Alton, Virginia – Sunday afternoon’s two hour and 40-minute sprint race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) showed the perseverance and strength of the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team, with each team battling to the fullest until the very end. Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and the No. 14 RC F GT3 team finished the day sixth in the IMSA GTD PRO class, while Parker Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo finished 10th in the GTD class in their No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3.

 

The British driving duo of the No. 14 RC F GT3 had an up and down day in the final sprint of the 2024 season. Starting from sixth, Hawksworth had a solid start and was running quicker laps than the leader early on after maneuvering around GTD traffic. The team pitted the No. 14 early in the first stint, but on his out lap, Hawksworth was contacted by a competitor, spinning him around in the turn four grass. The spin resulted in time lost, but Hawksworth methodically gained back on the leaders with solid laps, reaching as high as fourth during a pit cycle. Barnicoat hopped in the No. 14 RC F GT3 on the final pit stop and after the lone full-course yellow with just over 30 minutes remaining, he restarted in sixth and held off the GTD PRO competitors to hold position as the checkered flag flew.

 

Thompson and Montecalvo similarly had to fight through adversity Sunday. Montecalvo began the afternoon behind the wheel of the No. 12 RC F GT3 from the seventh starting spot. After a chaotic initial start, he made up ground before handing the car over to Thompson on the first pit stop with just under two hours remaining. Thompson battled the GTD pack during his stints, restarting sixth for the final run to the checkers. A late spin in the “Oak Tree” turn would ultimately hamper a well-fought race, with the No. 12 finishing the day in 10th.

 

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus team will return to racing action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 22, for a six-hour endurance race, the penultimate event of the 2024 IMSA season. To keep up with all the racing action, follow Lexus Racing on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by using #LexusPerformance.  

 

Vasser Sullivan Driver Quotes 

“Yeah, a bit of a tough day. We had a really good start to the race, made our way through the GTD cars that we ended up behind in qualifying. Got up to sixth and then, the guys called a good strategy to pit on the early side. Unfortunately, the Porsche (#77 AO Racing) pitted a little earlier and came out on hot tires behind us. We managed to make it out of the pit lane ahead of them, but we had the contact going into turn four. It looped us around and we lost a good bit of time. We got going again, got up to fourth, but knew we were at a bit of a fuel disadvantage. Cycled back to sixth and then Ben (Barnicoat) did a good job at the end to hold off the 77. Without the contact, we realistically had a top-five day going, or maybe even a little better depending on strategies playing out. Disappointed to not get a higher position, but we did everything we could on a difficult day.”

 

“Yeah, very hot day, but, this VIR track, we always comment on how much of a pleasure it is to drive. It’s such a great layout, but it’s very hard for racing and obviously, we started a little further back than we wanted. I think we made a great strategy call on the first stop to pit a little bit early, but unfortunately, Jack (Hawksworth) got spun around by a competitor on his out lap. If that hadn’t had happened, I think our race would have panned out in a different way today. That spin, unfortunately, put us in traffic and it is very hard to overtake. We couldn’t get back out into clean air, so then it was just about getting what you can and it was a really hard battle there at the end for sixth position. Got that job done and salvaged a few points to close the gap going into the last two races of the year. It was definitely a hard-earned P6 and huge thanks to everyone at Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing for giving it their all again this weekend.”

 

“The No. 12 boys, as always, were doing a good job pushing through adversity. But, unfortunately today, for some reason we did not have the pace throughout the stint on the Michelin tires. We had good pace at the start, but by the end of the stint, it was very tough. I was pushing all I could to keep sixth (position), and unfortunately, the ‘Oak Tree’ (turn) got me, as it has so many other drivers. We can take away some positives, but really, we will use this as fuel for the rest of the season. We have two crown jewel endurance races coming up and we want to finish out the season strong to get the momentum back.”

 

“Yeah, it was a tough sprint race to end out the calendar there. Lot of bumping, a lot of hitting off the start. Fell back a little bit, but we fought our way back up to where we needed to be and just tried to work on strategy. The guys did a great job getting us to where we were hoping to be at the end, but it didn’t go our way today. It was a tough finish, but Parker (Thompson) did a phenomenal job keeping us in the mix for those last two stints and we’ll look towards the final endurance rounds we have to end the year.”

 

About Lexus    

The Lexus RC F GT3 enters its eighth season in the GTD class, and third year in the GTD PRO category, competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Over the last six seasons, Lexus and Vasser Sullivan have combined to earn 15 wins, 42 podium finishes and 23 pole positions with the RC F GT3. Lexus won its first full-season IMSA GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship on the strength of two wins and podium positions in nine of 11 races in 2023.    

 

Lexus' passion for brave design, imaginative technology, and exhilarating performance enables the luxury lifestyle brand to create amazing experiences for its customers. Lexus began its journey in 1989 with two luxury sedans and a commitment to pursue perfection. Since then, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of global luxury customers in more than 90 countries. In the United States, Lexus vehicles are sold through 244 dealers offering a full lineup of luxury vehicles. With eight models incorporating Lexus Hybrid Drive, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader. Lexus also offers nine F SPORT models, one F performance model and one F model. Lexus is committed to being a visionary brand that anticipates the future for luxury customers.