12Hours of Sebring Photos
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- Lexus Racing
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- Lexus 3GT Racing at Sebring
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- Lexus at Sebring International Raceway
3GT Racing will start P3, P4 at 12Hours of Sebring race
EBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2018) – 3GT Racing’s Lexus RC F GT3s earned top starting positions for tomorrow’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway, during Friday’s GTD qualifying session. The No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 will start P3, with driver Jack Hawksworth at the wheel.
Hawksworth had a fastest lap of 1:59:251 during the 15-minute session. Only a fraction of a second behind Hawksworth was Dominik Baumann, driving the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. Baumann, who had a fastest lap of 1:59:476, will start the race P4.
3GT Racing’s Managing Partner, Paul Gentilozzi, said that it isn’t often that a team gets a chance, during an endurance race weekend, to go as hard as the car will go.
“I think it was an opportunity to let our two gold drivers really maximize the cars’ performance,” he said. “They did it well. And the conditions were just near perfect. So, we’re very happy.”
Baumann, who had his first race in the U.S. at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, said the team did a few improvements after the morning session and he was happy with the outcome.
“During qualifying the car felt really good,” the Austrian driver said. “We did our job and now we are at the front. It’s a really good starting position.”
Baumann will share driving duties in the No. 14 with Kyle Marcelli and Philipp Frommenwiler. David Heinemeier Hansson and Sean Rayhall will drive with Hawksworth in the No. 15.
Hawksworth said the balance of the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 felt great during the qualifying session.
“The car felt really good,” he said. “Obviously, this track position gives us a good shot in the beginning of the race, putting us up front with the leaders. It’s definitely an advantage that we’re happy to have.”
You can watch the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race, live on FS1, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17; from 12:30 to 3:40 p.m. on FS2; and for the checkered flag, from 6 to 11 p.m. on FS2. The 12-hour race is 10:40 a.m. to 10:40 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.
Basecamp sponsors 3GT Racing’s No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3
EAST LANSING, Mich. (March 13, 2018) – The project management suite, Basecamp, will be the primary sponsor of the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 for the 2018 season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Racing Championship. The debut of the sponsorship and the reveal of a livery change for the No. 15 Lexus RCF, will take place at this weekend’s 12-hour endurance race at Sebring International Raceway.
The highly recognizable ice-blue chrome has been exchanged for fire red chrome with the Basecamp.com logo emblazoned on the doors of the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3. The iconic blue chrome will remain the livery for the No. 14.
David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder and CTO at Basecamp for 15 years, said it thrills him to see the logo on the car door and he’s proud to have his company sponsor the car. Heinemeier Hansson shares the driver seat of the Lexus RC F GT3 with Jack Hawksworth. For this weekend’s 12-hour endurance race, Sean Rayhall will join the duo in the No. 15.
15 red Lexus RC F GT3
Basecamp, which launched in 2004, is a popular online project management suite that organizes communications, manages projects and collaborates with clients. From 45 accounts at the start in 2004 to nearly 3-million today, Basecamp has become a central source of information for many.
Heinemeier Hansson said nobody expected the company to do so well at the beginning. “At first, we just hoped for additional monthly income,” he said. “But it’s been an amazing success. Now I have a company that lets me sponsor race cars around the world. My professional life and my hobby meet when I see the logo on the side of the car.”
3GT Racing’s Managing Partner, Paul Gentilozzi, said having Basecamp as a sponsor is a perfect fit for the team.
“We know Basecamp is focused on maintaining excellent results for its users. We share the same focus racing the Lexus RC F GT3 cars, demanding high performance and skillful results on the track,” he said.
Gentilozzi said he’s also happy to tie the sponsor announcement with the revelation of the new livery on the No. 15.
“We received a lot of attention last season with the twin blue chrome cars,” he said. “We know people loved the blue but with a new sponsor on the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 it seemed like a good time to change up the livery.”
The ice blue No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and fire red No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3, will be at the starting line for the green flag at 10:40 a.m. Saturday, March 17 for the Mobil 1 Twelve hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway.
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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 47 years and they have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.
ABOUT BASECAMP:
Basecamp organizes your communication, projects, and client work together, so you have a central source of truth. Instead of having stuff scattered all over the place — strewn across separate products, lost in inboxes, or scrawled on stickies or notepads — Basecamp brings everything your company’s working on under one roof. Organized, centralized, and clear so everyone knows what to do, everyone knows where things stand, and everyone can get what they need without having to ask around all the time. For more information, visit www.basecamp.com
3GT Racing Announces Final Driver Line-Up for 2018 IMSA Series
EAST LANSING, Mich. (Jan. 4, 2017) — 3GT Racing has signed drivers Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli for the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. Baumann and Marcelli will team up in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 for the team’s second year racing in the GTD class.
The East Lansing, Michigan-based team will field two Lexus RC F GT3 cars in the 2018 season. The team announced last month that driver David Heinemeier Hansson will pair with returning driver, Jack Hawksworth, in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3.
Dominik Baumann
Baumann, the 2016 Blancpain GT series champion, was born in Austria. In 2011, he began racing sports cars, driving the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. In 2012, he won the FIA GT3 European Teams’ Championship and was named FIA Central European Zone Young Talent of the year. He won the 24h Nürburgring Qualifying Race in 2016. For the last four years, he has raced professionally with BMW and AMG. He returned to the 2017 Blancpain GT series Endurance Cup race in Barcelona and earned a sixth-place finish. He has 22 wins in his career.
“I am excited to work with 3GT Racing,” Baumann said. “I like the look of the Lexus RC F GT3 and I think it suits me. And, I think I will suit it. My dream has been to race in America. I’ve watched all the races and I’m ready for a new challenge. I want to do my best when I get in the car. I don’t want to be over-confident. I just want to do well and learn as much as I can.”
3GT Managing Partner Paul Gentilozzi believes Baumann and Marcelli will be a great team in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3.
“As a team owner in the IMSA WeatherTech Series the pairing of drivers is critical to your opportunity for success. Their ability to form a team symmetry and strategy quickly and efficiently is the first step to winning,” Gentilozzi said. “I believe Dominik and Kyle will quickly demonstrate their connection and give us the podiums we are striving for.”
Kyle Marcelli
Marcelli of Barrie, Ontario, has come close to racing with the Gentilozzi racing team before.
“I’ve known Paul Gentilozzi for quite a few years and raced against his team,” Marcelli said. “A few years ago, I was going to race with him, but schedules didn’t work out. This year, is the right time. Everything has lined up and to be a part of 3GT Racing, with the Lexus RC F GT3, is special. Everyone takes this year very seriously. They want to show up and win and it’s exciting to be part of that.”
Like most Canadians, Marcelli said he started out on hockey skates, but at the age of 10 he turned his attention to go-karts and soon realized his true passion was motorsports. He made his professional debut in the American Le Mans Series in 2010. He is a former FF1600 champion, Porsche GT3 Cup champion, American Le Mans Series vice-champion, Petit Le Mans winner, and runner-up at the Sebring 12 Hours.
In 2013, Marcelli won the 10H Petit Le Mans, and he has finished second in the race twice before. And in 2016 he won the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX race, driving from sixth to first in the final 35 minutes.
Also joining the 3GT Racing team for the 24 Hours of Daytona, are drivers Philipp Frommenwiler and Bruno Junqueira.
Bruno Junqueira
Junqueira has partnered with Gentilozzi teams before, driving in 2011 with the IMSA GTS team, in the American Le Mans series in 2013 to 2015, alongside Jack Hawksworth. The Brazilian race car driver has 26 wins in a career that includes:
- Won the Formula 3000 International in 2000
- Joined CART Championship Car series in 2001 and earned a win in his 14th race
- Took second in the CART FedEx Championship series in 2002 and second for two years in the Champ Car World Series in 2003 and 2004
- Drove in the Indianapolis 500 four times
- Finished 5th twice, for two different teams, in the Indy 500
- Won the pole in the 2002 Indianapolis 500
- Led the Indy championship in 2005 until an accident
- Third in the United Sports Car Championship Prototype Challenge in 2015
Porsche Carrera Cup, 1. + 2. Lauf 2015, Hockenheim – Foto: Gruppe C GmbH
Taking his seat in the Lexus RC F GT3 will be easy for Frommenwiler of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The European driver teamed with Alberto Costa in Europe’s International GT Open series last year, driving the Lexus RC F GT3. They came away with third place in the Drivers’ Championship and earned third place in the International GT Open overall standings. In 2017, with the Emil Frey Racing team, Frommenwiler finished first overall in the GT Open at SPA and Estoril. He has nine wins in a career that includes:
- Rookie Champion Porsche Carrera Cup in 2011
- Rookie Champion ADAC GT Masters 2013
- Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2017, 8th position
- Finishing 4th in 12H Sebring in 2014
- 24h Nürburgring, finishing top 10
- Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2014 and 2015
“As we approach 2018 we do it with great anticipation, we have learned what our Lexus RC F GT3 wants on the track and played our way back into racing shape,” Gentilozzi added. “Our Lexus is now ready to achieve the next step onto the podium, a step we expect to achieve.”
3GT Racing will test the No. 14 and No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 cars in the GTD series at The Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 5-7. The Roar acts as the unofficial kickoff to the road racing season which officially kicks off Jan. 25-28 with the 24-hour endurance race, Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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 47 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.
3GT earns first top five finish, both cars finish in top six
The 3GT Racing team’s Lexus RC F GT3 cars, No. 14 and 15, finished in the top six in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six at The Glen.
Paul Gentilozzi said: “We have now entered into a competitive window where we have the opportunity to challenge for race wins. Our next accomplishment is to assure we do not make mistakes as a team or drivers to give us the track position to challenge at the end of each race.”
The No. 15, driven by Jack Hawksworth, finished 5th, the best result this season. Hawksworth seemed to be on a path to the pole early in the race. He started in third position and within the first hour of the six-hour endurance race, had moved into first and held the lead for 56 laps.
The No. 15 car earned 9 of the fastest 10 laps during the race and Hawksworth had the fastest lap of the race in the GTD class with a time of 1:44:786.
Hawksworth said he was happy with the car’s performance.
“I just had the freedom to drive the heck out of it. There was nothing to lose,” he said. “I was going for it, trying to make stuff happen. We obviously had a little bit of bad luck there in the middle of the day with a penalty, but we came back strong and got a top-five. Again, close but no cigar, but we’ll take a top-five, so I’m happy.”
Hawksworth shared driving duties in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 with Robert Alon and Austin Cindric.
Robert Alon, who was unable to hold Hawksworth’s lead position when he took over at the first driver change said that he felt the car definitely deserved a podium. “A few things went wrong for us today,” Alon said. “There was a penalty, I lost quite a bit of time there, it just wasn’t a good day. The car felt good, and in the end Jack brought it back.”
Cindric, who has been racing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, drove with 3GT Racing in the two previous endurance races, at The Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sebring.
“I wish this six-hour race would have been a 12-hour race, because I really feel like we would have had a shot at a podium with a little more time,” Cindric said. “The car was great to drive and I’m so glad I had the opportunity. Thanks to 3GT Racing and Lexus.”
Sage Karam and co-pilot Scott Pruett, earned their third sixth finish, in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3.
“We ran a great pace today,” Pruett said. “We continually make great strides forward. The penalty today is something you have to live with, but doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. Other than that, we continually are making strides forward and it was nice for 3GT Racing to have a top-five with the 15 Lexus finishing fifth. We’ve got to keep fighting for a win.”
The race in Watkins Glen, NY, an 11-turn, 3.4-mile course, was the third endurance race of season and the sixth race in the 11-race series.
Karam, who had an incident with the No. 14 during qualifying on Saturday, praised the crew for the work they did getting the Lexus RC F GT3 back together in time for the Sunday race.
“It was a great race for the No. 14 and No. 15,” Karam said. “The team’s best finish at fifth and both cars inside the top six – that’s great. We had a penalty which pushed us back and as hard as we worked to get back up front, it wasn’t enough. But we push harder and harder every time. I’m really excited for the future of this squad. It’s only going to go up from here.”
Next up is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada. The race will be Sunday, July 9 from 12:05 p.m. to 2:45 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 46 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.
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