Doriane Pin is set to take an important step toward a potential future role with Peugeot Sport when she tests the team’s 9X8 Hypercar at Circuit Paul Ricard at the beginning of December. The test will be Pin’s first experience in a Hypercar and comes as Peugeot moves closer to finalising its plans for the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Pin was named to a development role with Peugeot Sport in March, but the planned opportunity to evaluate her at the Bahrain Rookie Test was lost after the event was cancelled amid the situation in the Middle East. The Paul Ricard test will instead give the 2025 F1 Academy champion the chance to drive the current-specification 2026 9X8.
The test is not intended to immediately assess Pin for a race seat, but rather to determine whether she is suited to a development and testing role, with a potential reserve-driver position also a possibility. Peugeot is taking a similar approach to that used with Malthe Jakobsen and Alex Quinn, both of whom impressed during previous rookie tests.
Pin arrives with strong LMP2 form in 2026, but the Hypercar represents a substantially different challenge. The current 9X8 has been a demanding car to extract maximum performance from, while Pin’s weight, an advantage in some aspects of her LMP2 programme, is affected differently by Hypercar regulations. Peugeot Sport team principal Emmanuel Esnault said the test will be conducted under representative ballast and weight conditions to allow the team to make a proper assessment of her performance.
If Pin takes the wheel as planned, she will become the third female driver to test a Hypercar, following Jamie Chadwick and Lilou Wadoux. Chadwick has driven Genesis Magma Racing’s GMR-001, including during the Le Mans Test Day, while Wadoux has tested Ferrari’s 499P during two Bahrain Rookie Tests. Their progress reflects a growing pathway for female drivers toward factory endurance-racing programmes, with Chadwick linked to Genesis’ Trajectory Programme and Pin being evaluated through Peugeot Sport’s development structure.
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