No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 finishes fifth in Indianapolis
The Vasser Sullivan No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 earned a fifth-place finish with drivers Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the GTD class, Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen finished eighth with the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 in the two-hour and 40-minute race.
Barnicoat started the sprint race sixth in the GTD PRO class and ran among the top-six for most of his stint before pitting on lap 46 from the fourth position. Hawksworth got behind the wheel of the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 in 10th place and worked his way back up into the top five in the GTD PRO class. Shortly after, a fellow class competitor made contact with the No. 14 Lexus in turn 10, sending it off track, and Hawksworth rejoined in the seventh position. Hawksworth made up a few positions in the final 20 minutes of the race and crossed the finish line fifth in the GTD PRO category.
In GTD competition, Pedersen ran in the top five during his opening stint, making his way up to the front of the pack after running long on strategy and the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 led 11 laps before he turned driving duties over to Telitz on Lap 42 and he cycled back out in the 10th position. 10 laps later, the No. 12 spun, but was able to rejoin the racing action and then an untimely caution with just over an hour remaining in the race dropped the No. 12 to the 11th position. Telitz made up some spots late in the race to finish eighth in the GTD class.
Lexus and Vasser Sullivan will finish the 2027 season at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday, October 3. To keep up with all the racing action, follow @GAZOORacingUSA on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Vasser Sullivan Driver Quotes
JACK HAWKSWORTH, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
What are your thoughts on today’s race?
“It was a tough weekend. We were lacking a bit of pace. The team did a really good job battling really hard. We weren’t quick enough, but we put ourselves in good positions, played the strategy well and had a clean race. Unfortunately, we got tipped into a spin by the 68 car with about 20 minutes remaining in the race and that ultimately probably cost us a podium finish. We could’ve finished third so I’m a bit disappointed that we missed out on a podium, but a top five considering our pace this weekend is pretty good.”
BEN BARNICOAT, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your race today?
“An eventful end to a hard race. Firstly, I’m feeling a little upset that if we hadn’t been hit off the track by the Aston Martin, it would’ve been a podium position which would’ve been an incredible achievement for us today considering we were lacking some pace. We put ourselves in a good position through excellent teamwork from everyone here at Vasser Sullivan. We had great pit stops, good driving from myself and Jack (Hawksworth) and we were in a position to capitalize on some other’s bad fortune, but sadly we got that chance taken away from us. P5 is still a pretty solid day. It could’ve been a lot worse considering everything that happened in the race. I’m really proud of everyone and it’s a shame we don’t have a trophy to reward everyone for a great day’s work.”
AARON TELITZ, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your race?
“It was a tough weekend all around here. The Lexus RC F GT3 struggled a little bit for pace. We tried some different strategies in the race to try to gain some track position. Benjamin (Pedersen) did a great job in his first stint running upfront and then just kind of missed our opportunity with the yellow there pitting right before it hurt us a bit. Just struggled down the stretch, brought it home in P8 and we’ll roll into the last race of the year ready to fight for a podium.”
BENJAMIN PEDERSEN, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your weekend racing in Indy?
“Overall, a positive and negative day at the same time for the 12 car. Started upfront and maintained it really well even though we were under pressure most of the race. We had a lot of defensive driving, but managed to hold them off well. We were running up in P1 for 10 or so laps after we cycled long on our strategy. We had a good clean pit stop and cycled a bit towards the mid-pack. A yellow came out during one of Aaron’s (Telitz) stops and we need to kind of look at what happened there. Maybe we could’ve done something better there to stay on the lead lap and stay in the top three spots. We did everything we could and now we’re looking forward to Petit to finish out the season strong.”