Two Top Five Finishes for Lexus RC F GT3s at Watkins Glen

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3s earned hard fought fourth-place results in Sunday's six-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance race at Watkins Glen International. Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat finished fourth in the GTD PRO class in the No. 14 Lexus while Parker Thompson, Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz also scored a fourth-place result in the GTD class in the No. 12 RC F GT3.

Thompson earned his third GTD pole of the season on Saturday and led the GTD class to the green flag in the No. 12 Lexus. He led the entire first stint before Montecalvo jumped in the Lexus and ran among the top-three the majority of his two stints. Telitz then jumped in and raced among the top-five before Thompson finished the race for the 12 team. While going for the class lead late in the race, a competitor made contact with the No. 12 and they fell out of podium contention, finishing fourth.

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus team will return to racing action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 14. 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 take us through an eventful six hours of racing at the Glen?

'Crazy, crazy day, obviously with the weather and everything. We fought hard all day, we led for a portion of it at the start. We had a drive through, but Ben (Barnicoat) did a great job to come back through and we got up to third. Then it was should it be wets or slicks? We had a bit of drama on the second to last pit stop, then on the red flag and restart we were able to come back through to fourth at the end and managed to close up the gap for the top of the championship. Some lessons to learn from the weekend, but the Lexus was great. Now, we analyze what went wrong, but also be proud of what this Vasser Sullivan team did because we fought all day and did a great job.'

BEN BARNICOAT, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3

How was your race?

'P4 on the day, where we started. The huge positive from this is that we took a step closer to the championship lead. We're closer to the leader of the championship than we were heading into the weekend. Another positive is that everyone here at Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing gave us a great race car. We certainly had a car capable of winning, but things just didn't quite fall our way today. It kind of went wrong when we got the drive through penalty for the safety car procedure infringement, which is something that feels like it wasn't super fair, but when these things come you just have to take them. Then we got back into position after that, we recovered well and were in the front and then got a little bit unlucky with how things panned out there with the weather and the red flag. We made the right call to put wets on when it rained, but then the lengthy red flag meant that everyone who was on the slick tires were able to stay out and not change and make it to the end, so a little unlucky on that side. We just have to take the positives — things didn't quite click for us today, but still happy leaving here.'

What are your emotions after the six-hour race?

'There's honestly not much more to say than onwards and upwards after this. The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan team did absolutely everything they needed to do to win the Watkins Glen six-hour race back-to-back and it got taken away from us there with seven minutes to go — racing hard for the win. I'll decompress and learn from this. I'm new to the closer stage in these GTD races. I'm still learning who is a friend and who is a foe, and I had to learn that the hard way today. But one thing is for sure, we've got more momentum than any other team in GTD and I can't wait to take that back up to the Great White North and use this as motivation to fuel the fire for the back half of the season.'

FRANKIE MONTECALVO, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3

How was your race?

'Yeah, that was a tough one. Team Vasser Sullivan gave us everything we needed today. Our Lexus was great. Parker (Thompson) did a great job qualifying us up front, Aaron had an absolutely phenomenal drive in the conditions, everyone was spinning and crashing, and he kept it right where it needed to be and was fast at the same time. Overall, it was a lot of ups and downs. It's a shame to finish fourth because I think we had a win in it at the end, but we got nudged off the track there and it didn't work out for us today.'

AARON TELITZ, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3

Can you talk about your race today?

'Wild day here at the six hours of the Glen as it always is. Mother Nature threw us every curveball it had, but we managed to keep that SealMaster Vasser Sullivan Lexus running at the front through rain or shine, it didn't matter. The guys made great calls on the pit stand and everyone did a great job just trying to go for the win there at the end and couldn't quite get it done. We got pushed off the track and ended up falling back to fourth there and not enough time to get it back. We had all the ingredients for a big result, but in the end couldn't quite pull it off.'

Photo credit: Lexus
posted on conceptcarz.com

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