Jules Gounon is ready to graduate from his function as Alpine’s official World Endurance Championship reserve to take a race seat at Bahrain in November for a second consecutive weekend.
The transfer is a part of the identical plan, put in place originally of the season, that resulted in Gounon changing Paul-Loup Chatin within the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh for final weekend’s Fuji spherical, Motorsport.com has discovered.
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This time it requires the Mercedes-AMG manufacturing facility driver to take the place of Charles Milesi, Alpine’s star performer at this month’s Austin and Fuji WEC races, within the #35 Hypercar class entry run by the manufacturing facility Signatech crew.
Alpine has to this point but to verify Gounon’s function for the Bahrain 8 Hours on 2 November.
The 29-year-old Frenchman, who subbed for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg in #35 on the Imola and Spa WEC rounds in April and Might respectively, seems to be in rivalry for a race seat on the Signatech Alpine squad subsequent yr.
Hypothesis to that impact was fuelled by his promotion to the race line-up at Fuji, which was devised to present him “the chance to proceed his Hypercar studying course of”, in response to Alpine.
The Renault model’s motorsport boss, Bruno Famin, wouldn’t affirm that adjustments within the Alpine WEC line-up are into account for 2025. He repeated the phrase “one factor after the opposite” when requested.
#35 Alpine Endurance Group Alpine A424: Jules Gounon
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Pictures
Gounon, whose father Jean-Marc completed second on the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1997 driving a GTC McLaren F1 GTR, has by no means made any secret of his aspirations to compete on the highest stage of sportscar racing.
He described going for victory within the WEC and on the Le Mans 24 Hours as “my greatest aim and my greatest dream”.
However he mentioned he most popular to speak about Fuji when questioned in Japan final weekend a couple of doable full-time future with Alpine.
He confirmed that he remained beneath contract to Mercedes as a part of its GT3 roster for yet another yr in 2025, however insisted that this could not essentially forestall him for racing for Alpine within the full WEC alongside his commitments with the German producer.
“It might be a risk,” he mentioned.
Gounon revealed on the announcement of his take care of Alpine in February that he had travelled to the house of Mercedes-AMG head of buyer racing Stefan Wendl “to beg him to let me do that journey with Alpine”.
He additionally revealed at the moment that there had been discussions a couple of full-time experience within the WEC with Alpine for 2024.
“Mercedes has been unbelievable for me over the previous three years and it wouldn’t have been honest to go towards them,” he mentioned.
There may be nonetheless uncertainty over Mick Schumacher’s place at Alpine for subsequent yr.
#36 Alpine Endurance Group Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher
Photograph by: Andreas Beil
The previous Haas Components 1 driver, who has dovetailed his function as Mercedes’s check and reserve with racing for Alpine within the WEC this yr, has repeatedly refused to decide to remaining within the collection in 2025.
He’s nonetheless insisting {that a} return to a full-time race seat in F1 stays his precedence although there are actually solely two berths vacant.
“I’m nonetheless F1,” he mentioned. “My plans for subsequent yr are fairly open: nothing is confirmed, nothing is completed.”
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