Gounon Returns to Alpine Hypercar Lineup at Fuji

Jules Gounon will return to Alpine’s FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar lineup at next week’s 6 Hours of Fuji, replacing Paul-Loup Chatin.

The Andorran driver is set to team up with Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg aboard the No. 35 Alpine A424 for the six-hour round at Fuji Speedway, with Chatin due to return at the season finale in Bahrain.

Alpine outlined in a statement that the swap between the two drivers was “agreed upon prior to the season” and will present Gounon with “the opportunity to continue his Hypercar learning process after his impromptu debuts at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps.”

Gounon took two part in two races at the wheel of the No. 35 car earlier in the season when he stood in for Habsburg after the Austrian was sidelined with a back injury after a testing crash at Motorland Aragon.

He finished fourteenth and ninth in his stand-in appearances, although he failed to score points at Spa as he did not complete his minimum drive time.