3GT Racing No. 15 Qualifies P2 for Petit Le Mans
BRASELTON, GA (October 12, 2018) — It was close. With a fastest lap less than half a tenth of a second behind the pole winner, Jack Hawksworth in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 will start tomorrow’s Motul Petit Le Mans in at the front.
Hawksworth said he was happy with his lap time of 1:19:73 and the chance to start in the second position in the last race of the season.
Hawksworth has earned four pole awards during the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Virginia International Raceway. Many were hoping this would have been his fifth.
“I’d rather have five poles than four, but four is ok,” he said. “There was just enough left on the car to have one more stint. But we’re happy with it. The performance of the car was good.”
He and co-driver, David Heinemeier Hansson, have accumulated four top-five finishes this season in the No. 15 Lexus and Hawksworth has amassed five fastest laps, the four poles and a fastest lap at Lime Rock. The No. 15 team is joined by Sean Rayhall for this weekend’s 10-hour endurance race.
Hawksworth said there had been some braking issues during some of the practice sessions this weekend, but the crew came together and had it fixed in time for today’s 15-minute qualifying session.
“We’re really happy with the car now and I think it bodes well for the race,” he said.
Dominik Bauman qualified in the No 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and will start the race eighth.
“It’s a ten-hour race. But we have a good car,” Baumann said. “The race set-up was really good, so we will just have to try to make up some places. Sure, it’s a little disappointing that it’s only eighth, but we have a good driver line-up for the race and we are looking forward to it.”
Philipp Frommenwiler will join Baumann and co-driver, Kyle Marcelli for the race.
3GT Racing Managing Partner Paul Gentilozzi said he’s happy to see Hawksworth starting at the front of the race.
“We’re always wanting to be first, every time we go on the race track,” said Gentilozzi said. “Today, we’re first of the teams that raced the whole season. We’re second overall in our class. And I think it’s wonderful that we can expose the performance in all of the cars that are here, Ferrari, Audi, Porsche, and Lexus. This is the last race of the year, there’s no reason to hold back. We like it.”
About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 48 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.
