Vautier to Sub for Injured Gounon at Valencia

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi ace Tristan Vautier will make his return to Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS competition this weekend, subbing for the injured Jules Gounon in the Sprint Cup season finale at Valencia.

Vautier has been reunited with Akkodis ASP, whom he drove with between 2015-18, primarily in Endurance Cup and Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli competition, and will share the wheel of the No. 88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Jim Pla.

Pla currently sits third in the Sprint Cup points standings heading into this weekend’s final round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Gounon, who has been sidelined due to a back injury, was already on unequal points due to missing the Magny-Cours weekend because of his Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour commitments, a race which he won.

Vautier, whose primary duties have been in the WeatherTech Championship with DPi class entrant JDC-Miller Motorsports, is also understood to take on next month’s Indianapolis 8 Hour in US RaceTronic’s Mercedes as a third driver.

Track action at Valencia is set to kick off on Friday, with a total of 26 cars on the entry list.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John