Caldarelli, Mapelli Join Valencia Sprint Cup Grid With VSR

2019 champions Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli will return to Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup as a new Pro lineup for Vincenzo Sospiri Racing at Valencia this weekend.

Confirmed on a 40-car entry list, Caldarelli and Mapelli will replace fellow factory drivers Franck Perera and Jordan Pepper in the No. 60 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Perera and Pepper contested the opening three rounds with VSR and sit 10th in the standings. Their best result was sixth in Race 2 at Brands Hatch, while Pepper secured Lamborghini’s first Sprint Cup pole position since 2021 last time out at Hockenheim.

Mapelli and Caldarelli are both set for their first appearances in the series since they claimed the Sprint Cup title in an FFF Racing Team Lamborghini four years ago.

“We have known each other since a long time and we won Sprint together in 2019,” Caldarelli told Sportscar365.

“I’m really looking forward to it. In a random entry like this at the end of the championship, it’s always a bit weird because we haven’t followed the championship. But there is always pressure, especially when our last race in Sprint was when we won the title.

“We were always a good pairing. We are very similar in the ways we think, so we are very good together.”

A Lamborghini spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365 that the change was made to allow Perera to focus on his ongoing DTM campaign with SSR Performance.

The Stefan Schlund-led squad currently leads the teams’ championship with the Red Bull Ring and Hockenheim rounds remaining, while Perera’s teammate Mirko Bortolotti sits atop the drivers’ championship standings.

Pepper, meanwhile, is due to return to VSR’s Sprint Cup lineup for the final round at Zandvoort, while he will also rejoin the Iron Lynx GTD Pro squad in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale at Motul Petit Le Mans.

VSR has also altered its Silver Cup crew for the Valencia round, with Maximilian Paul replacing Rolf Ineichen in the No. 163 car.

The German driver, who contested the recent Hockenheim round with Paul Motorsport, will team up with Yuki Nemoto.

Ayhancan Guven replaces Klaus Bachler in the No. 911 Pure Rxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R, as the Austrian driver has clashing commitments with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, Nova Race has called upon former International GT Open racer Alex Frassineti to replace Diego di Fabio aboard the No. 68 Honda NSX GT3 Evo22.

GSM is yet to confirm the driver pairing that will drive its No. 18 Lamborghini at Circuit Ricardo Tormo after the Italian pairing of Matteo Desideri and Federico Scionti raced at Hockenheim.

The car count for the penultimate Sprint Cup round has dropped by one entry compared to Hockenheim, with Paul Motorsport not listed after its one-off outing in Germany.

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report