Vincenzo Sospiri Racing has confirmed plans for a two-car assault on this season's Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup with Lamborghini.
The Italian squad made its series debut at last year's TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa with a a single Huracán in the Silver Cup class, while an International GT Open programme with the same machinery delivered both the teams' and drivers' titles.
Its 2022 effort will see the squad graduate to Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, again focussing on the Silver category, with drivers selected from Lamborghini’s GT3 junior programme. Michele Beretta, Benjamín Hites and Yuki Nemoto will form a trio, while the sister car will be shared by Michael Dörrbecker, Marcus Paverud and Baptiste Moulin.
Beretta brings considerable experience to the programme. The Italian made his Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS debut in 2016 and won the Silver class title in the Sprint Cup that year. He has since been a regular in the Endurance Cup, earning Silver class honours at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa in 2020, and is the reigning GT Open champion with VSR.
Hites adds further experience having contested two full seasons of Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS. The Chilean is set to drive for a third brand in as many years, having previously represented Mercedes-AMG in 2020 and Ferrari in 2021. Nemoto steps up to a full campaign after making his Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS debut with VSR at last year's TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa. Having switched to Europe in 2020, the Japanese racer has also been part of Italian GT and GT Open programmes with VSR.
In the sister Lamborghini, Moulin is also well known to the team having contested the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa and GT Open with VSR in 2021. The Belgian also entered the Endurance Cup in 2020 with FFF Racing, scoring a Silver class podium at Spa. Paverud will make his series debut, but the Norwegian is already known in the paddock having clinched the GT4 European Series Pro-Am title in 2019. Dörrbecker has also featured on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS support card as he steps up from VSR's Lamborghini Super Trofeo effort.
Led by former single-seater ace Vincenzo Sospiri, VSR is based in Forlì, ensuring a particularly short journey to the season-opening event at Imola on 1-3 April. The Endurance Cup campaign then moves to Circuit Paul Ricard (3-5 June), the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa (28-31 July), Hockenheim (2-4 September) and Barcelona (30 September-2 October). Before the racing gets underway, official testing will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on 7-8 March.