So, I’ve been digging into what car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009. It’s a pretty cool story, actually. Turns out, it was the Peugeot 908 HDi that took the crown that year.

I started by checking out some general info about the race. It was the 77th time they ran it, and Peugeot put an end to a long streak of German cars winning. That alone made me want to find out more about this French car.
- First off, I watched some old race footage. Man, that Peugeot was sleek! It looked fast just sitting there.
- Then, I read up on the team’s strategy. Apparently, they had some issues in previous years with their plans during the race, but they fixed all that for 2009. Smart move!
- I also found out that the drivers were David Brabham, Marc Gen, and Alexander Wurz. It was awesome to learn they had an Australian guy on the team.
This car was apparently faster than the Audis right from the start, but in the previous years, it had problems and spent too much time for repair. However, in 2008, they improved the car a lot.
I tried to see why they stopped using it in the American Le Mans Series. It looked like they just focused on Le Mans in Europe and a couple of races in the US. Makes sense, I guess, if you’re going to put all your eggs in one basket.
What really got me was how this win was a big deal for Peugeot. They hadn’t won in a while, and this victory was like a comeback for them, they were back in the game. It got them a lot of attention and I am sure their car sales also got a boost!
Anyway, that’s the gist of what I found out. It was a fun little research project, and now I’ve got a new appreciation for the Peugeot 908 HDi and the whole Le Mans race.

It’s way more than just a race
I also learned a lot about the background. The company was going through changes. Their bosses decided to stop throwing money into racing for a bit, so the racing team had to deal with budget cuts. Winning Le Mans was a big deal for them and helped bring them back into the spotlight.
Reading about this car and this race showed me that it’s way more than just cars going around a track. There’s so much history, strategy, and teamwork involved. It’s pretty awesome when you think about it.