K-PAX Racing is off to its best start ever, remaining unbeaten through the first four rounds of Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS, and its two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs make a convincing claim to add VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) to the list of tracks where it has seen success this season. This time the team has the opportunity to share its successes with GT racing fans in the paddock, as the event marks the first-time fans are welcome back into the paddock to witness all the series action in real-time.
“So far this season we have had great success in our new program with Lamborghini,” K-PAX Racing Program Manager Darren Law said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better start on so many levels, but we still have a long way to go.”
“It has been a bit of a learning curve. Everyone is working well together, and the future looks good. All of us on the team and for that matter, everybody in the series, is looking forward to VIR not only because it is an amazing track and facility, but to also finally have fans allowed back is something we have all missed. It has been very strange to not have fans during our race weekends and I can’t wait for it to get back to some normalcy again.”
The ever-consistent team has faced an assortment of challenges early in its 2021 championship campaign, including a restructured race program, new tracks to most of its drivers and in recent rounds, unrelenting weather. With four rounds down, K-PAX Racing has risen to the top each time – three of those races finishing its Huracán GT3 EVOs one-two on the podium. In each event, the No. 3 of Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper have recorded the fastest race lap at least once in the multi-race weekend, as well as earned pole position in three of those four rounds. The No. 6 of Giovanni Venturini and Corey Lewis has finished on the podium three of the four rounds, earning its first victory last month in the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) finale.
While VIR will follow-suit as a new track for the K-PAX Racing-Lamborghini Squadra Corse relationship and for three of the four team drivers, the team enters the fifth and sixth rounds of series action having seen most of its past successes from Alton, Virginia. The circuit has given K-PAX Racing its second-most wins from anywhere it has competed (six), and the series event is one the team had swept in its last two appearances (2018, 2019). In the team’s first appearance in 2010, it also swept the weekend – four podiums to add to the nine it has been awarded throughout its history. While K-PAX Racing found success in the previous two rounds without testing, the team will join other series competitors in a two-day test the week of the race.
“Given the fact that three of our four drivers have not been to any of the tracks we race at, they have done a great job getting up to speed quickly,” Law said. “We have had the benefit of Lamborghini’s support and testing prior to some of the races, and that will be the case this weekend for VIR. We are continually learning this car and work to make adjustments between events. With a two-day test this week, we will continue to gather information and progress the development of the program.”
In the 2021 championship standings, the No. 3 of Caldarelli and Pepper hold the top spot (93 points). The team’s sister-car, the No. 6 of Venturini and Lewis, are a close second (73). K-PAX Racing holds a comfortable lead in the team standings, with a perfect stat-line across four rounds (100).
DRIVER QUOTES
Andrea Caldarelli – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “We are going to VIR leading the championship and that is, for sure, a very good feeling. However, we saw that our competitors got closer-and-closer, so we need to put our heads down and do a perfect job to keep the lead. It definitely feels good to have both cars at top of the standing and that shows that we are growing up as team and that is very important to be successful in GT category. I never been at VIR before so it is difficult to predict how the car is going to behave, however it looks a very nice track and i cannot wait to race on it.”
Jordan Pepper – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “VIR is a new track to most of us and it’ll be interesting to see how our Huracán GT3 EVO performs. On a positive note, we will have a two-day test and a lot of testing points and information we’ve gathered over the last two races that we want to go through. That should put us on a strong setup for the weekend. Considering the car has been so competitive at Sonoma [Raceway] and Circuit of The Americas – two opposite tracks – I can’t see why we wouldn’t be up-front at VIR.”
Giovanni Venturini – No. 6 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “The first victory of the championship gives us a lot of motivation for the next round. Now, we have to keep the focus on the battle for the overall victory and try to keep competing at a high level. If both K-PAX Racing cars are in-front, it is because of the big effort by everyone in the team. Honestly, we are doing a really good job, and I’m so happy to be part of this process. It will be my first time at VIR, but I’m in a good mood because we will test two days before the race. So, I have time to learn the circuit very well. As for our car on this track: I don’t know. But, we will see when we get into qualifying and the weekend.”
Corey Lewis – No. 6 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “It’s hard to express into words what it means to capture our first win at COTA. It was special for sure, and I know Gio [Venturini] and I will want to keep the momentum rolling in VIR. The championship is shaping up nicely for K-PAX Racing as a whole. Gio and I are currently trailing in second for the overall championship, but we are still very much in striking distance. I know we both are determined to continue to put the pressure on our sister car and gain some more points to help close the gap.
I personally love VIR. It’s one of my favorite tracks in North America. Historically, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO has been very successful at this circuit. This track has a little bit of everything – big brake zone which are great for passing, technical sections that reach finesse and those fast and daunting high-speed uphill esses with massive elevation change. What could you not love? Also, this will be the first event where we have our fans back. I can’t wait to see everyone there.”
Source. K-PAX Racing
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