Lexus Set for Twelve Hours of Sebring at Historic Florida Circuit

Lexus currently ranks second in the IMSA GTD manufacturer point standings.

Lexus and AIM VASSER SULLIVAN (AVS) will compete in the Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday with two RC F GT3 entries at Florida’s historic Sebring International Raceway.

Lexus currently ranks second in the IMSA GTD manufacturer point standings following top-five finishes for both AIM VASSER SULLIVAN RC F GT3 entries in the first round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Daytona. The AVS No. 12 team currently ranks second in the GTD driver and team championship points, while the AVS No. 14 team sits fifth in the standings.

In the team’s first-ever IMSA event in January, the all-American driver lineup of Townsend Bell, Frankie Montecalvo, Jeff Segal and Aaron Telitz earned a second-place podium result in the GTD class to mark the highest finish in an endurance event for the RC F GT3 since joining IMSA competition in 2017. Jack Hawksworth, Richard Heistand, Nick Cassidy and Austin Cindric teamed up to finish fifth, giving AVS two top-five finishes in the grueling 24-hour event that was red flagged multiple times due to inclement weather conditions. The Lexus RC F GT3s combined to lead a total of 53 laps with the No. 12 leading 31 laps, while the No. 14 led 22 circuits around Daytona International Speedway’s road course.

Full-season drivers Bell and Montecalvo will team up in the No. 12 Lexus at Sebring with two-time Indy Lights race winner Telitz, who is slated to run all four IMSA endurance events with AVS this season. Bell has finished on the podium three times at Sebring, including a win there in 2012 while competing in the American Le Mans Series. Montecalvo also earned a runner-up podium finish in the historic race in 2011.

Hawksworth and Heistand will race in the No. 14 RC F GT3 with endurance co-driver Philipp Frommenwiler, who has experience competing behind the wheel of the RC F GT3. Frommenwiler previously raced the Lexus RC F GT3 in three IMSA endurance events during the 2018 season and in Europe’s International GT Open with Emil Frey racing in 2017, registering four wins.

The Lexus RC F GT3 will make its third Twelve Hours of Sebring appearance this weekend. Last year, the RC F GT3 led 53 laps, ran the quickest single circuit of the race in the GTD class and finished fifth following 12 hours of competition. Hawksworth led 40 laps during the 2018 event and finished fifth, while Frommenwiler led seven circuits in the RC F GT3. Lexus previously raced at Sebring in 1995 when actor Craig T. Nelson co-piloted a Lexus-powered Prototype to a 14th-place finish in class that year.

NBC Sports is covering all IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this season and coverage of the Twelve Hours of Sebring will begin on Saturday at 10:30 AM EDT on CNBC. The race will then switch over to the NBC App at 1 PM EDT until network coverage resumes at 3:00 PM on NBCSN through the finish of the 12-hour race at 11 PM.

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