BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 15, 2024) – Parker Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo earned a hard-fought fifth place result in the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday. The No. 14 Lexus had an issue late in the race that resulted in a ninth-place result for Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the GTD PRO class at the 10 turn, 2.459-mile road course.

Montecalvo started from the GTD pole after running the fastest lap in class during Saturday’s qualifying session. He led the first three laps and ran in the top-five for the majority of the two hour and 40-minute sprint race. Parker Thompson jumped in the Lexus after Montecalvo’s two stints and ran the final hour of the race en route to their third straight top-five finish. The pole position on Saturday was the third of the season for the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan team and the second pole in the last three years for Montecalvo at Mosport.

Hawksworth was on the front row, qualifying the No. 14 RC F GT3 second in the GTD PRO class for Sunday’s race. He fought to keep up with the pace of other competitors throughout the first two stints of the race, running in the top-five before handing the driving duties over to Barnicoat for the final stint. On lap 89, the No. 14 experienced an engine issue, which resulted in an early retirement and the defending GTD PRO champions to finish ninth in class.

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus team will return to racing action at Wisconsin’s Road America on Sunday, August 4. To keep up with all the racing action, follow Lexus Racing on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by using #LexusPerformance.

Vasser Sullivan Driver Quotes

JACK HAWKSWORTH, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your race today?
“It’s a really disappointing day. We realized quite quick that we didn’t have the pace of our competitors today. We were lacking a lot of straight-line speed compared to all the other cars around us. We tried to make the best of it and tried not to make any mistakes in hopes some people would maybe hit a bit of attrition. We were running seventh at the end there and hoping to pick up some spots, but then had an engine issue. It was a disappointing day, but we will have to put it behind us quickly and regroup. There’s still a lot of racing left to go this season and we will keep fighting.”

BEN BARNICOAT, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
What happened to take you out of the race early?
“Obviously, you never want to end a race with a non-finish especially when it’s so tight in the championship right now. That’s a tough day for all of us to take. No one really deserved the outcome. Everyone at Lexus Racing and Vasser Sullivan has worked so hard all weekend. We had a great day yesterday with Frankie (Montecalvo) taking the pole in the 12 car and Jack (Hawksworth) also lining up on the front row. From the drop of the green flag today, it just seemed like we didn’t have the pace of the other cars. Jack had a tough stint and we dropped back a little bit. Then, from there I struggled to make any progress before we had the issue which led to retirement. A tough day for the championship and for the team, but we’re a great group of people. We’ve got to push on now and have the best last four races that we can. It will be what it will be from here.”

PARKER THOMPSON, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
How was today’s race?
“It became quite obvious at the start of that race that unfortunately we just didn’t have the expected performance in our Lexus RC F GT3 here around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s unfortunate because Frankie Montecalvo and the entire 12 Vasser Sullivan team did an absolutely fabulous job this weekend from start to finish. Not only did Frankie execute with a pole, but the crew in the race executed amazing pit stops the entire race. I’m very happy to salvage a top five out of a day that could have looked worse. But at the same time, we could not be hungrier for more. I’m really tired of top fives, but onward and upwards to the land of cheese.”

FRANKIE MONTECALVO, No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your race today?
“It was another tough race for the 12 car. I feel like we’ve been fast and up front, so it’s kind of hard to settle for fifth as I feel like we did better. The Vasser Sullivan team has been doing a phenomenal job, and it just didn’t work out for us again today, so we’ll try again next time.”