Yahoo Autos Gounon keeps Alpine seat for Spa as Habsburg remains sidelined
Alpine Hypercar reserve driver Jules Gounon is set to make his second FIA WEC start with the French brand at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
The Frenchman will compete in the No. 35 A424 alongside Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin, as he did in Imola, standing in for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg.
Habsburg sustained two fractured lumbar vertebrae in a testing incident with the Alpine team at Aragon back in March. While there is still no timeline defined for his return to racing, encouraging news from the team today is that his recovery is “progressing well”.
“Jules will join us again while Ferdinand continues his recovery, which should only be a few days more,” said Philippe Sinault, Alpine Endurance team principal.
This weekend’s six-hour encounter at Spa comes after a challenging race for the team at Imola last month. There its pair of A24s finished 13th and 16th in Hypercar.
“We knew that the previous race at Imola would be difficult because of the track characteristics. This week, we are back at a more familiar venue, more like the circuits we will encounter for the rest of the season. This week’s target is clear: we want to build upon what we’ve learned from the first two races to know more about where we stand technically and operationally after the race,” Sinault continued.
“It is an important moment in our project and a veritable run-through, as it’s one of the last opportunities for us to fine-tune the package and operating systems we will have at Le Mans. We’ve done a lot of work in the run-up to this race, which should also serve to rally the team and prepare it for the long home stretch before we head to the Sarthe.”
In addition to the racing at Spa Alpine has also revealed that it will unveil the first rolling version of the Alpenglow – its hydrogen-powered concept car – at the circuit. First revealed at the 2022 Paris Motor Show, the Alpenglow now features a new design and a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine.
The car will be presented statically on 10 May and “dynamically” on 11 May in Belgium.
