Race Summary No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3:
Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo piloted the No. 12 AVS Lexus RC F GT3 to a seventh place finish in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Montecalvo started on the front row after qualifying a season-high second on the 3.27-mile, 17-turn permanent road course. Driving the first stint, Montecalvo was hit from behind on the first lap damaging the car. As a result of the damage he went off-track near turn 10 dropping him to 12th place. Montecalvo took advantage of an early yellow and once packed-up battled his way back to seventh before handing the car over to Bell for the final two stints. Despite the damage, which caused intermittent handling issues, Bell got as high as sixth before finishing seventh.
NO. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Race Quotes:
Townsend Bell:
“It was a tough race for us today. Frankie (Montecalvo) got pushed off the track by someone at the start and it damaged our car and then we just had to hang on from there. The AIM VASSER SULLIVAN guys did a good job keeping us on the lead lap. There will be better days ahead.”
Frankie Montecalvo:
“We had a pretty unlucky start. I think going on the outside was completely fine and then we just got a big shot. I think the Porsche got together with us and that forced us outside and allowed everyone to get around us. Then, going through the top of the hill I don’t know if it was damage or just a little bit of cold tires from getting pushed out wide, but we ended up going off a little bit at the top of the esses. It is a high-speed section of the track causing a little floor damage, which may not have given us the best race car over a stint. I think the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN team did a phenomenal job calling a great race to get us back in there. Finishing P7 after a crazy start and a crazy run is not bad, so we’ll take those points and look for the next one.”
NO. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN LEXUS RC F GT3 LEADS THEN SUCCUMBS TO ELECTRICAL ISSUE
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 into first place, and appeared on course for the win, when an electrical issue short circuited their efforts. Heistand qualified the car third and got up to second place before settling into third for most of the first stint. Hawksworth took over and when the first round of stops were completed, was in second. Shortly thereafter he made a dramatic pass and moved into first. After leading six laps, the team realized that there was an electrical issue. Hawkworth pitted for repairs, then pitted again, and again. The issue persisted and Hawksworth ended up stopped on track with just under an hour left in the race.
NO. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Race Quotes:
Jack Hawksworth:
“It was a pretty gut-wrenching race. We had a good start. Richard (Heistand) got up to second, he ran third most of the stint and we were right there. He did a great job holding off the cars behind him. We pitted from third and the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN guys had a great stop. They did a great job changing the tires, which was difficult because the fueling wasn’t long since we had done a splash of fuel earlier in the race. The driver change was really good. I got out there and ran off a few fast laps, leapfrogged the guy in second, caught up to the back of the leader and then was able to get by into the lead. The Lexus RC F GT3 was working well and I thought we had a great chance to finish the job off, but unfortunately, we had an electrical issue, so we had to retire the car. It was a bit of a shame because we were looking great.”
Richard Heistand:
“We came into this race needing a win if we wanted to do anything in the championship. I can’t recall being in a sporting situation where we had it, we did everything right, and then we had a small issue that took us out of contention. It looked like we had the win, we drove well and did well with the car to earn it and it was taken away. It was a hard day.”
Fast Facts:
Lexus is fourth in the overall GTD manufacturer standings with 230 points, just 12 points out of first. Lexus is second in the inaugural GTD Sprint Cup Championship standings with 181 points just five out of first.
The No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3 (drivers Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo) is fourth in the overall IMSA GTD championship standings with 196 points. The No. 14 AIM VASSER SUILLIAN Lexus RC F GT3 (drivers Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand) is sixth with 193 points.
In the first nine races (18 starts) of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series, AIM VASSER SULLIVAN has earned two victories (Mid-Ohio and Detroit), five podiums, nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10 showings.
The No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3 has both of the team’s wins, five top-five, six top-10 finishes in the first nine races of the season. No. 12 AVS Lexus RC F GT3 has three podium finishes, four top-five showings and eight top-10 placements.
With six of the seven races completed in the inaugural IMSA GTD Sprint Cup Championship, the No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3 is second in the team GTD Sprint Cup point standings with 160 points (Hawksworth and Heistand are third in the driver standings). The No. 12 AVS Lexus RC F GT3 is fifth in the team Sprint Cup standings with 150 points (Bell and Montecalvo are sixth in the driver standings).
After three of the four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events during the 2019 IMSA season the No. 12 AVS entry is tied for sixth in the Endurance Cup standings. The No. 14 entry is tied for ninth. The final Endurance Cup event will be the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia on October, 12.
Race Broadcast:
Next up for AIM VASSER SULLIVAN will be the IMSA Monterey Grand Prix, September 13-15 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The race will be broadcast on NBC starting at 3:00 pm (EDT) September 15.
