SONOMA, Calif. – Alvaro Parente will return to K-PAX Racing for the third-straight season in the Pirelli World Challenge to chase team, manufacturer and driver championships.
Parente was recently announced as a part of Michael Shank Racing’s Acura NSX program and will compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship North American Endurance Cup events for Shank.
In 2017, Parente captured four wins and nine podiums, including victories in the first two GT events of the season at St. Petersburg (Fla.) and Long Beach (Calif.). He also swept the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course weekend by earning pole position and taking the checkers in both races.
Parente joined the team in 2016 and stormed to his first Pirelli World Challenge GT championship. He has a total of 10 victories with the team and 18 podium finishes in two years.
“We won the championship our first year together and finished second [in Sprint GT] this season,” said Parente. “The results are great because the guys are really good. The professionalism and the way we work together has been fantastic, and that’s one of the main reasons why I’m coming back. I feel we all work in the same direction, and it’s such a hard-working group of people that do the job well with the same ambitions as me.
“Jim (Haughey, team owner) is also one of the reasons why I am coming back. I want to keep working with him. He loves racing and loves to do well. I love that spirit. I’m happy to be working with Jim again.”
Parente will compete in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3 – a team switch that was announced in early December.
“With the addition of Bentley, we are pleased to have Álvaro returning to K-PAX Racing for the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge season,” said Haughey. “The series grows more competitive each year, and we are excited to have Álvaro back in action – a driver who has brought great success to our team over the past two seasons.”
K-PAX Racing Program Manager Darren Law said he is extremely pleased to continue the team’s relationship with Parente.
“I have spent most of my motorsports career as a driver, and I have driven against and with some of the best drivers in the world,” Law said. “After spending the last two seasons with Álvaro, I am very confident in saying he is for sure one of the best. He has the speed, the race-craft and the judgement that you want in a driver.”
Source : speedsport.com
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