K-PAX Racing enters the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour having secured multiple titles in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS (GTWCA) Championship, but it will be “business as usual” for the multi-year winners. In fact, this year’s edition October 7-9 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is motivated mostly by “unfinished business.”
The team has a myriad of goals entering the SRO Motorsports Group hosted season finale and favorite. When it comes to the GTWCA Championship, drivers between the team’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs will settle a closely contested battle for runner-up honors in the series championship. The team can also help the Italian marque lock-up its second-consecutive title. It is not only the present points race, but also past results for a team, as it is determined to win the overall after a coming close with a third-place finish last season.
“Knowing that we are fighting for a podium position in the championship is always a great feeling, but also knowing K-PAX Racing will take those positions no matter what is great,” K-PAX Racing Program Manager Darren Law said. “We will see how it plays out, and we will let the drivers race hard against each other. The key factor is that we can’t have any contact between the cars – both need to finish as we have another championship on the line for Lamborghini with the manufacturer’s title up for grabs as well.”
K-PAX Racing, its drivers and Lamborghini will have the opportunity to earn points in both the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli (IGTC) and GTWCA series. While Andrea Caldarelli earned his second-straight crown in the penultimate rounds of the championship, teammate Michele Beretta (213) and former co-champion Jordan Pepper (199) will decide runner-up. All four regular K-PAX Racing drivers have been up-top the standings, including Misha Goikhberg in the four-spot (179). Lamborghini enters the week with a 44-point lead in GTWCA (254).
K-PAX Racing has made a claim as a true contender in its last two visits at The Brickyard. The team entered the inaugural 2020 running of the event, where Pepper shined through adverse weather early by giving K-PAX Racing a tremendous 50-plus second lead – until damage inflicted by a competitor took the car off-pace to ultimately a Top-10 class finish. The team returned to Indy the following year, this time with Lamborghini Squadra Corse. K-PAX Racing carried steam from a GTWCA Championship clinch, winning the three-hour series race in the Pro class with one of its Huracán GT3 EVOs. The other, battling in IGTC, earned a third-place finish after the full eight hours.
“This has really become one of the great races added to our calendar,” Law said. “We have had success here in the past and were close to winning last year. With so many of the factory drivers coming and several international teams from the Intercontinental GT Challenge, it is always a hard race. But we have the driver line-ups, and the team is ready. The goal is to get to the top-step of the podium this year.”
DRIVER QUOTES
Andrea Caldarelli – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “It’s a full-Italian line-up, isn’t it? I know Marco [Mapelli] very well as a longtime teammate and Michele [Beretta] as well. The old-school boy band is coming back together. I think we’re going to have good fun because we have such a great relationship between the three of us. For an endurance race, that’s always a plus.
We come back to doing some endurance racing since Spa, and I’m really looking forward to it. Intercontinental GT Challenge is very competitive, so it’s a good thing if you’re doing well. I feel like we have a bit of redemption to gain here after such an unlucky race – even though we scored a podium. I think we’ll go there with great motivation. I know there will be a lot of cars on-track and it’ll be a challenge, but that’s why it’s special.”
Michele Beretta – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “I’m super happy to pair with Andrea [Caldarelli] and Marco [Mapelli]. I know both of them very well, and Marco is a really good friend – we raced together in the 2019 [ADAC] GT Masters. I think this race is going to be good fun. It’s my first time at Indy, and I don’t know what to expect from the track. So, we’ll have to see. We’ll be aiming for a good result.”
Marco Mapelli – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “When you enter Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the historical point of view is crazy. You really feel the energy. I think it suits our car, especially with the layout this year. There is a lot of flow like Sebring [International Raceway]. So, I believe this year will be better than last year.”
Jordan Pepper – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “It’ll be different this year than the previous two seasons. It was an all-Pro line-up when it was all IGTC, and this year it includes one Silver. So, we’ll stick to the line-up of Misha [Goikhberg] and I, adding Lamborghini factory driver Franck Perera. From what I hear, he is very quick. I know him from the paddock, but I have yet to share a car with him. It’ll be interesting to see the dynamic. What’s good is that Misha and him have driven together in the past. I’m sure he’ll fit in quite seamlessly. Let’s hope we can hit the ground running.
Every year I’ve been pretty quick at Indy – always fighting for the win. Let’s see if we can get it this year. This race is special because it’s at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The atmosphere of Speedway and when you’re driving into the track… walking down Gasoline Alley… it’s pretty cool. You can tell it’s a well-supported motorsports city.”
Misha Goikhberg – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “I think it’s a stellar line-up. I worked with Franck [Perera] last season in some other competitions. He’s a very strong driver for Lamborghini factory. So, I think it’s going to be about gelling together and seeing what works well for us and executing. I think, what this series has shown us, is that it’s not about having the fastest racecar but having a consistent car through different conditions. You are not going to find one car that fits the entire eight hours, so we must find something consistent that works across the range. We’ll also have to execute flawlessly, which includes the pit-stops. I haven’t been there yet, but it’s a historic racetrack and this is an international race which will make it special.”
Franck Perera – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO – “It’s big pleasure to join K-PAX Racing for the Indianapolis 8 Hour. I’m really looking forward to work with everyone. I’m really happy to be back in Indianapolis, because when I was leaving there in 2008, I was able to test at Indy… but things changed before the [Indianapolis] 500 in 2008 due to economy crisis at that time. I’m really looking to be back in such iconic place, in GT car now.”
Source. K-Pax Racing
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