Akkodis ASP planning Lexus WEC effort
Akkodis ASP Team has formally confirmed its plans to compete in the FIA WEC in 2024 with a pair of Lexus RC F GT3s.
If its entries are accepted for next season, the new effort, which was previously teased by RACER, would coincide with the French team’s 25th anniversary season.
During the past quarter century, Jerome Policand’s team has claimed more than fifty championship titles and intends to step up to a world championship for the first time. In recent years Akkodis ASP has been a key Mercedes-AMG customer team, competing across Europe with the AMG GT3 platform.
Lexus becomes just the fourth brand that the team has worked with over the last 25 years, the other four being Renault, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mercedes.
The news comes as ASP begins tire testing with Goodyear at a two-day test in Portimao, along with seven other prospective LMGT3 manufacturers.
At the test, the team has a single car and is being supported by Toyota Gazoo Racing and TRD staff, with newly-crowned IMSA GTD Pro champion Jack Hawksworth and current Toyota Hypercar driver Jose Maria Lopez.
ASP becomes the fifth team formally nominated by a manufacturer for a two-car FIA WEC LMGT3 bid, along with Proton Competition (Ford), TF Sport (Corvette), United Autosports (McLaren) and Manthey (Porsche).
Next season RACER expects the FIA WEC to hand two-car entries to nine GT3 manufacturers as part of a 36-car full-season grid. It will give priority to manufacturers that compete in the Hypercar class and teams that have shown previous loyalty to the championship.
For more information: www.racer.com
