Jules Gounon drives the 6 Hours of Imola Hypercar from Alpine / FIA WEC

The second race weekend of the World Sports Car Championship is on the agenda next weekend (April 19 to 21, 2024). The setting is the Imola/Italy race. There, 19 hypercars are fighting for the overall victory. At Alpine there is a personnel change compared to the beginning of Qatar. So Jules Gounon takes to the A424 with starting number #35 and shares the cockpit with Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi.

Along with Gounon, Chatin and Milesi there are three Frenchmen in #35. Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen is usually the regular pilot in this A424. The Austrian was injured in a test crash at Motorland Aragón/Spain at the end of March. “We will think of Ferdinand. It is a difficult blow, but that is part of life as a team. Thanks to modern means of communication, he is with us,” explains team boss Philippe Sinault. “We have decided to replace him at Imola and replace Jules.”

Gounon has been appointed as a reserve driver at the Alpine team for the 2024 season. He is also a works driver at Mercedes-AMG and was originally scheduled to take part in GT World Challenge Asia at the weekend – but has been cleared to appear at Alpine. Gounon has extensive experience in GT racing. However, Imola will be his debut in the model.

“It’s not easy to make your debut in such an environment, but Jules was recognized, chosen and signed to take on this role – although we never thought it would happen sooner,” Sinault continued. “He’s basically ready, but he still has a lot to learn, even if he’s already proven that he’s capable of several aspects based on his record in the GT class.” The second Alpine A424 (starting number #36) will be driven at Imola as usual by Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere.