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    Virginia International Raceway Photos – August 17-19

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    Photos: Sideline Sports Photography © 2018

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    3GT Racing’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 Finishes with a Win at VIR

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    ALTON, Virginia (Aug. 19, 2018) – The 3GT Racing team finished with a win in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway when the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 crossed the finish line, driven by Dominik Baumann.

    Kyle Marcelli qualified the No. 14 P4 and started the race. He drove one stint and came out P5 as Baumann took over.  A clean pit stop allowed him to exit and hold the position. Baumann drove for two stints, but it was in the last 19 minutes of the race that he found himself in a position to take the lead.  

    “I was catching up to the 93 (Acura) and got by him because he made a mistake off (turn) three and then there were cars all over the place,” Baumann said.  “Then I saw the Mercedes bumping into the Audi, so I took the opportunity and drove by them. I was just watching from behind and just watching how they struggled to stay on the track. That was the key to the win, just making no mistakes.”

    This is the second win for the No. 14 team. Marcelli said the first win is always the hardest, but today he was feeling stressed watching his teammate push forward in those last laps.

    “I was really stressed out in the closing laps in Mid-Ohio, where we had our first win. And today was a bit of a repeat, with the 86 (Katherine Legge in the Acura) right behind us. Dominik (Baumann) did a heck of a job and specially under pressure in those closing laps. The 58 (Patrick Long in the Porsche) helped us out battling with the 86. A great day for 3GT Racing and Lexus.”

    Baumann said he saw Katherine Legge moving closer and closer in his mirror. 

    “She was getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “It was a bit like Mid-Ohio. We struggled a little bit with tire degradation on the rear tires and I was just trying to make no mistakes. You have to change your driving style from new tires compared to used tires. It’s very demanding to not make any mistakes. The limit is so small and I just tried to stay focused. She (Katherine Legge) made a mistake in the second to last lap so I had the gap again. Going out of (turn) 11, the ‘oak tree’, she was next to me and the only thing I had in my mind was, ‘You brake later. You brake later.’ And, that’s what I did. She backed off a little bit and I could do (turns) 13 and 14 and like the last three corners it’s impossible to overtake so from there we won the race.”

    3GT Racing’s Technical Director John Gentilozzi called it an interesting race, adding that at times he thought there was a chance to win and at other times it seemed unlikely.

    “When we got into the final stint and we were in the lead it was a bit of a surprise to see the seas part in front of us, so to speak,” he said.  “Dominik drove really hard in that final stint. Maybe we used a little too much of our pace early on in the stint, and the Acura laid back. But we knew they weren’t done with us and we knew they were coming. Dominik kept his head on his shoulders, kept good pace, kept the car on the rack and we won. Regardless of how it happened, we’ll take it.”

    Jack Hawksworth, in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3, earned fastest lap in the GTD class, with a lap time of 1:45:110. Hawksworth, who won the pole in yesterday’s qualifying, started out in the lead and was in second when the driver change put David Heinemeier Hansson behind the wheel. 

    “My stint started awesome,” Heinemeier Hansson said. “We were in P2 when Jack pitted, and we came out in P2.  I had a great a battle with Ben Keating (Mercedes No. 33) just out of the gate. Our car was looking really sharp. Then a couple of GTLMs came up on me – and they were clearly in a dog fight – so I tried to hang back but that wasn’t enough. Next thing I know, the BMW was flying like Dukes of Hazzard and took it out on me coming and around the corner. That kind of killed it.”

    3GT Racing’s Managing Partner Paul Gentilozzi said he’s proud of the win and of the team.

    “We’re proud of this program and the team that we put together” he said. “I said before we came here that we expect to win every race. There’s a lot of great teams in this series, a lot of great competition. We’ve put together the right chemistry of fuelers and tire changers and drivers and engineers and that’s what it takes. It takes time to develop and mature a team and we’re there. I’m honored to have another IMSA win and look forward to the next one.”

    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.

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    3GT Racing Qualifies P1, P4 for Michelin GT Challenge

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    ALTON, VIRGINIA (Aug. 18, 2018) – 3GT Racing’s Jack Hawksworth, driver in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3, has added yet another pole to his growing collection in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series.

    A reporter called him “King of Poles and Fastest Laps,” after the lanky Briton found himself claiming his fourth Motul Pole award. This time after a fastest lap of 1:44:107 during the 15-minute qualifying session at the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA.

    Hawsworth’s other pole awards came from Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

    He and co-driver, David Heinemeier Hansson, have earned six top-ten finishes in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3. Hawksworth has also recorded four of the quickest laps in the GTD class during racing this year at Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Canada and Lime Rock. The No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 has not ranked below P2 in qualifying since Watkins Glen.

    The No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 team has earned five top-10 finishes, including a win and a podium and has qualified top-five in eight of the last nine races.

    This afternoon, No. 14 driver, Kyle Marcelli qualified the No. 14, P4, with his fastest lap of 1:44:516.

    With three races left in the season, including Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, the team from East Lansing has qualified in the top-five in seven of nine races.

    The team ranks fifth among the 23 GT Daytona teams in the championship standings and has accumulated 11 top-ten finishes with the No. 14 and No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3.

    Today’s qualifying session included some rain, which fell with about five minutes left. Hawksworth, who said he was certain he had a faster lap left to go, chose to hold off, rather than risk the rain.

    “Honestly I had a bit of a scruffy start in the first laps,” he said. “I made a couple mistakes and I felt like I was on a better lap when it started raining, but it was enough. I was happy with it.”

    Hawksworth said he was impressed that other teams were qualifying with their gold or professional driver.

    “I thought it was good that everyone is running similar strategy,” Hawksworth said. “Car’s been working well, team’s been working well, David (Heinemeier Hansson) has been driving well. Should be in decent shape for a good race.”

    3GT Racing’s Managing Partner, Paul Gentilozzi, said being up front is where the team should be.

    “Jack did a great job, Kyle did a great job,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see the professional drivers in IMSA actually out there trying.”

    Technical Director John Gentilozzi agreed. “Normally qualifying is an affair for Silver- or Bronze-rated drivers. Today many cars featured their gold or platinum driver,” he said.

    “Usually we see a few of the faster drivers, but today we saw almost everyone bring out their big guns. It’s nice to measure yourself against everyone’s best shot.”

    The Michelin GT Challenge, a two-hour, 40-minute race, will begin at 1:35 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. The action can be viewed live on FS1 starting at 1 p.m.

    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.

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    3GT Racing Ranks Top-Five, and heads to VIR

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    (EAST LANSING, MI) August 15, 2018 – With three races left in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, 3GT Racing heads to Alton, Virginia for the Michelin GT Challenge, the second and last of two GT only races in the 2018 season. 

    The team, which ranks fifth among 23 GT Daytona teams in the championship standings, has accumulated 11 top-ten finishes with the No. 14 and No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3. Lexus is fourth in GTD manufacturer championship points.

    Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, have earned five top-10 finishes, including a win and a podium. The No. 15, with drivers Jack Hawksworth and David Heinemeier Hansson, has earned six top-ten finishes. 

    Hawksworth, who has recorded four of the quickest laps in the GTD class this year (Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Canada and Lime Rock), is looking forward to a return to Virginia International Raceway.

    “We had a great race at VIR last year,” Hawksworth said. “Not good in terms of results, but personally one of my best races. We got spun around at the first corner, but I drove all the way through the field and took it back to the front. The car worked well for the race we just didn’t finish. I think we have a real shot this year.  There’s no magic trick, this year we’ve got more experience and more confidence. So, we’ll see.”

    Driving in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 is Canadian, Kyle Marcelli. Marcelli has raced at VIR at least once or twice a year since 2008. Very familiar with the track, he thinks it’s a challenging course, but there are parts of the track that fit perfectly into performance features of the Lexus.

    “VIR is a mixture of everything there,” Marcelli said. “It’s very narrow, and there are a few overtaking opportunities. It’s important to give a competitor, and for the competitor to give you, racing room. The last year or two they widened it in two or three places, which has helped. We may need to do some work to improve the car, but there are a lot of parts where we’ll be strong.”

    For Austrian driver Dominik Baumann, the 3.27-mile, 17-turn course in Alton, VA is another first. Baumann said it’s been a great season racing at some of America’s best tracks. He ran the quickest GTD lap at Sebring and hopes to earn another before the season is done.

    Baumann believes that, this far into the season, one of the most important accomplishments has been getting to know the competition. 

    “We know where we are and where we should be,” he said. “At Road America we made good progress. We improved the car, the in-car balance and drive-ability, for sure. I think the car should suit us at Virginia.”

    Two, hour-long practice sessions for the Michelin GT Challenge will be held Friday, Aug. 17 and a third on Saturday morning. Qualifying will be Saturday at 12:25 p.m. and the green flag will drop on the two-hour and 40-minute race, Sunday at 1:35 p.m. (ET). Watch the action on FS1 starting at 1 p.m. 

    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.

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    3GT Racing’s No. 14 Finishes Top Ten at Road America

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    ELKHART LAKE, WI (Aug. 5, 2018) – 3GT Racing finished sixth place in the GTD class at Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Racing Championship at Wisconsin’s historical Road America.

    Kyle Marcelli finished the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase in the No. 14, calling it a “difficult race.”

    “The entire GTD field was nose-to-tail today. At the end of the day the race was a lot closer than I imagined it would be,” Marcelli said. “The final stint was a dog-fight. The car was strong in the fast corners, so I had to make the most of the fast corners to open a gap. At the end of the day it was nose-to-tail, door-to-door. I think every car on the grid had some contact. It was probably really exciting to watch. My heart was pumping the whole time.”

    3GT Racing at Road America

    3GT Racing at Road America

    Paul Gentilozzi, 3GT Racing’s Managing Partner called it “a great, hard-fought battle between a lot of cars.”

    “Unfortunately, when they had a pass-around they decided to go green with fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the field 45 seconds in back of their class leaders,” he said. “Which at that point ruled us out from leading or winning.”

    Marcelli’s co-driver, Dominik Baumann, qualified P2 in the No. 14 and started the race with the day’s first battle for position.

    “I took the start and I lost a position. Then I was a bit stuck behind the GTLM’s and took the wrong line,” Baumann said. “But, I got the position back at the end of the straight on the second lap, which was good for us.  I gave the car to Kyle (Marcelli) and we lost some time on the pit stop. But we came out in seventh and then, it was hard to come back.”

    John Gentilozzi, the team’s Technical Director said the race was a little different than most that have occurred in IMSA this year.

    “We had a lot of yellow flag periods, a lot of interesting strategic decisions throughout the field,” he said. “I give a lot of credit to Kyle, he took the best punch that everybody else in the field had for him and ended up coming out on top. There was a lot of contact in the last few laps of the race, everybody was driving hard. Unfortunately, that was all our car had today. So, we’re going to go back and keep working as we get ready to go into Virginia.”

    The No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 did not race. An incident during the warm-up session caused more damage than could be repaired in the paddock. Both Lexus RC F GT3 cars will return to the race shop in East Lansing, Michigan and be readied for the Michelin Challenge on Aug. 17 at Virginia International Raceway.

    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.

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