Hard-Fought Race for Rc F gt3s at Road America

Both Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 race cars experienced an up-and-down day in Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Road America. Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat earned a ninth-place result in the GTD PRO class while Parker Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo finished 11th in the GTD class.

The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan team came into the race with a solid strategy in place, starting from the ninth position in class. Montecalvo moved up to fourth in class and pitted shortly after the 45-minute mark of the race swapping seats with Thompson, and making it into the pit just before a full course caution flag. The No. 12 Lexus restarted second in class and Thompson went on to lead eight laps around the 14 turn, 4.0-mile Wisconsin road course. However, the strategy did not play in the team’s favor late in the race and the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 was forced to make a pit stop for a splash of fuel while leading the GTD field with three minutes remaining and fell back to 11^th place when they crossed the finish line.

After starting from the fourth position in the GTD PRO category, the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan team jumped out to a strong start, running in the top-three for the first part of the race. However, they had multiple pit lane violations throughout the two hour and 40-minute race that dropped the defending GTD PRO champions to a ninth-place result.

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus team will return to racing action at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday, August 25. To keep up with all the racing action, follow Lexus Racing on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by using #LexusPerformance.

Vasser Sullivan Driver Quotes

JACK HAWKSWORTH, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
Can you talk about today’s race?
“The result today was very disappointing. We had a really strong race going, we were running up front with some good strategy there at the beginning with good pace. I felt like we were in the fight with everyone and unfortunately had some problems. It is what it is, we’ll move on to VIR.”

PARKER THOMPSON, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your race today?
“I don’t know what to say about that race. We didn’t need the yellows that came and as they did, we needed one more lap of yellow and we were going to win our first GTD race together at a very special track for the Vasser Sullivan program and Lexus Racing. Kudos to my teammate, Frankie Montecalvo. He drove an awesome first stint after not having a strong start and put the car in a prime position, and the pit stand did an awesome job working through some adversity to have us in a position to take a nice win. We’re going to take this one on the chin and move on. I think I’ve said that too many times, but I know the results are coming, and everyone knows we’re here, so let’s just keep grinding and see what we can do the remainder of the season.”

FRANKIE MONTECALVO, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
Can you talk about today’s race?
“Everyone at Vasser Sullivan did a great job strategy-wise to get us up front, we just didn’t get the yellow we needed at the end. It was extremely close to a win. Parker (Thompson) did a phenomenal job keeping us up front, doing everything he could to make it on fuel. We started ninth and led for a good portion of the race, it just didn’t work out for us today again…just unlucky. But we recovered and did everything we could, and we’ll move on to the next one.”

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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.

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