BLACK TRACKED

I SEE LIGHTS IN the mirror, looming fast. I keep right through the sweeping Courbe du Garlaban right hander, all the way to entry of the Virage du Lac, a looping left. Two-time Bathurst 12-Hour winner Jules Gounon doesn’t need a second invitation: There’s a flash of silver and a growling bark as his Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series dives past under brakes. Gounon goes deep, then pivots left, using power to rotate the car and get to the left side of the track for the fast-approaching second-gear right hander leading on to the start-finish straight.

I watch the tail of the silver Mercedes glide as Pirelli slicks paint two fat black lines on the tarmac. Jules Gounon looks like he’s enjoying his job.

Gounon is honing the final chassis setup of the Track Series, the ultimate track-day car for the gentleman driver who has everything. Built by Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, the Track Series pulls together hardware from the roadgoing Mercedes-AMG GT Black series and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and GT4 race cars to create the nearest thing to a Bathurst-winning Mercedes you can drive without a competition licence. And that’s not marketing hype: by the end of our session at Circuit Paul Ricard, Gounon had run a lap in the Track