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AVS achieves its third consecutive victory, double podium
PLYMOUTH, Wisconsin, August 3, 2020 / PRNewswire / – Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo earned the third consecutive victory for AIM VASSER (SULLIVAN AVS) in the Lexus RC F GT3 No. 12 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on Sunday on Road America. Bell fought in the final laps under rainy weather conditions to achieve the first victory in the Lexus RC F GT3 for the driving force duo. The race was interrupted for almost 22 minutes due to bad weather before departing for the last laps.
In addition to the victory of Lexus No. 12, Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz recorded their third straight podium at No. 14 RC F GT3 with a third position in Sunday’s race on the Wisconsin circuit. Hawksworth and Telitz entered Sunday’s race with back-to-back victories at Daytona International Speedway and Sebring International Raceway.
Telitz, from Birchwood, Wisconsin, took the GTD box to the green flag on the Lexus RC F GT3 No. 14 after winning his first pole position at IMSA on Saturday. Montecalvo at the time of the race at No. 12 RC F GT3 and maintained his position before the change of position of townsend Bell’s driving force at lap 22. Back on the track in the lead just before his AVS teammate Bell overcame him at Lexus No. 12. Bell led 32 laps in the direction of victory. Bell lost his lead before the last lap, but was controlled to regain first position on turn 11 of the 14-cornered 4,048-mile road to record victory.
This victory marks the first time in the IMSA GTD festival that the Lexus RC F GT3 wins 3 consecutive races. It was AVS’s fifth win in its year of celebration of the IMSA festival and Bell’s third victory at IMSA, the first for Montecalvo and his first behind-the-wheel victory for the Lexus RC F GT3. Lexus has lately led the problems of the constructors’ championship in the general classification and the Sprint Cup.
Lexus and AIM VASSER SULLIVAN will compete at the Virginia International Raceway on Saturday, August 22 at 1:40 p.m. And. To keep all the racing action, stay with Lexus Racing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter #LexusRCF GT3, #LexusPerformance and #LexusRacing.
Driver quotes from AIM VASSER SULLIVAN TOWNSEND BELL, Lexus RC F GT3 No. 12 Can you tell us about those last laps? “Mario Farnbacher came. We know he’s smart in rainy conditions. We’ve noticed it before. These last rounds. He (Mario) went through me, then I grabbed him, and then he sent it in the elbow.” There was state water everywhere. We were at the forefront. Dangerous conditions, that’s for sure. We needed a win. Frankie (Montecalvo) did such a clever task at first and gave me such a smart car. I felt like today was our day. Proud of everyone at AIM VASSER SULLIVAN.”
What was your mood in the last laps? “There were many passes in the last 3 laps. The red flag came out and I think it was to get back on the green, but we had to go back. The first round, to be honest, went well. The Michelins were amazing in those conditions, and then the sky opened. It was bad on the carousel and the bend. (Mario) Farnbacher was doing a great trick. I was coming out of the carousel, I was hunting on the road. and there he was sliding into the crease in the grass, near the wall. I hit the state water and I think it was going through to lose it and for a moment I thought it was going on to lift and roll. my foot on the ground and I started grabbing the gears and the Lexus stuck to it. That’s all it took and then the yellow got here. Just a little held up, he tried to play wisely and a wonderful team strategy. Frankie (My Tecalvo) has just done an incredible task in his relays, giving me the possibility to compete on each and every occasion. Led
How important is it for the Lexus 12 team to win after their teammates have won the last two? “It is satisfying for the team to have a double rating and a double finish, but we are quietly a little frustrated because we also need to have a chance in the most sensible step. The key moment of the race for us in addition to that last crazy lap in the rain with (Mario) Farnbacher was with the most sensitive pit where we made the drive force change. I think they (No. 14) had a little challenge and when Jack (Hawksworth) came out of the pits, I caught him as he got out of Turn 3. I ran and knew it was my chance. If we couldn’t do it, it would probably be hard to do anything. I got the position and just set myself on a smart speed and it went away.”
FRANKIE MONTECALVO, Lexus RC F GT3 No. 12 What does it feel like to be on the road to victory with the Lexus RC F GT3 No. 12? “It’s wonderful. It’s the best thing for all this 12 car and excited by the crew. The AIM VASSER SULLIVAN We did a wonderful task with our Lexus RC F. We were fast in qualifying and fast in the race and we did a wonderful pit prevention strategy and it was worth it.”
What does it mean to win your first victory at IMSA? “Townsend (Bell) and I did everything we could to get this victory for car 12. It’s wonderful for the boys. Everything worked out for us in this race. It’s amazing. Array I think they made a phenomenal call in the pits right in the best time. It’s a wonderful race for us.”
JACK HAWKSWORTH, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 Can you tell us about today’s race? “First of all, congratulations to car 12 on today’s victory. It’s wonderful to see Lexus and AIM VASSER SULLIVAN win 3 in a row. This is the first time it has happened in GTD, so it was a wonderful success. Our career was obviously not as successful, but still on the podium. We face adversity in the race. We had disorders and visibility was poor after the last reboot. Everything was not a smart day, but we left with a smart result.”
AARON TELITZ, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 How was your career? “Any day in Road America is a lovely day. Finishing on the podium at the circuit in my house was great. He was actually smart after a rough day for us. Array had a smart relay. Things went really well. Our Lexus RC F GT3 worked well. I made a smart hole and had a bit of a mess on the way back with some GTLM traffic and we were a little late before Jack took over. When you feel like you had a bad day and finished third, I think it’s a very smart day. I am extremely happy and satisfied to be on the podium of my home race. Congratulations to 12 AIM VASSER Team SULLIVAN on today’s victory.”
Lexus Racing Contacts: Sam Mahoney, Lexus PR, [email protected], 980.900.8573 Pam Jansen, Golin for Lexus Racing, [email protected], 386.631.2489
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