Team Earns Four Top-Three Results at Road America

K-PAX Racing enjoyed four podiums in last season’s stop at Road America, which ultimately helped secure its 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS title. The team, again, put both its Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs on the podium with the chance of defending its crown inching closer within reach. The K-PAX Racing cars swapped second and third place in Rounds 9 & 10 of this year’s championship.

It was a clean Sunday start for the two K-PAX Racing Huracán GT3 EVOs. Jordan Pepper overtook second at the drop of the green flag, and Andrea Caldarelli advanced four spots from an eighth position start. The major shuffle during the opening sequence of action saw both cars in Pro podium position, and this would be the case into the mandatory pit window. The No. 1 was the first to execute the driver change for Michele Beretta while the No. 3 opted for a later stop, switching to Misha Goikhberg.

Nearing the hour-mark, Beretta accelerated by Goikhberg for the two-spot. Shortly thereafter, the No. 3 served a drive-through penalty for a pit-stop time infringement. Beretta managed the No. 1 car’s advantage over third overall, ultimately finishing second – gaining six spots in the race. Goikhberg however experienced unrelenting electrical issues felt as early as Pepper’s opening stint, which eventually retired the No. 3 prematurely. The No. 3 still completed at least 70 percent of the race to earn points and finish on the Pro podium. The weekend result is the third time in five events that both Huracán GT3 EVOs finished on the podium in each race. The No. 1 has podiumed at least once in each event this season.

“All-in-all, we have to be happy with the finish of the No. 1 – scoring second-place points,” K-PAX Racing Program Manager Darren Law said. “Coming up from where they started, it was a great finish. But it is unfortunate for the No. 3. They were running second the whole first half of the race, but we had some type of electrical problem that caused the car to quit. Luckily, we completed 70 percent and got reasonable points. We’ll move onto Sebring [International Raceway], which is a great track for us. Hopefully we can have a strong finish there.”

K-PAX Racing extends its team title lead with the pair of second-place finishes (216), and during this weekend, Goikhberg made the jump over a competitor in the drivers’ category to give K-PAX Racing the first four rows of the rankings. With three rounds remaining in this year’s championship, Caldarelli (213) still holds a 47-point lead over Pepper (166), followed by Beretta (163) and Goikhberg (146).

Next up: a September stop at Sebring International Raceway. Visit gt-world-challenge-america.com for more event information. All races are streamed live and archived for on-demand viewing at youtube.com/gtworld or twitch.tv/sromotorsports. SRO America championships also feature broadcasts on CBS Sports.

DRIVER QUOTES

Andrea Caldarelli – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 3^rd, 2^nd) – “It was a very challenging week. We were lucky with a few things and just took the points. We are off the pace and it’s something we are chasing. Hopefully, we do for Sebring [International Raceway].”

Michele Beretta – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 3^rd, 2^nd) – “It was difficult to keep up with the pace. We were lucky, especially with some of the other team’s misfortunes that took them out of the final race. It was very difficult in terms of speed. So, we’ll just have to figure out how we can improve for the next one.”

Jordan Pepper – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 2^nd, 3^rd) – “Again, what could have been… We had a good start to the race, right behind the leader, and we had a different tire strategy so we could have been good in Misha [Goikhberg]’s stint. Unfortunately, an electrical issue progressively got worse – later in my stint and very bad in Misha’s which eventually ended our race. Luckily, we finished 70 percent, so we still managed to get points. It seems to be the tradition of our season – we have the potential to do well and to no fault of anyone, mechanical gremlins seem to end up with us. It’s pretty much the end of the championship. Now we just focus on what we can do, and the goal is simple: race wins.”

Misha Goikhberg – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 2^nd, 3^rd) – “We had a lot of potential this weekend but let the win slip away. We managed an issue throughout the race, which was unfortunate. We want a win badly. We have a test at Sebring [International Raceway] and hopefully there we can get two of them.”

About K-PAX Racing
Based in Sonoma, Calif., K-PAX Racing has celebrated a total 179 podiums, 71 wins, five Driver Championships, and four Team and Manufacturer Championships, solidifying the team as a continuous championship contender. In the GT Class, K-PAX Racing has fielded Porsche 911 GT3s during the 2007 – 2008 seasons, Volvo S60s during the 2009 – 2013 seasons, McLaren 12C GT3s in 2014 and McLaren 650S GT3s from 2015 – 2017. The team made a switch to Bentley for 2018, fielding the first-generation Continental GT3 in its first season and the second-generation model in 2019 and 2020. K-PAX Racing debuted the 2021 season in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO.

About Lamborghini Squadra Corse

Squadra Corse is the motorsport department of Automobili Lamborghini. Born in 2013 within the Research & Development department, Squadra Corse provides an integrated approach to driving experiences of the brand; from driving course programs with road vehicles to motorsport competitions, through the Lamborghini Super Trofeo or championships of the GT class.

Esperienza is the first step for those who are interested in the world of Lamborghini: Its aim is to share the thrill and emotions of the super sports cars from Sant’Agata Bolognese with fans and potential customers alike, by advanced driving course programs. Esperienza Dinamica is divided into five programs in order to face every type of surface: Corsa, Neve, Sabbia, Strada, Terra. Esperienza Accademia is the program dedicated to advanced drivers, offering driving course programs not only on the racetrack but also on ice in order to improve the driving skills of the pilots.

The Lamborghini Super Trofeo is an international motor racing series with drivers competing in identical Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVOs, the racing version of the production model, that features the same 5.2 l naturally aspirated V10 engine. Inaugurated in 2009, Super Trofeo hosts regional championships in Europe, Asia and North America and is divided in four categories: Pro, Pro-Am, Am and Lamborghini Cup bringing together passionate gentleman drivers and young professional pilots. At the end of each season, the teams and drivers of all regions compete against each other in the World Finals, the highlight of the season.

The most challenging tests are those which see Lamborghini’s Customer Racing Teams competing in the principal international GT championships driving the Huracán GT3. The GT3 differs from the Huracán Super Trofeo EVO through its more sophisticated aerodynamics, kinematic suspension control and other technical specifications respecting official FIA regulations. In 2017 the Huracán GT3 won the Blancpain GT Series; in 2018 and 2019 the Huracán GT3 completed a double victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in GTD Class. Lamborghini is the only company in the world to win both of the prestigious races, that are also known as 36 Hours of Florida, in two consecutive years. Another premiere in 2019: The GT3 won the Triple Crown of the Blancpain GT Series with the titles in the categories Overall, Endurance and Sprint. In 2020 Lamborghini celebrated third victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona with sensational one-two finish.

Both the Huracán Super Trofeo and the Huracán GT3 are constructed and built at the plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese on the same production line as the road vehicles. Specialized technicians of the Lamborghini Squadra Corse are present at every station along the line.

Moreover, Lamborghini Squadra Corse is trying to develop new talents in motor sports, for example through the Young Drivers Program (open for drivers under 26 that will compete in the Super Trofeo championship) and the GT3 Junior Program (for future GT drivers). Both the programs aim to offer young drivers the possibility to improve their driving skills helping them to take a career as professional pilots.

In 2018 Squadra Corse inaugurated its first One-Off, the SC18 Alston, followed by open-top SC20 in 2020. In the same year Squadra Corse unveiled Essenza SCV12 the track-only hypercar in a limited edition of 40 units, fitted with the most powerful V12 naturally aspirated engine ever developed by Lamborghini: over 830 hp.