Thursday, August 7, 2024 – Highlands, NJ – Vasser Sullivan drivers Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson finished P11 at the IMSA Sportscar Weekend at Road America.
The two hours and forty-minutes race saw five full course yellow periods, with two in the first thirty minutes of the race. Because the No. 12 qualified ninth, the team saw an opportunity to make the most of the caution periods and go a different direction in strategy.
The bold strategy moves led the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 to first in the GTD class with ten laps remaining. However, another yellow flag was needed to be able to have enough fuel to win the race. With three laps remaining, Thompson was forced to dash into the pits for a splash of fuel to be able to finish the race. The No. 12 would ultimately cross the line eleventh in class.
“It was great to be back at Road America over the weekend. The Vasser Sullivan team worked so hard all weekend long to give Parker and I a strong car for the race,” said Montecalvo.
“I qualified our car ninth in class, so the team went back to work and took the setup in a different direction for the race which was much improved. We saw two yellow flags in the first thirty minutes of the race, so we decided to take a gamble on the strategy in hopes that it would pay out in the long run.”
“It looked like it was going to go our way. Parker was able to work his way up to lead on lap fifty, but we needed another yellow to be able to make it to the end of the race on fuel. Unfortunately, that yellow never came and Parker had to dive into the pits for a splash of fuel in the final minutes of the race. We were about three minutes shy of having enough fuel to get to the end and take the win.”
“I can’t thank the team and Parker enough for their hard work all weekend long. We’ll regroup and be back stronger than ever at VIR in two weeks!”
The next race for Montecalvo is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on Sunday, August 25. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with current broadcast times and all of Frankie’s racing news.