Tuesday, March 23, 2021 – Highlands, NJ – After 12 hours of hard-fought racing, Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo, with co-drivers Zach Veach and Robert Megennis, finished P6 at the 69th running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
Montecalvo qualified the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 fourth in class. He and his co-drivers lead the GT Daytona field at various points during the race, but contact from behind on multiple occasions would ultimately put them out of the hunt for the win and a podium finish.
“The 12 Hours of Sebring went as good as it could until it didn’t. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the twelve hours, but rolling into the race, I think we had a great car for the long run,” said Montecalvo.
“I think Zach, Robert, and I did a great job of trying to stay out of trouble, but a couple of hits from the rear ruined our day. I got hit from behind coming into the pits. There was some damage to the car, but thankfully nothing that hampered our pace.”
“After a restart, I was hit from behind again when everyone checked up in front of us, so that took a bit of downforce off of our car and made it a little more challenging to drive. As soon as night fell, the cooler temperatures worked well with our setup, and we were able to fly.”
“I was able to open up a seven second gap to third place and started reeling in the leader. Our strategy was playing out perfectly. We were able to duck into the pits just before another full course yellow came out, and Zach jumped into the car, and the guys executed a flawless pit stop.”
“Unfortunately, just after the restart, Zach was hit from behind by one of the Porsches, which cut one of his rear tires. That was a tough break for us because we had the car and the pace to finish on the podium, but that’s how it goes at Sebring.”
“I can’t thank the entire Vasser Sullivan crew, Lexus, Zach, and Robert enough for a phenomenal job all weekend long. It was a hard weekend for both the No. 12 and the No. 14, but I think we showed that we’ve got what it takes to run at the front of the pack and just how resilient we are. Even though we both had some tough breaks, I’m proud to have fought back and that both cars finished in the top ten.”
The next race for Montecalvo will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, May 16. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with current broadcast times and all of Frankie’s racing news.
