K-PAX Switches to Bentley for 2018

Image: K-PAX Racing

K-PAX Racing will make the switch to Bentley Continental GT3s in Pirelli World Challenge, the team announced on Wednesday, confirming a three-car program for 2018.

The team has campaigned McLarens in PWC for the last four years, including the 650S GT3 under the operation of Flying Lizard Motorsports since 2015.

As revealed by Sportscar365 last month, the California-based squad had been evaluating a potential shakeup to its program, including a change of manufacturer despite the success achieved with the British manufacturer.

“Working with McLaren GT for the past four years has been a great experience and produced tremendous results,” said Program Manager Darren Law.

“At the end of each season we evaluate the performance of our team and our program as well as what the future looks like.

“With the introduction of the new Bentley Continental GT3, we see a lot of potential.”

K-PAX will run the current-generation Bentleys next year, with an eye to upgrading to the newly announced Continental GT3 model in 2019.

Despite the new-for-2018 car being available to customers mid-year, Law told Sportscar365 they would unlikely get their hands on them until “very late” in the PWC season. 

The K-PAX program is set to replace Absolute Racing’s Bentley PWC effort, which concluded in September after a two-year campaign in the series.

“I’m delighted to welcome K-PAX Racing to the Bentley Motorsport family,” said Bentley Motorsport Director Brian Gush.

“They are a team with an impressive and proven track record in the Pirelli World Challenge and together we will take the fight to the competition. I look forward to working together.” 

Revised Lineup for K-PAX

While drivers for the three-car effort are not expected to be announced until early next year, it will feature multiple changes, including the expected departure of 2016 PWC champion Alvaro Parente.

Parente, a McLaren GT factory driver, along with fellow works pilots Ben Barnicoat and Jonny Kane, featured in the team’s lineup this year.

Law told Sportscar365 last month that he expects one of the entries to feature a factory driver and another to be run in GTA.

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