DG Sport Compétition will head to Circuit Zolder this week for further testing of their new Peugeot 308 TCR, after the opening weekend of the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in Morocco yielded just one top ten finish.
Frenchman Aurélien Comte secured the first top ten finish for the new Peugeot 308 TCR in the opening race in Marrakech, as the 29-year-old finished eighth in race one.
However, Comte was unable to replicate that from on Sunday, when he suffered from a broken intercooler after contact with a rival and was forced to retire.
A subsequent electrical issue then prevented Comte from taking the start in the final race of the weekend.
Mat’o Homola, meanwhile, retired from the first race with accident damage sustained on the opening lap.
The Slovakian racer then finished races two and three just outside the points in 12th and 13th position respectively.
“It goes without saying that we would have wished to return to Belgium with more points,” said Team Principal Christian Jupsin. “But taking into account the level of this championship and the youthfulness of our car, I am satisfied with these first steps. The Peugeot 308 TCR is reliable and performs well and the team worked well.
“As from Thursday we will be at Circuit Zolder to take advantage of the information gathered in Marrakech and test the various technical configurations.
“I’m confident that we will swiftly progress with a view to a first podium during one of the following meetings.”
Technical Director Lionel Hansen was pleased with the results of the car in its first major international race.
“We are obviously delighted that our ‘lions’ promptly proved their reliability and performance”, said Hansen. “This first event showed that there was hardly anything between all the makes.
“As they are represented by teams of an extremely high level with the best specialists of the discipline, the battle is extremely tight and in qualifying, two tenths of a second won or lost [can mean] the loss of seven or eight places in the hierarchy.
“The meeting in Marrakech has encouraged me regarding the major potential of the Peugeot 308 TCR and our team that is about to experience a gripping season!”