Tuesday, January 31, 2023 – Highlands, NJ – After 24 hours of fierce competition, Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo, and codrivers Aaron Telitz, Parker Thompson, and Kyle Kirkwood, finished P5 in the GTD Class at the Rolex 24.
Telitz qualified the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 eighth in class for the start of Saturday’s twice around the clock enduro. When the green flag flew, Telitz quickly made his way into the top five positions, and the No. 12 machine stayed there for the remainder of the race.
“We’re rolling out of the Rolex 24 at Daytona with great championship points. Last year we had contact early in the race and were out of contention for a win and a strong points finish. Consequently, it wasn’t a good start to the championship run for us,” explained Montecalvo.
“While we’re always pushing for a win, we’re very happy with a fifth-place finish at Daytona. Aaron, Kyle, and Parker all did a phenomenal job. We worked our way up to first place a few times during the race but were never out of the top five.”
“We weren’t sure how competitive we would be against the Aston Martins and the McLaren, but we realized going into the race that the Mercedes was in a class of its own. We knew that it would be imperative for us to run a contact free race and stay out of the pits as much as possible to be able to fight for a podium or top-five finish at the end.”
“The team and the crew did just that. All the drivers ran consistent and clean stints. The crew executed every pit stop flawlessly. Vasser Sullivan gave us an exceptional car, and we were never out of the top five.”
“I’m so proud of this team and how hard everyone has been working, and now we’ll continue to make improvements to the car over the next month and be ready to go for a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.”
The next race for Montecalvo and the Vasser Sullivan team will be the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all of Frankie’s racing news.
