Cupra is no stranger to the racing circuit and sports car competition. With a strong touring car background, particularly with the Cupra Leon VZ TCR, the Spanish brand is looking to expand its presence and racing reputation in North America—and it’s doing so with Gou Racing.

“We’re excited to be running a new car,” driver Eddie Gou stated. “It’s exciting. It’s still a learning process for us, but it’s been a lot of fun. My father did a great job qualifying. We made a lot of tweaks to the car during practice, and he got it dialed in for a pretty good qualifying run. So, we’re feeling excited for the race coming up.”

Introducing any new manufacturer to a racing grid requires the right team and a well-planned process. Gou Racing stepped up to the challenge, taking on the responsibility of bringing Cupra into IMSA competition.

Discussions began in October, with Gou Racing expressing strong interest in being the team to lead Cupra’s IMSA debut.

“There were rumors for about two years that Cupra was going to join the IMSA paddock and start selling cars in the States,” Eddie Gou said. “But nothing was really set in stone until we arrived at Road Atlanta last year. That’s when John Martin had his Cupra on-site. A few pictures were taken of it, and later during the race, IMSA made it official that the car would be joining the series this year.”

“We all kind of saw it coming, but no one was certain. No one knew if it was going to be this year or next. I was actually leading the race when my father and I discussed the possibility of switching to Cupra. That gave us a pretty short timeline—when you consider the time it takes to leave Road Atlanta, get the car, and finalize discussions with Cupra, there really wasn’t much time left to prepare. We didn’t even have time for any formal testing before the Roar at Daytona. So, it was a tight and complicated process. But like my father mentioned before, the support we received from Cupra is what really convinced us to take the risk and embrace the challenge.”

While every manufacturer aims for success in motorsports, Cupra is also focused on brand recognition and growth.

With a target of selling cars to the public by 2030, Cupra hopes its partnership with the family-operated TCR team will generate exposure.

“It’s a brand that’s not really well known in North America yet,” Eduardo Gou stated. “So, I think it was very important for them to get involved in motorsports. No one in the field knew about the car before this, so getting it on the map and achieving good results is key. Once they start selling cars in 2030, the brand will already have recognition, and that’s important.”

For the father-son duo, the transition from Audi to Cupra has been a learning experience.

With only one race under their belt with the new car, Eddie and Eduardo are still getting up to speed. However, they remain optimistic about finding success by mid-season.

“That has been the most challenging part for us,” Eduardo Gou explained. “It’s a brand-new car, and we didn’t have any data or input from other teams. The only information we had was from what Cupra had done in other championships around the world. But racing is completely different here. They don’t do endurance races—well, they’ve started to in Mexico, but it’s still new. So, figuring out the car’s setup and understanding how to make adjustments has been a challenge.”

“We’re very grateful to have an engineer from Cupra with us this weekend. He came from Spain to help. But even with that, it’s a learning curve for both us and them because they’re not used to endurance racing. The setups they typically use are completely different from what we need here. The tires are different, too—they don’t use Michelin, but we run Michelin Pilot tires. So, it’s a process of learning, developing the car, and making progress. But we still have a long way to go.”

When asked about Cupra’s future and potential growth, Eddie Gou stated, “Cupra actually has cars in the U.S. right now, so they’re all in on selling here. I think they just need some strong results on track to help drive those sales.”

Overall, the Gous are embracing this new chapter in their racing journey with Cupra.

With the Cupra Leon TCR, the team hopes to see steady growth throughout the season and bring success to the newest OEM on the IMSA grid—all while doing it as a family.

“For me, it has been amazing because I was able to race with my dad, and now I’m able to race with Eddie,” Eduardo said. “It’s like a dream come true. There were things I always wanted to achieve, and this, for us, is one of them.”

“We’re a family racing team, and more than anything, this is a hobby for us. But we’re competing in a very professional series, so we have to do it right. Being able to do this with my son at this level is something I never even dreamed about. Every single race, I get so excited just thinking about it. I can’t believe we’re racing at Sebring, or Laguna Seca, or Daytona. It has been an incredible experience and truly a dream that we’ve been able to achieve.”