Mercedes-AMG has named a strengthened driver roster for the 2021 season and set its sights on victory at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
The German marque last secured outright honours in the Ardennes in 2013, when Bernd Schneider, Maxi Buhk and Maxi Götz triumphed for HTP Motorsport. More recently, Italian ace Raffaele Marciello bagged pole position at the 2020 event for Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP.
Buhk, Götz and Marciello all remain part of the line-up this year. So does 2019 pole-setter Maro Engel, alongside Luca Stolz and Thomas Jäger.
Its crew will grow even stronger with the addition of Total 24 Hours of Spa winner Jules Gounon, who joins the Mercedes-AMG ranks following three seasons as a Bentley factory driver. Gounon took his Spa win with Audi in 2017 and added a Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour triumph with Bentley last year.
Dani Juncadella will also return to the Mercedes-AMG stable this season. The experienced Spanish ace drove for the brand for several years before joining Aston Martin squad R-Motorsport in 2019. His most recent Spa outing came in 2018 when he finished sixth with Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP.
"This year, we can rely on an excellent driver line-up again," said Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing. "I am convinced that, like this, we are supporting our teams in the best possible way for their worldwide racing activities and can be in a position to win at any time. The goal is to win championship titles on all continents and to run at the front in the 24-hour highlights in particular."
This year's Total 24 Hours of Spa will see the marquee event return to its traditional summer date on 29 July-1 August, while the official test days will run on 22-23 June.