Winward Mercedes-AMG Back on Top in GTD
By Tony DiZinno
IMSA NewsWire
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – A short fill on a pit stop proved the ultimate key to success for Vasser Sullivan Racing’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, which won its second consecutive Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) race in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The team made its first stop 42 minutes into the two-hour, 40-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix race, flipping from Jack Hawksworth to Ben Barnicoat, but didn’t need a full energy top off. Its pit lane time of just 46.179 seconds proved beneficial from a track position standpoint.
After finding his way to second place, Barnicoat made a move on Nikita Johnson’s RLL Team McLaren No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO for the lead. From there, the No. 14 Lexus then stayed out front for 78 of the final 118 laps en route to win by 1.993 seconds.
“It was a really impressive day from the team,” Hawksworth said. “The guys were awesome. The strategy was amazing. Good start to the race, good first pit cycle.
“Ben did an amazing pass there on the McLaren to get the lead, and then really just mega job from all these guys at Vasser Sullivan.
“That was a real well-executed race. Perfect strategy and yeah, flawless, really. Awesome. Finally starting to come together. Two in a row, so feels pretty good, and yeah, look forward to the last half of this year.”
It’s the 20th win for the venerable Lexus RC F GT3, 18 of which have come by Vasser Sullivan. It is also the ninth different IMSA track where the team has won.
Hawksworth and Barnicoat joked after the race that their luck at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park had not been good when starting at the front of the field. It was perhaps a good stroke of luck they started sixth in GTD PRO today before ascending to the lead.
They also paid tribute to their strategist, pit crew and engineer Geoff Fickling, who has worked with Hawksworth for the majority of his 15-year racing career in North America dating to his first open-wheel test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the fall of 2011.
Strategy also helped propel AO Racing back to the podium for the first time since WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May, with Nick Tandy and Harry King finishing second aboard the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Motul Pole Award winner Neil Verhagen started and finished the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO he shared with Connor De Phillippi, although the car was slightly delayed mid-race following a “hip check” from an LMP2 car exiting Turn 1. Nonetheless, the all-American duo finished third for their third podium and fifth top-five finish in six races.
That unofficially puts them 108 clear of the second-placed in points No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R., which finished fourth in the hands of Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner. Just 60 points cover second through sixth.
Included in that group? The No. 14 Lexus duo, now fourth and just 150 points back of the lead.
“After some tough races, we’re just going for wins,” Hawksworth said. “If we keep doing that, the points will take care of themselves.”
GTD: Ellis’ Rapid Restart Returns Winward Mercedes-AMG to Winner’s Circle
Philip Ellis has never been shy about making a good passing move or two, and an authoritative restart in his No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Sunday at CTMP was his latest chapter.
After starting fourth and running fifth in the opening stint of the race, slick pit work moved the car Russell Ward started up to second. Running second behind Trent Hindman, Ellis got to the lead not long after the second and final restart that occurred with an hour and 47 minutes remaining.
Ellis compared the pass to one delivered at Road America last year.
“It’s just one of those optimistic restarts,” Ellis explained. “It was a little bit of Road America last year where everybody is so tossed up and fighting each other and not really watching the mirrors and just opens the room for me to go through. That’s what I did.
“I found that it worked out and that everybody paid enough attention to not, you know, bang wheels with each other. So it was just an opportunity. It was a move that worked out.”
Ellis brought the No. 57 car to the flag to win by 1.886 seconds over Aaron Telitz, who shared the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 with Benjamin Pedersen. Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher finished third in the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
As championship leader and polesitter Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello had a penalty assessed to the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on his first pit stop, Roman De Angelis spent the rest of his stint recovering in a form of damage limitation. He recovered the car back to sixth at the finish.
That leaves Barrichello now 92 clear of the Telitz/Pedersen pairing with Foley and Gallagher third, 120 back. A rough run of races knocked Ellis and Ward down, but today’s win ensures they’re not out; they’re now fourth and 207 in arrears.
There are four GT races remaining in 2026, the next of which is the six-hour Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, July 30-Aug. 2.