The Peugeot RCZ won the D1T class at the 24 hour race last weekend. The French company had two 2.0 litre diesel powered cars entered in the race and it was the #201 entry that puffed its way to line honours. Car #200, pictured above, came home third in class.

Here’s a tip to Peugeot, if you’re going to go to the bother of sending a factory-backed team to one of the toughest races on the planet for the purposes of gaining marketing leverage at least have the decency to provide some press images of the cars in action. The winning car, too, preferably.

If you can be bothered, Peuegot’s press release is available below.

Peugeot RCZ Victory in the 24h Nürburgring

To mark the release of its new series, the Peugeot RCZ, Peugeot participated, for the first time in the 24 hours of Nürburgring.

Automobiles Peugeot, by its participation hoped to contribute to the reputation of its new coupe, within a market with an appetite for sports cars.

In the category D1T, Peugeot entered two 2.0 l HDi FAP vehicles each developing 147 kW (200 bhp). The two entries were essentially unmodified RCZ vehicles, with the exception of specific parts designed for “competition” created by Peugeot Sport with the aim of powering both vehicles up from 163 hp to 200 hp.

Both RCZ, numbered 200 and 201, (to symbolize the 200 years of industrial adventure of the brand) were controlled respectively by a French Peugeot crew and a German Peugeot crew and included Jean-Philippe Peugeot, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PSA, Stéphane Caillet, Cyrus Ayari, and Oliver Perez.

Jean-Philippe Peugeot had set the tone in earlier interviews: “Peugeot does not come to Nürburgring to make representation. We come to demonstrate Peugeot’s commitment to performance and reliability”.

The RCZ Peugeot German team won the 38rd edition of 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the D1T category. The French crew unfortunately suffered technical problems following a collision and landed a creditable third place.

The act of demonstration was true throughout the entire race whereby the two RCZ fought amid fierce competition. A few minutes after departure, the two lionesses were respectively the 5th and 6th positions. Over the duration of the race, French and German pilots gradually gained more and more ground, getting closer and closer to the head of the class.

Just hours before the end of the race, the German team were at the top of the category D1T and the 24 hours Nürburgring ended with the victory of the Peugeot 201 RCZ of the German crew and in the 51st place overall.

The No. 200 RCZ French drivers finished 3rd in his category and 82nd overall. Both vehicles doing precisely what Automobiles Peugeot had hoped to achieve.

Automobiles Peugeot celebrated its 200th anniversary this past weekend and this win at Nürburgring strikes a poignant note by demonstrating that its latest sports coupe is efficient and unfailing.

The RCZ is due to be launched on Australian shores in Q3 of this year.