Hawksworth Believed “Matter of Time” Until Return to Victory

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Jack Hawksworth said he felt it was just a “matter of time” until he and co-driver Ben Barnicoat returned to victory lane in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus duo captured GTD Pro class honors in Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, snapping a 25-race winless streak for Hawksworth and the team in the top production-based ranks.

It came in a rather controlling run from pole for the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, although in a race that featured six different leaders and wasn’t ultimately decided until the closing minutes.

That’s because several GTD Pro runners went on alternative strategies with the hope of a late-race yellow that would have ensured they’d make it to the end of the race.

However, the final 1 hour and 13 minutes, except the last lap, ran caution-free, which erased the chances of the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Dennis Olsen, the Daniel Serra-driven No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, as well as Nick Tandy’s No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, the latter which incurred a drive-through penalty for multiple track limits violations.

For Hawksworth, it brought back memories of last month’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he and Barnicoat lost out after having to make a late-race stop for fuel.

This time, they had enough energy to go the distance.

“It was the exact same situation we faced [there] and at that race we ended up on the wrong side of it,” he said.

“It was a situation where with one yellow after that last caution you could make it. So everybody was trying to initially save to get to the end and hope for a yellow.

“And then a few cars started to pit, the guy in second and a few others.

“At Laguna we stayed out, which was the wrong decision because we didn’t have to fuel to make it. And then we had to splash at the end, and guys behind us were able to jump us.

“This time we boxed early to cover for the car behind, and fortunately there was no more yellow until the end, and that really played out for us.

“It was a good decision from the pit wall because had we stayed out we could have potentially lost the race.”

The win was Hawksworth and Barnicoat’s first triumph in GTD Pro since the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, some 836 days in the making.

“I never would not believe in this team and in Ben as a co-driver,” said Hawksworth.

“I think we got one of the strongest driver lineups in the series. We’ve got one of the strongest teams in the series. The car is proven.

“It was just a matter of time until we got it done again. We just needed to work through some issues and put it all together.

“I feel like we’re a better race team for it, we’re better drivers for it and excited to get into the meat of the season, heads down, and go for it from this point forth.”

Barnicoat added: “That point of when we won Sebring, we’d just come off the back of a championship [in 2023].

“We had a tough day that year when we won Sebring, and we’d be completely lying to you if we thought it was going to take this long to win again.

“Jack and I had a season apart, not racing together.

“This year we got the band back together. The team is in a great place. To be honest, it’s a shame it’s taken this long [to win] this year.

“We were in great form at Sebring, had an issue with the pit stop. Laguna Seca didn’t work out, Detroit we were very close. It just felt like a matter of time.

“I’m really proud of the team for doing a great job today. I think there was eight or nine cautions and so many hard decisions to make.

“I feel like we got them right, but we didn’t come out of the pits with the lead every time.

“There was points where we had to overtake cars, and Jack and I both got it done, and it was nice to end up in victory lane.”

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