Jules Gounon is back in the Mamba-Mercedes-AMG GT3, which was a goal after his debut year. The 2025 season left him hungry for more. Jokingly, he tells GT REPORT about his ‘preparations in India’.

At the beginning of March, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport proudly announced their teams and line-ups for the 2026 DTM season. As expected, Gounon will drive the #48 Mamba again for Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER. The season kicks off at the end of april.

Speaking to GT REPORT in February, Gounon emphasized his ambition to return in the German championship. He can’t wait to get started again. “I spent two months in India this winter to learn how to speak to the Mamba,” Gounon laughs.

“I think I got the first vocabulary right, so we’ll see if the Mamba understands me a bit better this year. Maybe after the first round I can tell you if my Mamba language has improved.”

The Frenchman, who competes under the umbrella of Andorra, has multiple languages to learn: Dutch, for his GT World Challenge Europe programme with Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, and the Mamba language and German for DTM. “I’ll focus on the Mamba and German first for DTM, and then a bit of Dutch,” he grins.

‘A good lesson for me going into DTM’

In all seriousness: Gounon has a clear goal after his first DTM season in 2025. The Bathurst 12 Hour race earlier this year was in some ways a bit of an eye-opener for him. He and Kelvin van der Linde collided with fourty minutes left to go, meaning he lost his shot at a fourth victory at Mount Panorama.

“I was really disappointed after Bathurst because I had a chance to win the race again. Something happened during a move with a competitor, and it really hurt because I wanted to win so badly,” Gounon opens up.

“It was also a good lesson for me going into DTM: sometimes wanting it too much isn’t a good thing either. You have to let things come to you a bit and not force everything. What happened in Bathurst was an important lesson for me. So my approach for DTM will be to just do my thing — do what I know I have to do.”

Mastering the set-up for GTWCE

Before the DTM season starts at the Red Bull Ring, Gounon and teammates Dani Juncadella and Chris Lulham will race in Paul Ricard for the season opener of GT World Challenge Europe Endurance.

The team had an extensive testing programme. Before NLS2 at the Nürburgring, they were driving at Zandvoort, and after NLS2, they stayed at the Nürburgring for more testing. “We are still working on the car for the championship,” the two-time GT World Challenge Endurance champion explains.

“It’s a different tyre compound than here (at NLS, ed.). The compound we use in GT World Challenge is a bit more complicated, I would say. It means the car needs a lot of adaptation. Your set-up needs to be good, because the perfect window is small. We are pushing on that.”

Gounon is sure they will pull out all stops to have a great start of the season. After GTWCE Paul Ricard, Gounon and Juncadella will travel to Imola for the first WEC race of the year. Lucas Auer will be in the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car during the N24 Qualifiers, scheduled for 17-19 April.