Juncadella: Co-Drivers “Have One Part” of Individual Title

Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli champion Daniel Juncadella said that his co-drivers in the 2022 season “have one part” of the title that he received individually.

The Spanish driver claimed his first IGTC championship at the season-ending Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi despite his Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing entry retiring early in the race.

Juncadella’s campaign saw him finish second at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour driving for Craft-Bamboo Racing, and win the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa sharing an Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Jules Gounon and Raffaele Marciello.

He also reached victory lane at the Indianapolis 8 Hour with Craft-Bamboo, before reuniting with Gounon and Marciello for the Gulf 12 Hours in a bid to share the drivers’ crown.

That failed to materialize due to their car’s retirement, but the race results elsewhere confirmed Juncadella as the new champion.

“It was an amazing year,” Juncadella told Sportscar365.

“Disappointing to close it with a retirement, especially when we looked so strong. But I have to say that I’m over the moon with this championship as well.

“You very rarely get the chance to win an endurance championship by yourself.

“That’s why I think it’s important to remember that I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for some of my teammates. They played a really big role in this championship, I think.

“Starting with Maro [Engel] and Kevin Tse at Bathurst, who did a pretty flawless job. And then Jules and Lello at Spa; Lello again and Daniel Morad were amazing in Indianapolis.

“Thanks to them, I’m here as a champion. I get the trophy all by myself, but I think they have to know they have one part of it as well.”

After his car’s early exit from the Gulf 12 Hours, Juncadella faced the unusual situation of needing entries from other manufacturers to beat a Mercedes-AMG for him to become champion.

A race win for Al Manar Racing by GetSpeed would have handed the championship to Mercedes-AMG factory driver Luca Stolz, but AF Corse instead claimed a one-two with its factory-driven Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s.

“[I was] not really cheering [for other cars], but for myself I was hoping,” Juncadella reflected.

“Initially the [No. 66] Audi looked really strong so I thought they were going to win it pretty easily. But when they went out, it was getting tight because there were different situations that could work out.

“I was quite relaxed. Since we didn’t get to race, I went for a bike ride for two hours and went for a run for half an hour, so I did my own little duathlon!”

Flash Double Retirement “Shocking” for GruppeM

Juncadella said that it was a shock for both of Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing’s cars to encounter major problems in the opening two hours of the race.

The Hong Kong-based squad locked out the front row of the grid and battled with Audi Sport Team Tresor in the early running until their separate issues struck.

“I think something with the water pressure suddenly dropping massively, and we lost the cooling on the engine after that,” Juncadella said regarding the No. 89.

“It started overheating and we had to box, and we couldn’t repair it in time.

“I think they still need to investigate the reason. But it was shocking, losing both cars in a matter of 20 minutes. That’s how it goes sometimes in racing.

“You don’t expect it that way in a 12-hour race, but it is what it is. I look back on the season as a whole, and I’m super happy and motivated for the future.”