For a second-consecutive season, K-PAX Racing will enter the Intercontinental GT Challenge (ICGT) California 8 Hours at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Sharing the seat of the team’s Bentley Continental GT3 will be current K-PAX Racing drivers Álvaro Parente, Rodrigo Baptista and former team driver Bryan Sellers.
“Laguna Seca is such a storied track with a lot of history, and we have had a lot of success there in the past,” Program Manager Darren Law said. “This track is local to our team, and we have good data here. Having previously competed in both ICGT events at the Sepang 12 Hours and also last season in this eight-hour event, we understand the challenges and look forward to competing with other teams from around the world.”
In the inaugural ICGT event at Laguna Seca, K-PAX Racing finished third and was one of just three cars to finish the race on the lead lap. Now racing with a new manufacturer for the upcoming race October 26-28, Law said the team is poised to “give the first-generation Continental GT3 a good send-off by repeating a podium finish.”
Though this season’s entry of the Continental GT3 will be new to the team, endurance racing is an adjustment the team has made at the end of the last three seasons – its first entry was in the 2016 Sepang 12 Hours. Regularly competing in the Pirelli World Challenge, the team is normally accustomed to 50-60-minute races. However, K-PAX Racing is comfortable with shifting styles in both engineering and strategy when it comes to longer races.
“The shift between doing sprint events and endurance races has different challenges for each member of the team – from the drivers’ mindsets to the engineers’ thought processes and even the team’s preparation,” Law said. “We’re fortunate that our team is experienced in endurance racing and we have ample time from the final race of the season to this event, we will be fully prepared.”
The driver pairings are both new and familiar for this season’s line-up. Over the course of the 2018 PWC season, Parente and Baptista have competed alongside each other in both the SprintX and Sprint GT class. As for Sellers and Parente, they competed as K-PAX Racing teammates during the 2017 season and drove together in the team’s first California 8 Hours.
“It will be great to have Bryan Sellers back with the team,” Law said. “He and Álvaro were a part of the driver line-up last year that helped get us to the podium. He is a great driver and so experienced in endurance racing. He knows everyone on the team already, so it is a perfect fit for our program. Although he has not driven the Bentley Continental GT3 in competition yet, I don’t have any worries about him getting used to the car. We will run a test program for him prior to the race so that he is up to speed and comfortable with how these cars behave.”
Sellers will be tasked with learning a new car in the Continental GT3, but he said he enjoys and embraces new challenges “whether it’s a new track, car or team.” Sellers, who regularly competes against Parente in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA), said he looks forward to not only reuniting with Parente, but also joining Baptista in his second-consecutive endurance race with K-PAX Racing.
“For me, getting to drive in a new GT3 car is super exciting,” Sellers said. “The Continental GT3 is a beautiful race car and it’s proven very successful over the course of its lifespan. To my understanding, it’s a bit of a different car to drive and it takes some getting used to, but luckily for me I have two really great teammates who have figured out the car and I’m certain they will be willing to offer me some help whenever I need it.”
“I really enjoyed being teammates with Álvaro [last season]. I’m looking forward to getting back with him this year. He’s a guy that’s extremely talented and can make things happen behind the wheel at almost any given point. Working with him is great because he’s such an easy guy to work with. He’s always willing to offer-up information, and he’s been one of my favorite people over the years to work with and against.”
Prior to joining the PWC ranks, Baptista has had experience in endurance racing. In 2016, Baptista finished runner-up in the Porsche GT3 Endurance Cup in Brazil while also competing in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Bringing young talent to an otherwise veteran driver line-up for the California 8 Hours, Baptista said he is excited to share the seat with some of the world’s most skilled racers.
“I am pleased to take part in the California 8 Hours with K-PAX Racing driving the Bentley Continental GT3, especially because we will have a strong line-up together with Álvaro and Bryan,” Baptista said. “This will be my first time with Álvaro in the same car, and I am sure we will perform and deliver really good results. As for Bryan, I know him from last year when he was driving for K-PAX Racing and seeing his results from this year – leading the GTD class in IMSA – I think we will be one of the strongest trios of the grid.”
