Becomes winningest driver in team history

Andrea Caldarelli was all smiles when he met teammate Michele Beretta in Sebring International Raceway Victory Lane. Following a win that sealed the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Team Championship for K-PAX Racing, a sweep of the weekend rewarded Caldarelli with a crown of his own. K-PAX Racing earned four podiums in Rounds 11 & 12, on its way to clinch multiple titles ahead of the season finale.

“It was a phenomenal weekend for K-PAX Racing,” K-PAX Racing Program Manager Darren Law said. “It’s hard enough to win races. So do what we did, backing up our Team and Drivers’ Championship, it says so much about this entire organization – from the crew and management to the drivers.”

The two K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO locked-out the second row of the grid for the highly anticipated event finale. Pepper made a quick pivot to the outside and into the first corner and was able to safely sweep by Caldarelli. The battle persisted into about the 15-minute mark, when Pepper ceded the spot to Caldarelli into the first turn – in strikingly similar fashion. The No. 1 Huracán GT3 EVO continued to settle in, as Caldarelli thereon set a series of CrowdStrike Fastest Laps to 2:00.812 by the pit window. The No. 1 opted to pit late into the window, as Caldarelli continued to press for runner-up position. A quickly executed joker stop not only allowed the No. 1 to make the jump to second, but also to the lead following a slower stop by the leader.

Beretta was able to manage the pace, unthreatened, and the No. 1 ultimately finished more than 40 seconds ahead of the field. Meanwhile, the No. 3 of Misha Goikhberg endured a multi-car battle for most of his stint, finishing third. Both the team’s two Huracán GT3 EVOs have finished on the Pro podium in nine races this season.

Caldarelli has been a kingpin in the K-PAX Racing organization since it partnered with Lamborghini Squadra Corse in 2021. In 12 regular series events – 90-minute race length, two-driver format – the Italian talent has won 17 times, besting the record for most wins in team history set by former team driver Álvaro Parente (16). This includes back-to-back sweeps of Sebring International Raceway – both which secured the Pro Drivers’ Championship. Caldarelli is the only driver since Randy Pobst to win multiple and consecutive Driver Championships under the K-PAX Racing banner. This year’s clinch of the drivers’ title marks the team’s sixth.

“We didn’t have a great last couple of events, so there was a lot of pressure coming into Sebring,” Caldarelli said. “There was a lot of hard work behind the scenes, and the guys did an awesome job. This title goes to them because honestly, we know how hard it was.”

“[RE: Most wins in team history] That’s really special. I’m really happy with that one. It’s sometimes hard to build a great relationship with a team, and there are a lot of ups-and-downs. Keeping it all together isn’t the easiest thing, but to do that and make history is always something special.”

K-PAX Racing will return to action October 7-9 for the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli / Fanatec GT World Challenge America Indianapolis 8 Hour. For event information, visit intercontinentalgtchallenge.com.

DRIVER QUOTES

Andrea Caldarelli – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 1^st, Race 2 – 1^st) – “It was definitely a very positive weekend. We knew we had to finish the race, which means not having any mistakes and racing clean. I tried to take an easy start, still keeping up with the guys up-front. I didn’t want to take a lot of risks, and we knew that we had pace. So, we focused on the pit-stop. The guys did a very good job, as we were able to jump the two cars ahead of us. That was a very good call.”

Michele Beretta – No. 1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 1^st, Race 2 – 1^st) – “Again, it was a perfect race. A big ‘thanks’ to everyone for the effort they put into this weekend. We had a great car for both races. It looks easy from the outside, but we are always trying to push inside and outside of the car. We try to make the car perfect. In previous weekends, the pace was not our pace. So, we tried to look at every little detail to get back on that pace. We found it. Now, we’ll focus on the finale.”

Jordan Pepper – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 3^rd, Race 2 – 3^rd) – “We moved from fourth to third at the start. I felt like once the race settled in, we’d have good pace. Throughout testing and everything, we showed great pace. But I feel like we somehow lost it this race weekend. It’s unfortunate. I did my best to hold off Andrea [Caldarelli] but he was just too good. It was a matter of time. When he got by, I just tried to conserve the car because of the brake issue and to give Misha [Goikhberg] the car in the best condition. It’s frustrating. We need to regroup.

I have to congratulate the No. 1 crew and Andrea for a phenomenal season as always. They deliver to the highest standard – winning the championship, and again, with one round to go. It’s impressive.”

Misha Goikhberg – No. 3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (Race 1 – 3^rd, Race 2 – 3^rd) – “It was another tough race for us. We struggled from the very beginning with braking, so from that point we were just managing. I think we did a pretty good job with what we had. We’ll need to have another big regroup and put all our eggs in the Indy basket. We need to have a good weekend right from the beginning and find that setup.”

About K-PAX Racing
Based in Sonoma, Calif., K-PAX Racing has celebrated a total 183 podiums, 73 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.