Barnicoat Hopes Lexus Will Have Edge on New GTD Pro Cars

Ben Barnicoat says he’s hopeful that the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team will have an edge on its GTD Pro class rivals with new or updated cars in this month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Barnicoat returns to Vasser Sullivan for a third season alongside Jack Hawksworth following the pair’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship success last season.

The British pair are joined by IndyCar star Kyle Kirkwood and Toyota FIA World Endurance Championship ace Mike Conway aboard the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 for Daytona.

While the Vasser Sullivan camp goes into the new campaign with the tried and trusted RC F GT3, some of its biggest rivals in the GTD Pro category, including Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and Ford Multimatic Motorsports, are racing all-new GT3 cars for the first time.

Evo versions of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and McLaren 720S GT3 are also set to race at Daytona for the first time.

Against this backdrop, Barnicoat is hoping that his team’s continuity will give he and Hawksworth a helping hand as they seek to get their title defense off to a strong start.

“We are feeling confident,” Barnicoat told Sportscar365. “Everything in the team is the same as last year, the same staff, the same drivers. 

“The only thing that is different is that we are running four drivers in the Rolex 24, but Mike and Kyle have raced with the team before and we know them well. 

“Our main competition all have new cars and there are a lot of unknowns for them. That gives us a lot of hope.

“The new tire will also change things, and we’ve had to do a lot of work to adapt, but seeing the work that Vasser Sullivan and Lexus have put into the program away from the track, that could be a potential strength of ours. 

“We are confident with what we’ve got, the question is what the others have.”

While keen to deliver Lexus a maiden Rolex 24 success, Barnicoat stressed that the priority is on ensuring solid points for the championship.

“The Rolex 24 is a massive race, it’s on everyone’s bucket list, but we have to keep in mind there are another nine races to follow and we don’t want to put ourselves on the back foot for the championship,” said Barnicoat. 

“We have to keep sight of the bigger picture, which is something we did well last year. 

“For the last two years, Daytona hasn’t been our strongest track, although we have been in contention. We’ve been missing a little bit of straight line speed, and whether we have this year will be down to the Balance of Performance.”

Barnicoat added that while Vasser Sullivan should aim to “capitalize early” in the season while the likes of Corvette and Ford get up to speed with their new cars, he sees the shorter races on the calendar as the best chance to gain ground in the title race.

“The Lexus is more of a sprint car than an endurance car,” he said. “Last year we built our buffer in the sprint races, so we don’t need to put ourselves under unnecessary pressure for Daytona and Sebring. 

“As much as it would be nice to win these big races for the first time in Lexus history, the priority is the championship.”