Barnicoat, Hawksworth Looking Ahead Amid Shuffled Lineup

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth said they’re both looking forward to their respective IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title battles despite being split up as full-season co-drivers at Vasser Sullivan for the first time.

Barnicoat will remain in the GTD Pro class No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 with new co-driver Aaron Telitz, while Hawksworth moving to the No. 12 GTD entry alongside the returning Parker Thompson.

The shakeup was announced last week ahead of the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, ending a driving partnership that began with the launch of the GTD Pro class in 2022 and delivered the 2023 drivers’ title to the pairing, Vasser Sullivan and Lexus.

Hawksworth will embark on his first full GTD campaign since 2021.

“I’m super excited about it,” he told Sportscar365. “I think we’ve got really good lineups across both cars.

“For me, I’m excited for a new challenge. I’ve been with the team for a long period of time and Lexus for a long period of time and I’ve been on the same side of the garage for a long period of time.

“You almost get used to… It almost become a little bit monotonous, like you feel very comfortable.

“For me, I liked to change everything up a little bit this year. It feels like a new, exciting challenge. I’m super pumped about it.”

When asked on his feelings of being split up from Barnicoat and moved to GTD, Hawksworth insisted he feels “rejuvenated” for the new change.

“We obviously had a great last few years,” he said. “It’s been a great era for the team, [winning] Petit Le Mans, Sebring, the championship, all that kind of good stuff.

“Those are all amazing things we’ve achieved and it’s cool to look back on that.

“But at the same time for me, I’m just so excited about the new challenge. I almost feel rejuvenated about it.

“For me it’s coming to this year with a new lease of motivation, which maybe I needed.

“To drive alongside Parker; he’s a guy I’ve been very good friends with for a long time and an exciting young driver on the up.

“He’s got a ton of potential. To team up with him in GTD gives us a great shot of going for the championship.”

Barnicoat, meanwhile, teams ups with Telitz for the first time since the 2022 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring when the Wisconsin native was drafted into the GTD Pro squad as a sub for the IndyCar-bound Kyle Kirkwood.

“Looking at it personally, I think it’s a great opportunity for me to continue in the Pro car,” Barnicoat told Sportscar365.

“That was the whole reason I joined Lexus and joined IMSA was to be in the Pro car and race in what I feel to be the pinnacle of GT racing in the States.

“I trust whatever decision that Jimmy and Sulli feel is the best for the team and organization moving forward.

“At the end of the day since I’ve joined the team, I’ve achieved more than I achieved before I got here, more than I could have imagined, and that’s down to their leadership and guidance.

“Whatever they feel is best, I have full confidence in moving forward.”

Barnicoat: GTD Going from “Strength to Strength”

Barnicoat said he’s looking forward to the increased level of competition the GTD Pro class will provide this year.

“GTD Pro in IMSA is just going from strength to strength,” he said. “Obviously the huge growing numbers from ’23 to ’24 was great to see and there’s now a small rise again here heading into ’25.

“Our championship year in ’23 was a phenomenal season. Even if there had been ten or 15 cars, I don’t think it would have really changed the outcome because we were dialed in and had a great season.

“Last year we had ups and downs for multiple reasons. Here, we had the incident at the start. Then we had two engine failures later in the year, along with a couple of bumpy roads along the way.

“A lot of that stuff was out of our hands and control. When you’re in a team and environment, you can only control the controllables.

“For us, we’ve had a good off season, got prepared well. We’re feeling really, really good heading into the season but the focus is do what we can, and that’s what we did in ’23.

“If we had a car to win, we won. If we had a car to finish fifth, sometimes we’d finish third with good strategy. That’s all you can focus on in IMSA.

“You never know how these raced will fall, so you have to make the most of the opportunities.

“I’m super excited to get going with Aaron. I think we both see this as a great opportunity for ourselves to lead the 14 car to great success this year.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John