“Picture Perfect” Day for Vasser Sullivan, Lexus in Double Win

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan characterized Sunday’s double victory as a “picture perfect” day for Vasser Sullivan and Lexus in becoming only the second team in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship history to claim GTD Pro and GTD class victories in the same race.

The team’s No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 of Aaron Telitz, Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson led home a 1-2 finish in the production-based ranks for the organization, winning the GTD class ahead of the Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat-driven No. 14 Lexus that picked up top class honors in GTD Pro.

It came on a day that saw top-level executives from Lexus in attendance to witness the history-making moment for the team.

“We had our colleagues from Japan here to experience what we do with the Lexus RC F GT3,” Sullivan told Sportscar365.

“To get the 12 car its first win of the season, with Parker, Frankie and Aaron. They all ran a hell of a race.

“It turned into one of these situations where we weren’t the quickest but we made the least amount of mistakes. The guys really stayed focused.

“On the 14 side with Jack and Ben, we damn near tried to throw it away.

“To come back and knock the Vette off the way we did, as I call it, the driving signature of our cars at this track, sans-Lambos, were unbeatable, as long as we didn’t make mistakes, we were going to bring this thing home.

“That was the tune and M.O. for us on the stand. You could feel this race where there were so many unenforced errors from very, very good race teams that consistently happened.

“We just continued to tell the guys, ‘Listen, the way we’re going to win this thing is by staying on the island, being 100 percent clean, and being mistake-free.”

Sullivan said the double victory gives them “explosive momentum” heading into the remainder of the WeatherTech Championship season.

“This is like July 4 for us right now with our guys going into Canada,” he said.

“From a team-building and a chemistry and an achievement perspective, this tops [the Petit Le Mans win] for us.

“Most people didn’t hear it or feel it or see it. But the 12 car and the 14 car stands work together to make this happen from an info and a data perspective.

“Petit was very special but when you can have both the SealMaster Lexuses win and in victory lane, and have the guests here that we had from Japan, this is an absolute picture perfect day for us.

“As an owner, and Jimmy as an owner, this is the stuff you dream about.”

Hawksworth Thought Hopes of Victory Was Over After Penalty 

The No. 14 Lexus bounced back to win after serving a drive-through penalty in the final hour for a pit speed infraction that initially took Hawksworth out of the class lead before re-taking the top spot with 23 minutes to go.

“It was a whirlwind, to be honest,” he said. “When I was watching before I got in the car for the final stint, it was not how I was expecting things to play out.

“The boys had done an amazing job all the way through the race. We made really good calls at the right time. Ben did a fantastic job and it kind of looked like, if we didn’t get a caution or something, that it was going to be plane sailing to the end of the race.

“We don’t know exactly what happened yet, why when I left the box the PLC wasn’t controlling the speed, so I over-sped when I left the box. We don’t know whether I knocked it or what, we’ll have to dig into it.

“As soon as that happened, we obviously got the drive-through, [ruling out] what almost looked like a certain victory.

“That just got my head down, really. I was behind the 3 [car] and I could tell I was faster than him…

“A prototype held him up and I got a slightly better run off Turn 7 than the previous laps and caught him by surprise a little bit and got back to the lead.

“It was more relief than anything after controlling the race all day. I’m delighted for the result and for the 12 car to win GTD as well.

“I’ve been part of this program for a long time and it’s by far the most amazing day for the team, Lexus and everybody involved.”

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