Alpine Hypercar reserve driver Jules Gounon will replace Paul-Loup Chatin as part of a prearranged FIA World Endurance Championship outing at the 6 Hours of Fuji.
Gounon will participate in the 2024 FIA WEC for the third time in the #35 Alpine A424, after doing so earlier this season at the 6 Hours of Imola and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps to replace an injured Ferdinand Habsburg.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver will co-drive with Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg who recently scored a fifth-placed finish at the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas.
In a press release, Alpine stated that this swap was agreed before the season with intentions for Gounon, as reserve driver, “to continue his Hypercar learning process after his impromptu debuts” and that “Paul-Loup Chatin will return to the #35 car for the 8 Hours of Bahrain.”
Team principal Philippe Sinault gave his preview of the penultimate round of the 2024 season:
“Fuji is one of the most iconic races on the calendar and in motorsport, with Mount Fuji as backdrop.
“Every year, this race shows us how important the Alpine community is in Japan and how lucky we are to have their support.
“With very little time between Austin and Fuji, the logistical side of things is a real tour de force.
“The teams are working intensely, and ours will arrive on Monday to start servicing the cars.
“The aim is to continue the momentum from Austin, where we showed improvement in our level of performance, even though we still have much to learn.
“We’ve made progress in understanding the setup and the tyres, and we hope to get off to a good start in free practice 1.
“Fuji has several characteristics that we’ll have to get to grips with, starting with its duality with a lengthy straight coupled with a very twisty final sector. The weather will also be a factor, as we can expect to encounter a wet track at some point during the weekend.
“We’ll be ready for every scenario at this round, where we will welcome back Jules.
“His participation will give him additional experience, and he’ll be able to see the progress made since his last race with us at Spa [Round 3].”
The 6 Hours of Fuji will take place on Sunday 15 September with Alpine once again continuing their momentum against the Hypercar competition.
