Engel rejoins Gounon and Juncadella
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., (October 10, 2023) - WeatherTech Racing is headed to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale Motul Petit Le Mans to run at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Oct. 11-14.
Jules Gounon (France) and Daniel Juncadella (Spain) will be joined by Maro Engel (Germany) for the season finale in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Mercedes-Benz of Billings, Montana support. The trio will be looking to bookend the season with race wins. The WeatherTech Racing/Proton team wants to capitalize on the Rolex 24 win with Cooper MacNeil to take the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championship (IMEC). The team leads the IMEC points with 33, just 3 more than the pursuing Corvette team.
Gounon and Juncadella added a third win at Indy on the season three weeks ago to go with the Rolex 24 and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca victories. A third-place finish at Sebring and a fourth place run at Watkins Glen in the endurance races have the team leading the IMEC points.
The team had the opportunity to test at Road Atlanta two weeks ago and it was Gounon’s first visit to the 2.5-mile, 12-turn track located an hour north of Atlanta.
“I love the circuit when I tested there a few weeks ago,” Gounon said. “I think it’s one of my favorite tracks in the U.S. Our goal is to score endurance points at the four-and-eight-hour marks. We need to stay ahead of the Corvette. If that happens, we can then focus on the race win. It is great to have Maro back with his experience and speed for this weekend.”
“Very exciting race coming up,” Juncadella said. “I haven’t been to Petit since 2021. Our first goal will be to win the Endurance Championship and secondly to win the race. It is one of the big races on the IMSA schedule like the Rolex 24 and Sebring that you want to win. I am excited to get back in the car after our win at Indy. We welcome Maro back and are ready to close out the season at Petit this weekend.”
“Really looking forward to Petit Le Mans,” Engel said. “There is always a great crowd to match the competition on the track. Dani and Jules are fighting for the IMEC Championship, and I will do everything I can to help them get that. We had a good test there and the WeatherTech Racing/Proton team is ready. It is too bad I had to miss The Glen, but we will do everything to get the team that championship on Saturday.”
The Motul Petit Le Mans from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be televised live on Peacock starting at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday with the USA Network joining in for the finish from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.