Mercedes-AMG star Jules Gounon will headline Climax Racing’s three-car Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS programme this year.
The reigning Intercontinental GT Challenge and Fanatec GT Europe champion joins Wayne Wang Zhongwei at the first four events before another Mercedes-AMG driver, Ralf Aron, steps into the Pro role at Okayama and Shanghai.
However, Sepang’s season opener will not be Gounon’s championship debut. He contested the series’ very first event, incidentally at the same circuit, with Craft-Bamboo back in 2017. He also raced with Climax in the FIA GT World Cup at Macau last year.
Wang, meanwhile, is no stranger to the team thanks to his previous Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and China Endurance Championship commitments. He has also raced the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the Asian Le Mans Series.
Climax’s second entry features more international talent in the shape of Australian Jaylyn Robotham who joins Chinese driver Min Heng aboard the #66 entry.
Heng contested the Greater Bay Area GT Cup last season with Climax and has been a mainstay of its domestic programmes in recent years. His new Silver-Am co-driver is just 21 but has already proven his ability Down Under, notably claiming a class win the Bathurst 6 Hour.
Entry number three (#52) pairs Liu Hangcheng with Li Lichao in a car that is also eligible for China Cup points. They have raced extensively domestically in the likes of China Endurance Championship and GT Super Sprint Challenge, but 2024 represents their first racing programme on the wider Asia continent.
This year’s six-round Fanatec GT Asia campaign begins at Sepang on April 19-21.
