LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 22, 2019) – AIM VASSER SULLIVAN (AVS) scored yet another top-10 finish in extremely warm weather conditions on Saturday in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Lime Rock Park.

The AVS Lexus RC F GT3s have combined to earn two wins, five podiums, eight top-fives and 11 top-10 results after seven races this season.

Lexus continues to lead the provisional GTD Sprint Cup Championship standings and moved up to second in the GTD overall manufacturer championship points with four races remaining on the 2019 schedule.

In the overall GTD driver championship standings, the AVS No. 12 Lexus is fourth and the No. 14 is in fifth in the points. Hawksworth and Heistand sit third in the GTD Sprint Cup driver point standings while Bell and Montecalvo rank fifth.

AVS and Lexus have a week off before returning to IMSA racing action at Wisconsin's historic Road America circuit on Sunday, August 4.

AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Quotes

JACK HAWKSWORTH, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3

How was your race here at Lime Rock Park?

'To be honest, the start of the race, Richard (Heistand) did well in qualifying and qualified fifth. It was very warm – I think he was running fifth most of his race stint. He never lost a position until the end. He came into the pits in sixth. Then when I got into the Lexus RC F GT3, we had an issue with the driver change with getting the radio connected and lost time in the pits. Then we got going. Then we lost the blower (to my helmet), it came disconnected. It's the only air you get in the cockpit. It got really, really hot. That first stint felt like the longest stint ever. Then we stopped and the guys did a really good job to get the blower fixed, so at least I had some cool air. We got back out there and were running seventh. I think the Mercedes went off track and I managed to get him there at the end and we finished sixth. Of all the times to lose a blower, this was the worst race it could possibly happen. Just bad fortune really for something which rarely ever breaks. To have it break on the hottest day of the year is unbelievable.'

RICHARD HEISTAND, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3

How was your race here at Lime Rock Park?

'Hot day. Difficult conditions and the track doesn't particularly suit our car. I think we did a reasonably good job under the conditions. We had an issue with our air blower. It was just tough, but everyone's got tracks that suit their car and this isn't really one that suits ours. We did what we could and got some points. We will go to the next one at Road America.'

TOWNSEND BELL, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3

How would you describe today's race?

'It was hot. Hardest last place of my life. Frankie (Montecalvo) did a good job there on the start — we just had a gear shift issue. We lost 10 minutes and at that point, we were just driving, hoping someone would fall out. Nobody did. I was dying in there, heat-wise. We got to the 10 minutes to go mark and we put Frankie (Montecalvo) back in – it's his home race – to finish it. We will move on to the next one. That's all you can do.'

FRANKIE MONTECALVO, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3

How did your team perform in today's race at Lime Rock Park?

'The team and Townsend (Bell) did a phenomenal job. It was excruciating heat out there. But we hung in there. We didn't qualify particularly well. Ended up having decent pace there at the end, and that's when I was very surprised at what Townsend (Bell) could do. We were right there at the end in the pace of our Lexus RC F GT3 to the leaders. I wish we didn't have any mechanical issues, but we didn't get a DNF. The team put the car back together. We lost minimal time, so great job to the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN guys. Another race finished. Wasn't where we wanted to be, but again we will take that checkered flag any day.'

Photo credit: Lexus
posted on conceptcarz.com

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