Race Summary No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3:
Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand piloted the No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3 to victory today in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Couse in Lexington, Ohio. Starting from the pole, Heistand led the first eight laps before surrendering the lead to the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian car. Heistand stayed close and then turned the AVS machine over to Hawksworth with approximately one hour and 50 minutes remaining in the two hour and 40 minute contest. Hawksworth closed the gap to the leaders to as little as five seconds, but couldn’t get by. That was until with 24 minutes remaining the first and only yellow flag of the race occurred. On the restart, Hawksworth swooped passed the leader and never looked back. The win was the first for AIM VASSER SULLIVAN in just their third race, the first for Heistand since 2006 and the first for Hawksworth since 2014 in his first IMSA start in the Indianapolis Brickyard GP (Prototype Class). The duo led a total of 29 laps (Heistand 8, Hawksworth, twice for 21 laps). Hawksworth also posted the fastest GTD class race lap, 1:21.338, while Heistand had the third-fastest lap at 1:21.415. The No. 14 AVS team is now third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class standing with 77 points.
No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Race Quotes:
Jack Hawksworth:
“This has been an awesome weekend. After a difficult Sebring, the team bounced back. Richard (Heistand) did a fantastic job in qualifying and gave us an awesome opportunity in the race. Great first stint, and there at the end I got the opportunity to take the lead and did it. The guys were spotless on the pit stops. The Lexus RC F GT3 was working perfect all race long. I’m so happy to get our first win so early with AIM VASSER SULLIVAN as well. Everyone is doing a great job and just thank you to everyone. This is awesome.”
Richard Heistand:
“Just an incredible day. I think it means a lot to everyone. This is the first win for AIM VASSER SULLIVAN and my first win in a race car since 2006. Jack’s first win in a while. He’s one of the fastest drivers here and probably deserved a win before now. This is the third win for Lexus so just a special day. I think we’re both happy with how we drove. I haven’t done a lot of racing, but I’ve been around long enough to know that these days don’t happen that often and we’re going to enjoy it.”
NO. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN
FINISHES FIFTH IN SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE
Race Summary No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3:
Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo drove the No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3 to a fifth place finish today in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Montecalvo, who qualified the car third and started the race, got caught up in a first lap incident and was hit from behind dropping three positions. He got himself righted and held position until Bell took over at the one hour, 53 minute mark. Bell piloted the car for the remainder of the race in the closing minutes was able to pick up one position to earn the teams second top-five performance (finished second at the Rolex 24 At Daytona) in three races. The No. 12 AVS team is second in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class standing with 80 points.
No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Race Quotes:
Townsend Bell:
“It was tough for the No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN car at the start with the way things checked up. Frankie (Montecalvo) got hit from behind and that dropped us back. Then he did a great job just fighting through it and hanging in there. The pit stops were perfect and the car felt really good in clean air. Then, the restart happened and we just didn’t have it in traffic on the restart. We got roughed up, bumped around, pushed out of the way. Luckily a couple of cars went off and we ended up fifth. Not really what we had hoped for, but I’m really happy for the No. 14 guys. They have worked hard. Jack (Hawksworth) has been with the Lexus program since the beginning. It’s his first win and he has earned every bit of it, so I am happy for him.”
Frankie Montecalvo:
“I’m very happy for the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN team to get their first win together. A win and a fifth finish for us is great. Our only hiccup was the start. We got held up, bumped and pushed around a little bit. We fell back and it was a tough one to try and claw back those positions, especially here. I think without that start we could have had a little better finish, but we stayed clean, stayed out of trouble and got fifth place points. We’ll take that for this championship run.”
AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Notes:
Heading into the first sprint race of the season, AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus entries currently rank third in IMSA’s GTD manufacturer point standings. The AVS No. 12 car currently ranks second in the GTD driver and team championship points on the strength of a second place finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and a ninth place showing in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The AVS No. 14 car sits seventh in the standings, finishing fifth at Daytona and a 15th place performance, after an on-track incident forced the Lexus to the garage for repairs, during hour five of the 12-hour Sebring event.
Mid-Ohio is the third race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech GTD class season (the GTD class did not compete at Long Beach, California). Mid-Ohio is the first of seven sprint races in 2019. The four endurance events in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup are the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans.
The Lexus RC F GT3 earned its first North American victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last May with former drivers Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli. The RC F GT3 led every lap around the 13 turn, 2.258-mile Ohio road course with Hawksworth starting from the pole position in the No. 15 Lexus entry and leading the first 43 laps, before Baumann led the final 73 circuits in the No. 14 RC F GT3 to earn the historic victory. Hawksworth also ran the quickest GTD lap of the two hour and 40-minute sprint race with a time of 1:20.536.
Next Race:
Next up for AIM VASSER SULLIVAN is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, May 31 – June1, on the Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN starting at 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday, June 1.
