today is Mar 24, 2023
K-PAX Racing will return to defend its Fanatec GT World Challenge America Presented by AWS Pro category titles with Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper driving the No. 1 Lamborghini Huracan. The team’s second car will be run as a Pro-Am effort with Giacomo Altoe and Misha Goikhberg.
“We are looking forward to coming back to SRO GT World Challenge America this year and bringing back Andrea and Jordan to defend the championship,” said K-PAX program manager Darren Law. “They work so well together and make a great driver combination. It has been a few years since we ran a Pro-Am car, but it is a title we would like to compete for.”
The driver pairing of Caldarelli and Pepper saw instant success last season, and dominated the Pro class with nine wins. Only two weeks of prior testing in the new-to-K-PAX Huracan GT3 EVO proved to be enough to create the camaraderie needed to see results in the 90-minute, two-driver race format. Caldarelli, a Lamborghini factory driver since 2017, brought a wealth of car knowledge to the K-PAX Racing line-up, while Pepper had prior experience racing with the team.
“I am really happy to do my second year with K-PAX Racing and Jordan,” said Caldarelli. “I am also really excited, because we have started a development work last year. I am glad we can keep competing together and improving and growing every race weekend. We all have one more season of experience, so the preparation work will be much easier than last year, but we are all looking forward to keep working with the same passion as last year.”
“It will be the third season together with the team, and it’s the second season with Andrea,” said Pepper. “Something drivers would most wish for is to keep that sort of continuity, which will be great when we go out there to defend our title in GT World Challenge America — same car, same drivers and same group of people. That leads to a bit of pressure. We have a target on our backs so it’s going to be an interesting season for us and how we manage it. Knowing who we are, I think we’re going to come out fighting like last year when we enjoyed an incredible stretch of results.”
In addition to GT World Challenge America, the team is targeting the SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, primarily the 24 Hours of Spa, with Marco Mapelli joining Caldarelli and Pepper. Mapelli joined the team in the second Huracan for the Indianapolis 8 Hour, while Mirko Bortolotti teamed with Caldarelli and Pepper to finish third overall.
“As far as Europe, K-PAX Racing wants to compete and race against the best in the world and there isn’t any other GT3 race that compares to the Spa 24,” Law explained. “We have a great opportunity this year in our partnership with Lamborghini and to have the chance with our K-PAX Racing drivers Andrea and Jordan, and adding in Marco Mapelli will give us an extremely strong lineup and we look forward to getting back to this event.”
The Pro-Am entry for Altoe and Goikhberg replaces last year’s Pro effort with Corey Lewis and Givanni Venturini. Altoe joined Lamborghini in 2020 and competed in GT World Challenge America last season for TR3 Racing. Russian-born, Canadian racer Goikhberg has had an extensive racing career in a variety of cars, including Trans-Am TA2, an IMSA Lites championship, a Rolex 24 At Daytona victory in the PC class and an overall victory in the 2018 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
“I am very excited to join K-PAX Racing, a team with such rich history, as well as competing in GT World Challenge, a very strong GT championship,” said Goikhberg. “K-PAX Racing is a very strong team, with a very good relationship with Lamborghini which I am excited to continue. So far, I’ve seen nothing but extreme professionalism and commitment to winning from Darren and the team.”
The 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge America season begins April 15-17 at Sonoma Raceway, the first two of 13 rounds in seven events.
