Simon Pagenaud had a stunning season in the IndyCar Series this year at the wheel of the #22 Dallara DW12 Chevrolet. In the lead of the championship for most of the season, he managed masterfully to deal with, among other things, the return of his most serious rival, Will Power. "Team Penske did sensational work this year. Everything went very well, our communication, pit stops, strategy. Also, my engineer Ben Bretzman, who has been with me since 2010, succeeded in giving me the best car possible every time. It was an incredible season. In the end, I clinched the title. The last race was really emotional. It was a great achievement, I started my career at seven years old and now I'm 32. It's the fruition of everything I've been able to do, a childhood dream turned reality. My only regret this year is the Indianapolis 500 (the French driver was delayed by a penalty during the race, Ed.)."

More used to driving single-seaters, the French driver is still very interested in endurance racing, a discipline of which he is quite fond. In 2015, he competed with Corvette Racing in certain rounds of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and this year, he raced in the top class in a Daytona Prototype. He admits: "These cars are nothing like what I drive the rest of the year in the IndyCar Series. I guess the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP at Le Mans most resembles my single-seater of today. Meanwhile, I'm having a ball at the wheel of the endurance cars because they're true racing cars. Also, in this discipline, you can do a lot of laps and have time to work on the little details of your driving and there's the traffic which makes things interesting."

Simon Pagenaud talks about his return to the 24 Hours: "I would like to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans again, but I want to come back to win, I had the opportunity with Peugeot, by example. With what happened to me this season in the U.S., I don't want to do a race unless I'm at the top. I am a competitor, I want to fight to win. To get to the level I am today in IndyCar, it takes so much time that it's hard to do both at the same time. That's why I competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona before the start of the season and Petit Le Mans at the end. If I had the opportunity with a good team, if Peugeot returned for example, it would be great and I would ask for the OK from Roger (Penske, the owner of Simon Pagenaud's team, Ed.). For now though, my priority remains IndyCar."

The French driver has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times, between 2008 and 2011 (once with Team Oreca in a Courage Oreca LC70-Judd and the other three with Peugeot Sport, Ed.). Naturally, he has fantastic memories, but also one disappointment. "In 2010, we had an exceptional car, glued to the track, it was a jet fighter. I remember Sébastien Bourdais' pole position. Yet, I never got to drive in the race, we were forced to retire. It was a big disappointment. Other than that, I have great memories like my last stint in 2011 and my battle with the Audi R18 TDI (#2 of winners Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer, the two cars separated by only 13 seconds after 24 hours of racing, Ed.). Unfortunately we lost, but I remember the moments. I gave everything I had to give. I burst into tears after crossing the finish line, not of sadness, but of exhaustion and emotion. Le Mans causes a lot of feelings, you are so tired, but you give it your all! The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a roller coaster of emotion. It's an exceptional race, I would like to do it again."

In 2017, Simon Pagenaud will compete in a new season of the IndyCar Series with the same team, Team Penske.

Photo: Simon Pagenaud at the wheel of the Peugeot 908 at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans (with Sébastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy).