Caldarelli, Pepper Take Qual 1 and Qual 2 Poles

Caldarelli, Pepper Take Qual 1 and Qual 2 Poles
  • #3 Drivers Take P1 in Qual 1, Qual 2
  • QUAL 1 Provisional Results - PDF Link
  • QUAL 2 Provisional Results - PDF Link

Sonoma, Calif. - Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper, co-drivers of the #3 KPAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, captured P1 in both Race and Race 2 Qualifying sessions at Sonoma Raceway Saturday. They will lead the charge through the opening weekend of the GT World Challenge America competition.

In the first Qualifier, Caldarelli's 1:36.186 lap time in the #3 KPAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 was good enough to capture the pole for Race 1. Team mate Corey Lewis, piloting the #6 KPAX Racing Lamborghini, turned in a 1:36.877 lap time to keep the KPAX lockout on the front row for the first race. Starting the second row in the #33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, Russell Ward's qualifying effort of 1:38.542 earned him the P3 position while the only BMW F13 M6 GT3 in the field, the #96 Turner Motorsport entry driven by GT4 Champion Michael Dinan, managed a 1:38.661 to take the fourth spot on the grid.

Fifth on the grid and leading the Pro-Am class is the #77 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3, followed by DXDT Racing's #04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by George Kurtz. Kurtz' team mate, David Askew, will take P7 in the #63 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

In the eighth grid slot and in P4 in the Pro-Am class is Wright Motorsports' Fred Poordad in the #20 Porsche 911 GT3-R 991.2. Positions 9 through 11, all Pro-Am class competitors, will be occupied by Jeff Burton in the #91 Rearden Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3; Ziad Ghandour in the #9 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3; and Taylor Hagler in the #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3.

Jean-Claude Saada will take the course from P12 overall in the #61 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 after an incident in practice had the teams and engineers scrambling to make the car competition-worthy overnight, while P13 sees GT3 newcomer Frank Gannett starting in the #12 Ian Lacy Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.

Erin Vogel will start from the back of Grid 1 in the #19 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 as a penalty from a Qualifying infraction.

QUALIFYING 2

The second Qualifying session again saw the #3 KPAX Racing Lamborghini on top with a 1:36.026 lap time with co-driver Jordan Pepper behind the wheel. Fighting his way into P2 is DXDT Racing's Colin Braun who ran a 1:36.409 in the #04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to edge out a weekend front row lockout attempt from the #6 KPAX Racing Lamborghini, this time with driver Giovanni Venturini, who had to settle for P3 instead.

Pro-Am qualifiers will occupy the fourth through sixth positions as the grid sees Jan Heylen (#20 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R 991.2), Ryan Dalziel (#63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3), and Dakota Dickerson (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3) looking to clear traffic and make a run for the podium.

Pro-class P3 qualifier Philip Ellis (#33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) will take the 7th position on the overall grid, followed by Matt McMurry (PA #77 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3); Robby Foley (PR #96 Turner Motorsport BMW F13 M6 GT3); multi-series champion Michael Cooper (PA #19 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3); and Vesko Kozarov (PA #19 Rearden Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3).

The Am entry from AF Corse will see Conrad Grunewald piloting the #61 Ferrari 488 GT3 from the 12th overall position, with Drew Staveley (PA #12 Ian Lacy Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3) and Giacomo Altoe (PA #9 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3) behind.

The competition hits terminal velocity as GT World Challenge America Race 1 gets underway at 2:15 pm PST. Catch all the action live streamed on the GTWorld YouTube channel as well as an audio simulcast on SiriusXM SXM 382 (web 992), with live timing and scoring and the video stream available at gt-world-challenge-america.com/watch-live.

CBS Sports Network weekend package will start broadcasting at 1:00 om PST for Sunday's Race 2, with live stream, satellite radio and live timing and scoring also underway. Check your local listing for CBSSN channel information.