ASP Confident in Reliability After Addressing Hockenheim Issue

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup points leader Akkodis ASP is confident that the issue its Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo encountered during the 3 Hours of Hockenheim has been fully solved ahead of this weekend’s title decider.

The French team’s No. 88 car driven by Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella retired from the penultimate round of the season after a fault with the main switch caused it to shut down.

Technical manager Guillaume Andrieux said that after replacing the necessary parts, the team can be satisfied with its mechanical reliability heading into this weekend’s 3 Hours of Barcelona.

Furthermore, Akkodis ASP is using a different Mercedes-AMG to the one that raced in Germany.

Despite retiring at Hockenheim, the No. 88 crew maintained their 11-point Endurance Cup lead courtesy of the No. 71 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 also failing to finish.

“The issue was identified, and it’s completely solved,” Andrieux told Sportscar365.

“We are confident with reliability; no worries with that.

“We had a defective part which wasn’t over-mileage. It was the car’s main switch, so the electronics shut down and we had a complete power shutdown.

“The car was initially able to start, from a short cut, but then it just went.

“When Gounon was overtaken at some point by two cars, it was because he had the failure for a couple of seconds, and then the car shut down a few laps after.

“We could not prevent it, so we changed the part and made checks. We took a new part for this race and we have a fresh car to fight for the championship.”

Andrieux hopes that Akkodis ASP can continue its strong form with Mercedes-AMG at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where the team has won twice before in Endurance Cup.

“We are fighting with Ferrari, and every year they are also strong here,” he said.

“We hope we can keep our performance here as it was in the past years, which was quite good for us.

“Then, the race will decide. Nothing is done. The car is good here, but we believe the Ferraris and Audis will be strong also.”

Marciello, Gounon and Juncadella took the Endurance Cup points lead by winning the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa in July.

They also finished second at the Imola season-opener and third at the Paul Ricard 1000km, with Hockenheim being their only major setback so far.

Despite carrying a healthy 11-point advantage into the finale, Juncadella acknowledged that the Hockenheim retirement has made for a more entertaining title scenario.

“I wouldn’t say the championship would be over, but the P4 or P5 that we could have accomplished would have made it a 23-point difference,” he told Sportscar365.

“It’s a bit more exciting for everybody to keep it like this. I’m really confident at this track, because we have always been really competitive here. If it was somewhere else, it would be a bit harder.

“It’s also my home race and I have a lot of family friends coming. But the fact we are fighting for a championship as well is just the [icing] on the cake.

“It’s a special race for everybody and I really want to win the championship.”