75 Express Enters Pro Class Mercedes-AMG for Suzuka

75 Express will return to the Suzuka 1000km with a Pro class Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to be shared by Kenny Habul, Philip Ellis and Mikael Grenier.

The Sept. 11-13 event will mark the team’s first Intercontinental GT Challenge appearance since the season-opening Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour back in February, when team owner Habul was partnered by Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz.

75 Express contested the Bronze division at Suzuka last year with Habul flanked by Yannick Mettler and Dominik Baumann, finishing fourth in class.

In the team’s SunEnergy1 guise it contested the Suzuka 10 Hours in 2018-19, winning the Pro-Am class in 2018 with Habul, Grenier and Luca Stolz, and then the Silver class in the latter year with Habul, Grenier and Nico Bastian.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to Suzuka,” said Grenier. “The Suzuka Circuit is one of the best race tracks in the world. Having competed there every year since 2018 will certainly help me, although I’m not the only driver in the field with that experience.

“Kenny and I have already raced together there twice and achieved some strong results. It’s always a pleasure to share a car with him, and he consistently puts together a very competitive line-up.

“We’ll be racing in the Pro class, so it’s going to be an extremely intense event. As always, our goal is the victory.”

Mercedes-AMG will be represented at Suzuka by a total of three cars, the other two belonging to Craft-Bamboo Racing, which also revealed its plans on Tuesday.

GruppeM, which fielded a Pro class car with Mercedes-AMG backing in last year’s race and finished sixth, is notably absent this time around.