Alex Quinn is not waiting until 2027 to make his debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship after all. Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has officially announced that the rising British star will jump straight into a race seat for the final two rounds of the current campaign.
Only last week, the French manufacturer revealed that the recently-crowned IMSA LMP2 class champion would be promoted from his test and development role to a full-time seat with the Lions next year. Now, the 25-year-old is making an immediate leap to the pinnacle of international endurance racing. He takes over the seat vacated by Stoffel Vandoorne—who confirmed that Fuji was his final event—and will share the #93 9X8 Hypercar with Nick Cassidy and Paul Di Resta. This rapid promotion kicks off immediately in Catalunya this weekend from 16-18 October, followed by the season finale at Monza from 6-8 November.
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,
“I’m really excited to get on-track in Barcelona,” Quinn said. The driver, who also claimed class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this year, added, “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 for the team but also enjoy it along the way!”
Meanwhile, the sister #94 machine rolls into Spain carrying the manufacturer's best result of a tough campaign thus far, having fought back to sixth place in Japan for the team's third points-scoring finish in four races. Théo Pourchaire teams up with countryman Loïc Duval and fellow young gun Malthe Jakobsen in that car. The 23-year-old Frenchman is eager to keep that positive momentum rolling as the championship hits the first leg of its 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 noted. “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 also be important. We will give it everything we have to fight for another strong result.”
Team Principal Emmanuel Esnault highlighted the significance of the upcoming weekend, noting that Spain represents a key market for Peugeot as the FIA World Endurance Championship visits the country for the very first time. Boosted by the #94 crew's sixth-place fightback at Fuji, Esnault confirmed that the squad has already tested at the venue and that most of the driver lineup boasts prior experience there from other categories. Regarding the stunning call to accelerate Quinn's timeline, the Team Principal admitted that bringing the Briton into the #93 crew early was an obvious choice with an eye on the future, ensuring valuable mileage ahead of his full campaign starting in 2027.
