Alex Quinn will make his FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar debut earlier than expected, with Team Peugeot TotalEnergies confirming the British driver for the final two rounds of the 2026 season at Barcelona and Monza.
The 25-year-old will replace Stoffel Vandoorne in the #93 Peugeot 9X8, joining Nick Cassidy and Paul Di Resta for the 6 Hours of Barcelona on 16–18 October and the season finale at Monza on 6–8 November. The announcement comes just days after Peugeot confirmed Quinn’s promotion from test and development driver to a full-time race seat for 2027.
Quinn enters the Hypercar category following an impressive endurance racing campaign, which included LMP2 class victories at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside the 2026 IMSA LMP2 Championship. His early promotion will allow him to gain valuable race experience with Peugeot before beginning his first full WEC season next year.
Quinn makes early step into Peugeot’s Hypercar line-up
Peugeot has accelerated Quinn’s progression into its race programme, bringing forward his WEC debut following Vandoorne’s departure after the 6 Hours of Fuji in September.
The Belgian’s departure from Peugeot after the Japanese round created a vacancy in the #93 Hypercar alongside Cassidy and Di Resta. Although Peugeot had already confirmed Quinn for a full-time role in 2027, the manufacturer has now selected him to complete the current campaign.
The decision provides Quinn with an opportunity to gain competitive experience in the 9X8 after spending much of 2026 supporting Peugeot’s development programme. Having already worked closely with the team during testing, he will now face the additional demands of racing against the established Hypercar field.
Quinn expressed his enthusiasm about making his debut at Barcelona, highlighting his existing familiarity with the team while acknowledging the challenge of adapting to his new race role.
“I’m really excited to get on-track in Barcelona,” Quinn said. “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 Barcelona weekend will provide Quinn with his first competitive outing in the Peugeot 9X8, although his experience from the manufacturer’s testing programme should help ease the transition. He will also benefit from sharing the car with Cassidy and Di Resta, both of whom have competed throughout the 2026 WEC season.
Strong LMP2 performances accelerate Quinn’s progression
Quinn’s early promotion follows a successful season in prototype racing, which has strengthened his reputation as one of the leading young endurance drivers.
The British racer began the year by winning the LMP2 class at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with CrowdStrike Racing by Algarve Pro Racing. He subsequently added another significant achievement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, securing LMP2 Pro/Am victory alongside George Kurtz and Laurin Heinrich.
His success continued in IMSA, where he claimed the 2026 LMP2 Championship following a dramatic conclusion to the season at Petit Le Mans. These results added to the experience he had already gained through several campaigns in the European Le Mans Series.
Peugeot had previously confirmed Quinn’s promotion to a full-time WEC race seat for 2027, rewarding his performances in LMP2 and his contributions to the manufacturer’s testing and development activities.
Quinn first drove the 9X8 during the FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain in November 2025 before joining Peugeot as a test and development driver for the 2026 season. Since then, he has worked alongside the team as it prepares a significantly evolved version of its Hypercar for 2027.
His participation in the final two rounds of 2026 therefore represents an important opportunity to translate his testing experience into competitive racing. It will also allow Peugeot to assess his adaptation to the demands of the Hypercar category before the next phase of its programme.
Peugeot seeks to build on improved Fuji performance
While Quinn prepares for his debut in the #93, Peugeot will also look to build on the progress demonstrated by its sister #94 entry during the previous round at Fuji.
The car, shared by Théo Pourchaire, Loïc Duval and Malthe Jakobsen, secured sixth place in Japan, recording Peugeot’s strongest result of the 2026 campaign. The finish also represented the #94 crew’s third points-scoring result across the previous four races.
The Fuji race saw Peugeot recover to sixth, splitting the two Cadillac entries and securing valuable Championship points after another challenging weekend for the French manufacturer.
Peugeot will now aim to carry that momentum into Barcelona, where the team hopes to improve its competitiveness before the final race at Monza.
Pourchaire looking forward to Barcelona return
Pourchaire brings previous experience of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having competed there in the European Le Mans Series in 2025. However, he expects the venue to present a different challenge for the WEC field, particularly as Barcelona has not previously hosted a round of the championship.
“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 explained. “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.”
The Frenchman’s comments highlight the importance of qualifying and race strategy at Barcelona, where overtaking opportunities can prove limited. With traffic management also playing a significant role in endurance racing, Peugeot will need to maximise its performance across the weekend to challenge for another strong result.
Barcelona presents important challenge for Peugeot
The 2026 6 Hours of Barcelona will mark the first FIA WEC race in Spain, providing teams with a new competitive challenge as the Championship approaches its conclusion.
Although several drivers have previously competed at the circuit in other categories, the Barcelona round introduces a new venue to the 2026 WEC calendar. Teams will therefore need to adapt their race strategies and tyre management approaches to the demands of the circuit.
For Peugeot, the event also holds particular importance because Spain represents a significant market for the manufacturer. Team Principal Emmanuel Esnault believes the squad can build on its experience at the venue and its recent improvement at Fuji to challenge for a stronger 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,” Esnault said.
“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.”
Esnault’s comments underline Peugeot’s dual objectives across the final two rounds. While the manufacturer wants to improve its results before the season concludes, it also aims to use the remaining races to prepare Quinn for his full-time role in 2027.
Early WEC debut gives Quinn valuable preparation for 2027
Quinn’s participation in Barcelona and Monza will provide an important foundation for his first full campaign in the Hypercar category.
Although his previous experience in LMP2 has prepared him for multi-class endurance racing, the Peugeot 9X8 presents additional demands, particularly in terms of hybrid systems, technical complexity and managing performance against established manufacturer teams.
His early promotion also gives Peugeot an opportunity to integrate him further into its race operations before introducing the evolved 9X8 in 2027. Having already contributed to the development programme, Quinn can now gain first-hand experience of race strategy, traffic management and competitive stints in the car.
Meanwhile, Peugeot will continue targeting stronger results with both entries after a challenging 2026 campaign. The #94’s sixth-place finish at Fuji provided encouragement, while the arrival of Quinn offers another opportunity to strengthen the #93 crew.
The 6 Hours of Barcelona will take place on 16–18 October, before the Championship concludes at Monza on 6–8 November. For Quinn, the two races will mark the beginning of his WEC Hypercar career and provide valuable preparation ahead of his full-time Peugeot programme in 2027.
