Hawksworth in Tech 1 Lexus for Zandvoort

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Jack Hawksworth will drive Tech 1 Racing’s Lexus RC F GT3 in this weekend’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe round at Zandvoort alongside Aurelien Panis.

It marks the first time a Lexus has competed for outright wins in the Blancpain GT Series’ Pro Cup this year after the withdrawal of Emil Frey Racing’s full-season cars last season.

Tech 1, the team that also runs Panis-Barthez Competition’s European Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans program, has fielded a Lexus with an all-Am lineup in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup so far this year.

Hawksworth has considerable experience in the Lexus GT3, having driven it for three seasons in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for AIM Vasser Sullivan and 3GT Racing.

“I can’t wait to discover a new team, a new circuit and a new championship,” he said.

“The weekend’s looking good and I’m looking forward to meeting up with my team-mate, Aurelien, and to begin working with him and all the guys in the squad. 

“I’ve now got quite a lot of experience in the Lexus RC F GT3 as I’ve been driving one for the last three seasons.

“The car’s obviously got huge potential – like Tech 1 Racing – so I’m really feeling very enthusiastic at the prospect of joining them!”  

The full entry list for this weekend’s pair of Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe races at Zandvoort was released on Monday and features a capacity grid of 28 cars.

In addition to the Tech 1 entry, Grasser Racing Team has added a second Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo for Rolf Ineichen and Michele Beretta.

Ezequiel Perez Companc makes his racing return after an injury in the Paul Ricard 1000km, bringing Belgian Audi Club Team WRT back up to four entries.

This means that Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts, who won the second race at Misano last weekend, won’t drive together again, with Vanthoor returning to join Companc and Weerts driving with Christopher Mies.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.