Akkdois ASP has revealed the driver line-ups for its two-car Fanatec GT Europe assault with Mercedes-AMG.
The French squad enjoyed a sensational 2022 campaign, highlighted by a commanding overall victory at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. It subsequently added the teams' and drivers' titles in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS and the Fanatec GT Endurance Cup.
The flagship #88 Mercedes-AMG will once again spearhead the team's effort. All three drivers are long-time members of the Akkodis ASP programme, with Raffaele Marciello, Timur Boguslavskiy and Jules Gounon set to fly the flag this term.
Reigning overall champion Maricello is set for his seventh full-season assault at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG run by Akkodis ASP. Boguslavskiy will join the Swiss ace for the 10-round campaign, continuing his Fanatec GT Sprint Cup programme and returning to the Endurance line-up following a two-year absence. Their crew will be completed by Gounon, who will undertake his third season as a Mercedes-AMG factory driver.
The sister #87 machine will run a dual programme this term, with different driver line-ups in Sprint and Endurance. For the long-distance races, the car will compete in the Pro category with Thomas Drouet, Maxi Götz and Lorenzo Ferrari at the wheel.
Drouet graduates from a Silver Cup programme with Akkodis ASP and was previously FFSA Championat de France GT Pro-Am champion with the squad in 2021. Mercedes-AMG factory driver Götz will run his first full Endurance Cup campaign since 2018, while Ferrari moves across from the Winward Racing squad.
The #87 will contest the Bronze Cup class in Sprint with Jim Pla and Eric Debard. Both are long-time members of the Akkodis ASP squad, the latter returning to GT3 competition full-time following a five-year spell in GT4 machinery. Debard won the GT Cup class for France at last year's FIA Motorsport Games in a car run by Akkodis ASP.
Akkodis ASP will begin its 2023 title defence at the season-opening Endurance Cup race at Monza on 21-23 April. The Sprint campaign gets under way at Brands Hatch on 13-14 May, while the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa runs on 29 June – 2 July.