Thompson, Lexus Entering Long Beach With “Clean Slate”

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Parker Thompson said he and Vasser Sullivan are taking this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with a “clean slate” despite the team winning the last two editions of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

Thompson enters Saturday’s 100-minute street race as the reigning GTD class winner, having been split up from then-full-time co-driver Frankie Montecalvo in a two-car Lexus RC F GT3 squad that saw the Canadian driver team up with Ben Barnicoat for victory.

This time around, the former Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion is paired with his full-time co-driver Jack Hawksworth in the No. 12 Lexus.

With Hawksworth and Barnicoat also winning the race in 2023, in GTD Pro’s last event appearance, the Lexus squad carries a significant amount of momentum into Southern California.

“I’m treating it like we didn’t win it last year and we haven’t won it twice before,” said Thompson. “[We’re entering the weekend with a] clean slate, show up, do the work to put in at the sim.

“We’ll be rolling in with no expectations and that we’ve got to work hard to go out and win it again.”

Thompson said this year’s switch to Hawksworth has been seamless, with the two North Carolina-based drivers specifically working to perfect the all-important driver change that could dictate the outcome of the sprint race.

“Luckily, I’ve now driven with the two tallest guys on the team,” he said.

“In terms of driver change and a seat insert, I’ll chuck my booster seat out as fast as I can and I’ll let Jack get in.

“That shouldn’t be too hard. It’s just like Ben; I’m actually using the exact same driver seat insert.

“It’s cut and play, the only difference are the personalties of Ben and Jack.

“Jack and I have gotten along now for three years. A big reason to why I’m driving at Vasser Sullivan is because of Jack Hawksworth.

“That shouldn’t be any issues. We seemed to have found our groove at Sebring so we’ll roll that over to Long Beach and see what we’ve got.”

He added:  “Obviously the start of the IMSA season, you’ve got Daytona and Sebring, which are theoretically two of the longest pit stops that we do throughout the year, just because you’re doing full fills.

“And if your’e not doing full fills, you’re trying to top up the energy anyway.

“So really, you’re sitting there for 40-50 seconds, whereas the first sprint race of the season is our shortest pit stop of the year.

“You have to comfortably be able to do pit stops, at the lowest, 12 seconds. That’s 12 seconds of getting a guy that’s 5’8 out and a guy that’s over six-foot in comfortably buckled in and ready to go.

“Luckily Jack and I live local to the Vasser Sullivan race shop. Last week we went down and spent a good two hours just in and out, in and out, practicing all the intricacies of what that looks like.

“After that day, I’ve got zero concerns that we’re going to show up and rip out the fastest pit stop that we can.

“If you put in the work, when it comes to it, we’ll be able to get it done.”

Thompson believes one of the keys to success around the 1.9-mile street circuit is being able to get as close to the concrete walls as possible, especially as the track develops later into the weekend.

“It comes down to the amount of risks you’re willing to take and how close you can get to the walls, both on the entry and exit [of the corners],” he said.

“That’s probably the biggest difference between the field in GTD is just tightening up the corners, it’s getting as close as you can to the walls.

“All the grip gets close to the apex because that’s where a lot of the GTPs are running. That generally determines the line as the race goes on.

“At the start of the weekend when the track is dirty, you can get away with more creative, open lines but as we get to race weekend, especially with IndyCar there, as we get to the race on Saturday, you basically have to tighten everything up and get as close to the walls as you can.

“In some cars, it’s easy. In a Lexus, that’s probably the toughest part, is wrangling that big V8 as close to the walls as we can.”

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