Lexus' double top 10 finish in Daytona is a "prime representation of resiliency" — Barnicoat
- Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Vasser Sullivan Racing and Lexus wrapped up the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona with top 10 finishes in both of their GTD and GTD Pro entries.
Both cars were outside the top 10 during the qualifying session. The No.14 car of the GTD Pro class was the best starting car for the team in 11th, while the No.12 GTD car started from 14th.
It was a challenging opening stage as both cars tried to climb up the positions. The No.14 car lost a lap in this phase and had to gradually fight back to reclaim its lost places.
Benjamin Pedersen made his debut for Vasser Sullivan Racing as he co-piloted the No.12 car alongside Aaron Telitz, Frankie Montecalvo and Esteban Masson, who also made his debut for the team.
The quartet ran two stints each before the fog neutralised the field for six hours and 33 minutes. By this point, they were sitting in seventh place. The three drivers from the No.14 car: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood also took turns during this cautionary period.
When the race went green again at 07:20, Barnicoat resumed the race in fifth and completed a stint before handing over to Hawksworth, who emerged in eighth, while Telitz was the man on the No.12 when the race restarted.
Hawksworth completed his driving shift before handing over to Kirkwood, just under five hours. Unfortunately, the No.14 car's solid race was derailed by an issue in the left rear tyre that forced it to pit.
The trouble continues as the race directors imposed a drive-through penalty on them for an unattended tyre. Kirkwood served the penalty and emerged three laps down behind the leaders in 11th.
Pedersen, Masson and Telitz drove the closing stints with Telitz briefly leading the GTD class for nine laps before pitting for his final stop.
The No.14 car pushed through the setbacks to finish the race in 10th, while the No.12 car finished the race in ninth.
Telitz felt it was not the team's best day, but they made the most of their opportunities: "A great 24 hours all around by the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team here in Daytona.
"A top-10 result for the No. 12 team, including running high in the order and even leading some laps, as well as gathering a good amount of championship points heading to Sebring.
"When it’s not your day, you have to make the most of it, and we certainly did that in this race. Proud of our group."
Pedersen said: "A tremendous team effort by this entire Vasser Sullivan Lexus crew.
"This was my first race, and Daytona 24, with this group, and everyone fired on all cylinders the best they could. Really proud of everyone’s efforts. Think we did everything we could; really good points for us on the No.12 team.
"We’ll take it and move on to Sebring. Gathering points early in the year is vital in this championship, and that’s our focus. So, it’s just heads down and focus forward from here!"
Montecalvo felt the team did a phenomenal and flawless job, despite the fact that there were things that did not turn out as planned.
Masson felt grateful for the chance to drive for the team and said they all prepared "very well" in the last two weeks and in the race itself. The Frenchman could not find any mistake and setbacks, and added that they have optimised this race well as a team.
Hawksworth was hoping for a late caution that would allow the No.14 car return to the lead lap. The Briton admitted to feeling disappointed as it did not happen, but will take the positives heading to Sebring.
Barnicoat said: "The efforts by the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team these last two weeks were a prime representation of what resiliency a race team can showcase.
"This race is always a challenge, but that didn’t stop the incredible performance by our whole team and making sure we did a perfect job the whole way. Extremely proud of Jack and Kyle for not putting a foot wrong the entire way, as well as the No.14 team.
"We all did a superb job. It’s a little hard to take in that we did everything right, managing only a 10th-place finish, but that’s racing. Really excited leaving here in such a strong position as a team, and I’ve never felt more confident in a group of people heading to Sebring."
Kirkwood summarised his race as "flawless" and "straightforward", thanks to the efforts the team made during the off-season, but criticised the lack of pace to match their great strategy.
