Gounon to Spearhead Three-Car Climax Mercedes-AMG Squad

Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon will contest a partial campaign in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS as part of Climax Racing’s lineup.

Gounon will partner Chinese driver Wang Zhongwei in one of Climax’s three Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos, the No. 22 machine, for the opening four rounds of the six-event series, continuing an alliance that began with last year’s FIA GT World Cup at Macau.

The opening round of the season at Sepang this month will mark Gounon’s first Fanatec GT Asia outing since 2017, when he shared a Craft-Bamboo Porsche with Joel Camathias at the same circuit in what was the championship’s first event.

Zhongwei, who has experience of Mercedes-AMG machinery from his exploits in the Asian Le Mans Series with GetSpeed in 2023, will then be partnered by Ralf Aron for the final two rounds of the season at Okayama and Shanghai.

Climax’s No. 22 car will be entered in the Silver-Am category for China’s Min Heng and Australian youngster Jaylyn Robotham, a race winner in Super2, while sharing the team’s No. 52 car will be Chinese duo Liu Hangcheng and Li Lichao.

The team fielded two Mercedes-AMGs in Fanatec GT Asia last year, one for Zhou Bihuang and Dennis Lind and a second for Ye Bian and Hu Yuqi, who won the Am Cup title.