Less than a month following a clean sweep of the Pirelli World Challenge Team, Driver and Manufacturer Championships, GT team K-PAX Racing has announced entry into December’s Sepang 12 Hours. With the assistance of McLaren GT, K-PAX Racing will close out the year by embarking on its first endurance racing event.
“We have to thank McLaren GT for their support,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “They’ve stepped in to help us with the sharing of equipment and personnel, which alleviated some of the stress of getting ready for this event.”
“K-PAX Racing has enjoyed a fantastic season in Pirelli World Challenge and it is great to see that they are still pushing themselves after the season is finished,” said McLaren GT Managing Director Andrew Kirkaldy. The Sepang 12 Hour will be a new challenge for the team, but the 650S GT3 showed its strengths last year winning the Pro-Am Class and finishing fourth overall in the race.”
The 2016 championship winning McLaren 650S GT3 of Alvaro Parente will be utilized for the race, which left the team with minimal turnaround time in order to meet the required international shipping date. While the team usually allows a six month preparation window for international events, the success of the Pirelli World Challenge championship gave the team the final reassurance to enter into the endurance event, despite the limited time.
“This has literally been all hands on deck since we decided to run this race,” said Law. “We have a great understanding of this car, and we’re of course very excited to do this event, but from the time we decided we would run up to the point where the cars and equipment have to be shipped out was very short.”
Located near Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Maylasia, Sepang International Circuit offers 15 turns in 3.445 miles, complete with two particularly long straights. Known primarily for its Formula One events, the track has been hosting the Sepang 12 Hours, now sanctioned by the SRO, since 2000.
While the driver lineup for the December 11 event has yet to be announced at this time, the team will fill all three seats with McLaren GT Factory drivers.
“All the guys are really looking forward to getting back to doing pit stops,” said Law. “With our team’s experience over the years in endurance racing, it will be exciting for everyone to get back to endurance racing once again.”