Mercedes-AMG Dubai Drivers Unconcerned by Missing Roar

Mercedes-AMG factory drivers Jules Gounon and Maro Engel do not feel missing the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona is a major disadvantage as they are instead competing in the Michelin 24H Dubai.

Gounon and Engel are two of five drivers skipping the pre-event test for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener at Daytona to participate in Dubai, but neither has any concerns about getting up to speed when they arrive in Florida ahead of the race.

Gounon is part of the GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo lineup in both events and feels his co-drivers will ensure all the preparation is successfully completed beforehand.

When asked if he was worried about missing the Roar by Sportscar365, he said: “Not so much because we have Fabian Schiller and Maxi Gotz that are two top factory drivers that are there, so I’m fully confident they will be very good to prepare the race.

“Of course, the flight of 17 hours on Sunday night from Dubai to Orlando is not ideal, but it’s still cool to be able to do that. You do it when you’re young, and I’m still young so I can do it!”

Engel added: “It’s a shame there’s this clash but obviously this is a race weekend so it takes precedence over the testing commitments there.

“I know that we’ve got three strong drivers over there [Chaz Mostert, Will Power and Kenny Habul] and a strong team [75 Express] so hopefully they’ll prepare the car well and I look forward to joining them next week.”

Gounon believes there are advantages of getting a 24-hour race under his belt before heading to Daytona and still views it as a learning experience.

“Also for me to do Dubai is always cool to prepare for Nordschleife because it’s the same traffic,” he said.

“My dad always told me you have to learn every kilometer you do in the car even after five or six years in the Merc.

“You’re going out there, you will learn some stuff and you can improve on traffic, you can try a different thing – it’s always good to continue learning.”

Engel, meanwhile, is optimistic of a strong showing in Dubai after his 6H Abu Dhabi ended early last weekend when his Winward Racing entry was collected in the refueling area, the team having secured a 1-2 in qualifying.

“I would say we’re due a good result – the performance has been strong all the way through this winter program, the Gulf 12 Hours, Abu Dhabi 6 Hours, so hopefully we can have a strong race this weekend,” he said.

Engel also noted how the Dubai event is attracting more top GT drivers and teams to the Middle East as it becomes an established starting point to the season for many.

“It’s not the biggest grid I’ve ever experienced here this year, but the quality of the grid is high,” he concluded.

“It’s never easy to win here. I’ve never won here – I’ve had a few podiums, I think three third places – so hopefully this will be the year that we can crack it.”