AKKA ASP has confirmed its first set of driver line-ups for the 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season.
The French squad has named an impressive Pro crew to compete for overall honours in the Endurance Cup, as well as a two-car Pro effort for the Sprint Cup. It will tackle the 10-round championship using Mercedes-AMG machinery, with 2021 representing a sixth season in partnership with the German marque.
There is familiarity on the driver front, too. Raffaele Marciello will continue with Jerome Policand's team for a fifth year in succession, joining newly-minted Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon and accomplished Spanish racer Daniel Juncadella in the #88 machine.
Gounon will therefore return to the team with which he made his GT3 debut in 2017. The Frenchman has since claimed overall wins at the Total 24 Hours of Spa with Audi (2017) and the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour with Bentley (2020). Juncadella is also a familiar face, making his most recent appearance with AKKA ASP in 2018, and returns to the Mercedes-AMG fold this year after a spell with Aston Martin.
In the Sprint Cup, AKKA ASP will field a pair of Pro cars to compete for overall victories. Marciello will share the #88 with last year's overall Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS champion Timur Boguslavskiy. The Russian is also set to to run in the Endurance events as part of a to-be-confirmed AKKA ASP crew.
The #89 will see Gounon link up with Romanian racer Petru Razvan Umbrarescu, who is the only newcomer among AKKA ASP's five confirmed drivers. The 27-year-old made two Endurance Cup starts last term as part of the CMR Bentley squad.
AKKA ASP plans to add further crews to its 2021 roster, with a full-season Silver Cup effort set to form part of this year's programme. The French team has enjoyed huge success in recent years, including overall drivers' titles in 2018 and 2020, the overall teams' crown in 2018 and a wealth of success in the Silver Cup.