Summarize

GT World Challenge America champions, South African Jordan Pepper and Italian teammate Andrea Caldarelli’s K-Pax Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO picked up where it left off, with a compelling double victory at the Sonoma, California season opener over the weekend. Pepper dominated qualifying before the duo raced to victory in both races in a perfect start to their 2022 campaign.

“That was a dream start to the 2022 GT World Challenge America season for us, just as it was last year at our home track at Sonoma,” Jordan explained. "Going into this one on the new Pirelli tyre, we were not quite sure what would happen, but looking at the result, it clearly was a good weekend! 

"We were on the front foot from first practice with quickest laps both in the wet and the dry, so we were confident going into qualifying. “The first session turned out to be probably my best qualifying session ever. “I put it on pole for Saturday’s race 1 with Andrea a very close second on the race 2 grid for Sunday.

"The first race went according to plan — I got ahead at the start and managed to open a gap as my pursuers fought it out behind. “The team executed a smooth stop, I handed the car over to Andrea in a 50 second lead and he brought it home for a great win. “That was a really good race! “The second race was a harder fight, Andrea had a good dice with Spinelli's Mercedes for most of his session, but our pit strategy managed to get us ahead thanks to another great stop. 

I put my head down and managed to open up a decent lead until a late safety car closed it up again. “I opened it up again after it went green again and went on to take the win. “So yes, it certainly was a dream start to our season, considering our main objective is to defend our championship. 

“We also have some other exciting plans, which include doing the Spa 24 Hour, so we're developing flat out to improve the car. “That’s where we're headed and I think we are on the right track!”