Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe – Paul Ricard

Lamborghini Factory Driver Sandy, builds on impressive All-Pro GT3 debut season in Paul Ricard Six-Hour race with K-PAX Racing. Sandy maintained his impressive debut season in the all-Pro class of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe at the weekend. Not only did he finish second in the Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series race, but he posted a series of fast laps to help the team move from 30th to inside the top 10 during the six-hour race at Paul Ricard.

Twenty-four hours before the principal on-track action started at the 3.5-mile circuit in southern France, Sandy, the 23-year-old from Forfar, pushed Neil Verhagen’s BMW all the way to the finish line in the Esports GT Pro sim race. But the main event was the gruelling day-night six-hour race. Partnering fellow Lamborghini factory drivers, Italian Marco Mapelli and Frenchman Franck Perera in the No 6 Huracan GT3 Evo2 prepared by the California-based K-PAX Racing team, the trio started 16th on the 57-car grid. Having hauled themselves back up through the field into eighth position overall, and entering the final hour, a mechanical issue at the last pit stop cost them time and dropped the car back into the pack.

“Overall it’s been another encouraging race for everyone associated with K-Pax Racing and Lamborghini,” Sandy, personally-backed by Huntly-based Black Bull Scotch Whisky, stated.
“Qualifying didn’t go our way, simply because there were so many cars on-track, but all three of us delivered exceptional stints throughout the race, showed strong pace and we were on-course for at least a top-six finish before the mechanical issue at the end.”

But Sandy, who posted a fastest lap time of 1min 54.934secs — set on lap 113 of the race’s 183 laps, a new distance record (1056.09km) for the race — focused on the bigger challenge ahead.
“This was only the second race with the team and the all-new Evo2 Huracan,” he continued, “and we’ve learned a huge amount again over the six hours. “One of the biggest targets for the team has always been the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the blue riband event of the championship, and that’s our next race on July 1-2. We’ve banked a lot of knowledge from the six hours at Paul Ricard.”

“It’s always seen as the perfect race to build-up to the Spa 24-Hours, and I know the team has benefitted hugely from running the car in the cooler night-time temperatures here. “We’ve already completed the testing at Spa, so we know we will again have a super-quick car. Now we go away, regroup and return with our eyes targeted on the big prize at Spa.”