K-PAX Racing is delighted to announce that it will be making a return to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for the 2023 season, with a star line up behind the wheel of its Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2.
Combining in the Pro class of the Endurance Cup will be a trio of Lamborghini Squadra Corse Factory Drivers: Franck Perera from France, Sandy Mitchell from the United Kingdom, and Marco Mapelli from Italy.
Based in Sonoma, California, the successful outfit clinched three titles in Fanatec GT World Challenge America last season, locking up back-to-back Drivers’, Teams’, and Manufacturers’ championship honors in dominant fashion, which included a remarkable ten month, ten round unbeaten streak – the longest in its history.
K-PAX Racing also made a return to the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in 2022, joining forces with Orange1 to cross the line in 11th position – which included leading the contest at one stage – meaning it has a 100% finishing record in the race to date. With the marquee event the jewel in the Fanatec GT crown, all eyes will be firmly fixed on the summer spectacular, which is held across the end of June and start of July.
Franck, from Montpelier in France, is an experienced racer who claimed his first title in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2003. A Formula 1 test driver in the mid-2000s, he competed in Champ Car and IndyCar before switching to GT and endurance racing, clinching the European Le Mans Series GTC crown in 2015, and is no stranger to K-PAX Racing, having joined the team on several occasions including at last year’s Indianapolis 8 Hours.
22-year-old Sandy hails from Forfar in Scotland and is now in his third year as a Lamborghini Squadra Corse Factory Driver. In 2016, when he was just 16, he became the youngest ever pole position holder and race winner in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship, and he has won at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in both the Silver Cup and Pro-Am, was second in the 2019 Super Trofeo World Final, and clinched the 2020 British GT title behind the wheel of a Huracán GT3.
Italian Marco, from Seregno, has been a Lamborghini Factory driver since 2017, and shared an overall sweep of the 2019 Fanatec GT World Challenge in both Europe’s Sprint and Endurance Cup series. In 2020 he finished second in GTD at the 24 Hours of Daytona and has competed with K-PAX Racing at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and Indianapolis 8 Hours Presented by AWS.
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season takes in five rounds at some of Europe’s most iconic venues, with races of three, six, and 24 hours in length. The season begins at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, for the Official Test Days, concluding at Barcelona in Spain in October.
Franck Perera
“I’m really happy to race with K-PAX, especially in Europe. I really had a great time in Indianapolis with the team last year. It was not an easy race, but I think we did a great job, and we have the chance to do something really great this year together with K-PAX and Lamborghini.
“Sandy is really a young talent, it’s good also for him that he gets the chance to be in the Pro car, and I’m really happy that we can share the car with Marco as we are two experienced drivers. I know Marco really well, we are good friends, we learn the same way, even with the car we are quite similar, so this is really good, and I think it is the key for this kind of championship.
“It’s really important to have three good drivers, but also three drivers that get along together, that respect each other, and do the job, because at the end we win together and not alone. What I’m really focused on, and I think we’re going to work together and prepare as much as possible for, is Spa. It is the hardest race of the season and Lamborghini is still missing the win, so I believe we have the chance to fight for it.”
Sandy Mitchell
“The official GT World Challenge test days will be my first time with the team and I’m really looking forward to it. I know Marco and Franck and get on well with them, so I think we’ll work well together. All three of us are good team players, so that can be a strength of ours to try and get the best out of the car. I’ve raced in almost all the classes in GTWCE, so it’s great to have a chance in a Pro car which is a huge thing for my career and an opportunity that I’ve been working hard to get.
“We’ll be looking to have good, consistent races, and GT World Challenge is all about taking the chances when they’re there, because it’s very rare that that one or two cars do well in all races, with it being so highly competitive, and especially in the top 10-15 places.
“The highlight of the year is going to be the Spa 24 Hours, which is a race I’ve won in two classes already with Pro-Am and Silver, so it would be pretty cool do that in Pro. K-PAX Racing always have really good speed and put on a really good showing last year in the Spa 24 Hours, so I’ve got no doubts that the car is going to be quick and we’ll have a good team around us.”
Marco Mapelli
“I am looking forward to being part of the K-PAX Racing team again and I hope we continue the form we had last year at Spa, which was very good. The group is solid, we just need to make sure that everything works once everybody’s here in Europe.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Sandy, as we’ve only been together at a few tests for development of the new car. He’s a very quick guy and he’s young, so it’s a good opportunity for him to race in a Pro car finally. I think he will be quick, and we can do a good job together.
“I have known Franck for a long time, and we spent time together when he moved to Lamborghini. We have raced together in the same team and the same car so I know him pretty well, and I have no doubt his focus and talent will help us through the season.
“With the commitment from K-PAX Racing and the support Lamborghini will give the team we will be able to fight for the championship this season and for the victory at the 24 Hours of Spa. This is our goal.”
Darren Law, Program Manager
“This is an exciting time for K-PAX Racing. After so many years of success with our racing program in the US, we have decided to expand to the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for the 2023 season. SRO has a great product and the best GT3 racing in the world. We have experimented with racing in Europe several times already, at the 24 Hours of Spa, as well as a full season of the Endurance Cup in 2020. We were successful that year but feel we have unfinished business.
“It is quite a challenge for a US team to move its operations and equipment to Europe. We have leased a workshop in Italy, and we will use part of our US team members and a partial crew from Europe. All the equipment is in containers on its way and both our cars are at Lamborghini Squadra Corse now getting updated to the new EVO2 spec. Fingers crossed everything makes it in time for the first test at Paul Ricard but if not, we have support from Lamborghini if needed.
“We have to thank Jim Haughey for allowing all of us to have this opportunity. Without his passion and dedication to the sport none of this would be possible. We also have to thank Giorgio Sanna [Lamborghini’s Head of Motorsport] for giving us such a strong driver line up. We have worked with both Marco and Franck previously, and raced against Sandy, so it will be great to have him joining our program this year. We are looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get the season started.”
Source. K-Pax Racing
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