Monday, April 17, 2017 – Highlands, NJ – Frankie Montecalvo is set to make his return to Pirelli World Challenge for the 2017 SprintX rounds with Always Evolving/Aim Autosport in the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. Montecalvo is no stranger to the Pirelli World Challenge circuit, having won the GTA Championship in 2015, but he is eager to contest the SprintX rounds in the Nissan GT-R.
“I’m very excited to team up with Always Evolving/Aim Autosport in the Nissan GT-R for the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX rounds. I’ve always been a fan of the GT-R, both as a racecar and the streetcar version, and I’m extremely excited to be working together this year,” said Montecalvo.
“We have been discussing this program for several months so I am thrilled to see it finally come to fruition.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to race against Nissan in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season. Bryan Heitkotter and I were battling it out for a good portion of that season, trading out first and second places.”
“I really enjoyed the competition we had there, but now I’m happy to be able to race the GT-R instead of compete against it. From the outside looking in, it looked like a solid car, a competitive platform and a hardworking team. I cannot wait to get behind the wheel and join the team at VIR in a few weeks.”
Montecalvo will be teaming up with former Nissan GT Academy Winner Ricardo Sanchez. Sanchez heads to the Pirelli World Challenge Championship after spending the past two seasons racing in Europe in the Blancpain GT Series with Nissan.
“I’m looking forward to teaming up with Ricardo. He has a lot of experience with the GT-R, and I’ve raced at all of the tracks on the schedule, so I think we’re going to make a good combination for the 2017 season.”
The first round of the SprintX Championship will be at Virginia International Raceway on April 28-30. Montecalvo last competed at the 3.27-mile Virginia road course in 2014 with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in a PC car as part of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship.
“I am confident we are going to have a successful season. 2014 was the last time that I’ve raced at VIR, and at that time I was racing a PC car. It’s definitely been a while since I’ve been there in a GT car, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“VIR has always been a track that I love to go to. It has great corners, and I’m really looking forward to going through the esses at high speed in the GT-R. I’ve never had the opportunity to race there in PWC, so that’s going to be new for me as well, but I’m hoping to get acclimated to the car quickly, and we are looking forward to a podium finish.”
Rounds 1 and 2 of the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX will be held on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all of his racing news and to find out how and when you can tune in to watch him race LIVE at Virginia International Raceway.