Jack Hawksworth crossed the chequered flag to ensure the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 driver crew of he, Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood converted GTD Pro pole position to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
There was drama from the start in GTD Pro, but the Lexus crew rose above it to ensure they can kick off their season proper after a disappointing outing in Daytona in January.
Hawksworth led from pole in the #14 Lexus but behind him, chaos, or near chaos ensued as the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 spun across the field and remarkably avoided collecting any competitors, although the Pfaff GTD Pro and Inception GTD McLarens collided when taking avoiding action, with the #9 Pfaff car having to head behind the wall.
In the early hours, the #14 Lexus’ battle with the likes of the #77 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 R GT3, the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 and the #3 Pratt Miller #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R was made difficult after a drive through penalty was issued for a pit-stop infringement.
That drive-through meant the #14 had to fight its way back into contention having fallen away in hours two through four, but by half race distance, it was back in the GTD Pro lead, with the #77 Porsche and #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 keeping it company.
However, the Vasser Sullivan Lexus was a touch out of step with the #77 Porsche’s pit-stop strategy and Rexy reclaimed the class lead shortly into the second half of the race courtesy of a smart move by Laurin Heinrich on Kirkwood.
But the race would be impacted as full course yellows played into competitors’ respective fortunes.
Three caution periods reared their heads in hours eight and nine of the race, the first coming after Pipo Derani in the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R GTP tagged the #21 GTD AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, causing both to retire in spectacular style.
Shortly after the field returned to green, a loose undertray from the #55 Proton Ford Mustang GT3 brought out another full course yellow and in the ninth hour of the race, Katherine Legge in the #66 GTD Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 was sent careening into the wall at the final corner of the Sebring International Raceway after contact with the #6 Porsche 963 GTP machine.
#77 Porsche was adversely affected by these full course cautions and dropped down the order with untimely stops between the respective periods, making way for the likes of the #1 BMW and #3 Corvette to duke it out at the front.
The #77 was able to force its way back into the conversation ahead of the final hour, where another full course caution came about for debris on track.
At this point, the stage was set for a final hour dash for victory in GTD Pro with Hawksworth leading in the #14 Lexus, with Daniel Serra back up to second in the #62 Risi Ferrari having completed a remarkable race turnaround from its spin at the start.
Daniel Juncadella in the #3 Corvette and Heinrich in the #77 Porsche were the other players in the fight for victory when another full-course yellow was brought about with just under 50 minutes remaining after the #55 Mustang came to a halt on course.
This paved the way now for a 40-minute dash and Risi’s turnaround stepped up another notch as Serra took the class lead at the restart.
But then, ANOTHER full course yellow for debris on the circuit.
Green flag racing resumed with 23 minutes of the race left to run and Hawksworth put in successive aggressive moves to take second from Juncadella and then first from Serra, shuffling the Ferrari wide and back to third, plus into the clutches of Heinrich in the fourth-placed Rexy Porsche.
As the minutes wound down, Heinrich and Serra took turns to swap positions for the final podium spot in GTD Pro, with the #77 Porsche driver winning out for the time being.
With less than four minutes remaining, Corvette’s hopes were dashed as Juncadella found himself beached in the wall at Turn 3 after contact with Heinrich in the #77 Porsche.
Heinrich inherited a penalty for his hand in the incident, dropping Rexy out of podium contention to ninth and last of the GTD Pro finishers.
Hawksworth drove the #14 Lexus to victory in the end, 0.121s ahead of Serra in the #62 Ferrar, with Mirko Bortolotti taking the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2 across the line in third.
The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW took fourth, ahead of the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO in fifth.
GTD – Winward Racing Complete Remarkable Turnaround
After initially setting the fastest time in qualifying for GTD, Winward Racing and Philip Ellis found the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 starting at the back of the grid for a technical infringement.
Still, that was no matter as Ellis, Indy Dontje and Russell Ward converted their lowly grid slot into a GTD class victory, backing up their impressive 24 Hours of Daytona win in January.
A brisk turnaround was completed two hours into the 12 and the #57 Mercedes remained in the class win conversation throughout.
Winward Racing found themselves third after two hours of running and would enjoy a majority of the race at the top of the leaderboard, fighting for that honour with the likes of the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Riding the waves of multiple cautions and full course yellows, the fight for top honours in what ultimately wound down to a 23-minute dash to the chequered flag played out between Ellis in the #57 Mercedes, Antonio Fuoco in the #47 Ferrari and Elliott Skeer in the #120 Porsche.
Having featured prominently in the fight for victory, the #12 Lexus’ hopes were dashed in the final hour, as Parker Thompson was shunted by the GTD Pro #4 Corvette of Earl Bamber.
Still, out front, it was Ellis who kept his cool to ensure the #57 Mercedes took two wins in two to start the 2024 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship, 0.646s ahead of the #47 Ceitlar Racing Ferrari driven to the chequered flag by Fuoco.
Wright Motorsports came home third with the #120 Porsche and the #27 Heart of Racing Aston took fourth.
The GTD top five was completed by the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini.
