There is perhaps no better place to launch the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season than at the iconic Temple of Speed at Monza in northern Italy. Close to home for Lamborghini Squadra Corse, it is a venue which has produced myriad success stories for the Sant’Agata Bolognese firm in years past.
Monza plays host to the opening Endurance Cup bout of the year, a three-hour race to kick the global GTWC campaign off in earnest and the first of five long-distance events of the European season.
Lamborghini is well represented across both the Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup championships in 2023, with a total of eight teams and 12 entries (eight in Endurance and four in Sprint). The roster includes some familiar returning faces such as Barwell Motorsport, VS Racing, Grasser Racing Team, AGS Events, K-PAX Racing and GSM Monaco while Iron Lynx and Iron Dames are the new additions to the brand.
Endurance Cup
Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s main priority lies in the GTWCE Endurance Cup this season, with eight entries (two Pro, one Gold, two Silver, two Bronze and one Pro-Am) joining the grid for the season-opener at Monza in April.
After winning back-to-back GTWC America titles, K-PAX Racing returns to the Europe fold full-time this year, with a Pro line-up of Lamborghini Factory Drivers in the #6 Huracán GT3 EVO2: Marco Mapelli, Sandy Mitchell and Franck Perera. For 2020 British GT champion Mitchell, this will be his first season in a Pro entry. There is a full Factory Driver line-up in the second Pro entry, with Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper completing the #63 Iron Lynx roster. The Italian team will also field a Gold Cup entry for Michele Beretta, Rolf Ineichen and recently announced Factory Driver Leonardo Pulcini.
Grasser Racing Team returns to the Endurance Cup following a season on the sidelines, with two Silver Cup cars. Experienced Austrian Clemens Schmid is joined in the #85 car by two graduates from International GT Open: last year’s co-champion Benjamin Hites and Glenn van Berlo. Completing the two-car effort will be talented British youngster Sam Neary, driving alongside Ricky Capo and Fabrizio Crestani in the #58 machine.
In the Bronze category, the all-female Iron Dames crew of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey will do battle in their magenta-coloured #83 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 after producing some impressive performances last season. Like in 2022, the trio will become a quartet for the Spa 24 Hours, with the return of Doriane Pin. Also contesting the Bronze Cup is the #8 AGS Events, with Swiss duo Antonin Borga and Leonardo Gorini joined by former LMP2 driver Nico Jamin.
A long-standing Lamborghini Squadra Corse partner, Barwell Motorsport will also be back for another season of Endurance Cup in the #78 Huracán GT3 EVO2. The British team welcomes back former touring car driver – and 2020 Spa 24 Hours class winner – Rob Collard as well as 2021 British GT champion Dennis Lind. Adam Balon will also be part of the line-up but will miss the Spa 24 Hours due to business commitments.
Sprint Cup
VS Racing leads the Lamborghini contingent in the Sprint Cup, having contested the Endurance Cup last year. A three-car line-up (one in Pro, two in Silver) gives the team a solid foundation on which to challenge for the title on two fronts.
Factory Driver Perera and Pepper team up in the team’s Pro entry, which will run the #60 as a nod to Lamborghini’s 60th anniversary in 2023. In the Silver Cup entries, Ineichen will partner Lamborghini Young Professional driver Yuki Nemoto, who stays with the team for another season. They will drive the #119 machine, while Baptiste Moulin and Marcus Påverud line up in the #163 car and are another pair of drivers to remain with the Forlì-based outfit.
Remaining in the Sprint Cup for the second successive year, after making their debut last season, is the Monaco GSM Racing team, which will also compete in the Silver Cup class.