Wednesday, March 20, 2024 – Highlands, NJ – After twelve hours of racing on the notoriously bumpy circuit that is Sebring International Raceway, Vasser Sullivan drivers Frankie Montercalvo, Parker Thompson, and Aaron Telitz crossed the finish line in thirteenth place.
Thompson qualified the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 third in the GTD class. When the green flag flew Thompson wasted no time making his way through the cars that qualified ahead of the No. 12 and was up to P1 within a matter of minutes, just behind the No. 14 Lexus sister car in the GTD Pro class.
Montecalvo, Thompson, and Telitz took turns running in the top five places in the GTD class throughout each of their stints. Despite having some bad luck in the pit lane, the No. 12 was running strong during the final hour of the race, but a lapped car spun Thompson, causing the No. 12 to lose several positions before getting back on track. Thompson would fight his way through traffic as much as he could but would ultimately cross the finish line P13.
“It’s always great to get back to Sebring, especially after the month break between the twelve hour and Daytona. The atmosphere is so much fun, and the event always produces great racing. This year was no exception,” said Montecalvo.
“Overall, we had an extremely competitive car. Parker qualified third in class and made his way to P1 immediately. We tucked in behind the No. 14 and started clicking off laps. Parker, Aaron, and I all took turns running at the front, so we knew we had a strong car that could fight for a podium.”
“Unfortunately, we had a bit of contact in pit lane that forced us to take a drive through penalty which set us back significantly and caused damage to the car. Aaron and Parker did a phenomenal job to drive back through the traffic and put us in a top five position in the final hour of the race. The last hour of the race saw mayhem in all the classes, and we were on the receiving end of some of that when Thompson was spun by lapped traffic. He did everything he could to work his way forward but crossed the line in thirteenth.”
“It wasn’t the finish we were hoping for, but we’ll move forward to Long Beach. I want to give a massive thank you to Parker, Aaron, and the entire Vasser Sullivan crew for a fantastic job all weekend. Also, congratulations to the No. 14 guys on their incredible race and win.”
The next race for Montecalvo is the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 20th. 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.
