I raced in Barcelona last year in the European Le Mans Series, but it will be a new challenge for a large part of the FIA WEC field, as it is not a regular circuit on the calendar,” Pourchaire acknowledged. “It will be interesting to see how everyone adapts to the track – particularly the teams that have not raced there recently.
“Barcelona is not an easy circuit for overtaking either, so it will be important to be competitive in qualifying to put ourselves in the best possible position for the race. Traffic management and strategy will be important, too. We will give it everything we have to fight for another strong result.”
“Spain is one of Peugeot’s key markets, so we are very pleased to be taking part in the first FIA World Endurance Championship race to be held in the country,” added Team Principal, Emmanuel Esnault.
“The team has had the opportunity to test there, and most of our drivers are familiar with the circuit, having raced there in other championships at some point in their careers. The #94’s fightback to sixth place at Fuji has also given us motivation to achieve an even better result in Barcelona. I believe we are ready.
“At the same time, we are also preparing for the future, so bringing Alex Quinn into the #93 line-up was an obvious decision. Knowing he will be one of our drivers from 2027 onwards, all the experience he can gain in Barcelona and at Monza will be very valuable.”
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