3GT Racing Qualifies Top Two Positions at Mid-Ohio
LEXINGTON, OHIO (May 5, 2018) — 3GT Racing’s Lexus RC F GT3 cars will lead the GTD class when the green flag waves at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 1:05 p.m., Sunday, May 6.
Jack Hawksworth, in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 won his first pole position, with a fastest lap time of 1:19:317. Kyle Marcelli, in the No. 14, was less than a tenth of a second behind, with a 1:19:370 lap.
This is the first sprint race of the season and marks the return of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series to the 13-turn, 2.258-mile course.
Paul Gentilozzi, Managing Partner of 3GT Racing, and five-time former Trans-Am Series Champion, said his teams have had a great history of success at Mid-Ohio and that he’s hoping at race time, success with 3GT will continue that tradition.
“I’m excited for everybody on the team,” he said. “drivers, engineers, mechanics, everybody on the team and we’re all hoping that tomorrow we get to continue this success.”
Hawksworth said he was focused on finishing as close to the lead as possible. pushing through qualifying to get the lead was part of the strategy.
“Pushing through to get the lead was what we really wanted,” he said. “We want to have, in the 15 car, the gold driver in first, the silver second and then the gold third. So, we needed to pull a big gap in the beginning of the race. I wanted us to have that. I made a little mistake there near the end that might have let me go a little faster, but I’m very happy with the result.”
Marcelli was equally happy with the results in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. “We worked hard at the test a couple weeks ago to get the car where we wanted it to be and I’m really happy with the results,” he said.
John Gentilozzi, Technical Director of the 3GT Racing team said that locking out the front row at Mid-Ohio is special.
“We had our first pole last year and now to get both cars in the front row, is a very nice thing,” he said. “Jack put in a great drive and Kyle put down a really great lap. That was an impressive performance by them both. All we have to do now is take that into tomorrow’s race.”
The Mid-Ohio race begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 6 and will be streamed live on FSGO with FS2 authentication. Or you can listen via IMSA.com, Radio LeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio.
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.