Baptista Promoted to GT Class

Photo: Bob Chapman/Autosport Image

Rodrigo Baptista has been promoted to the GT class in Pirelli World Challenge, series officials have confirmed.

The K-PAX Racing driver, who currently leads the GT Pro-Am class standings in SprintX and runs second in GTA, will now be classified as a professional driver, due to his recent success in both series.

Baptista claimed an overall win alongside Bentley factory driver Maxime Soulet at Virginia International Raceway in April and was hit with a weight penalty equivalent to 1.5 percent of his Bentley Continental GT3’s minimum weight from the following round.

Series officials have since approved a classification change that will see the Silver-rated Brazilian move into the top class.

Per the PWC rulebook, any GTA driver that scores an overall podium finish or two top-fives is subject to re-classification, which can also be made at the stewards’ discretion.

According to a bulletin issued by PWC, Baptista’s previous results and points will be “amended” in order to be removed from the Am category.

The change comes past the halfway point of the season, with only four rounds remaining heading into June 22-24 Sprint round at Road America.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John