Wednessday, May 8, 2019 – Highlands, NJ – AIM Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo, along with co-driver Townsend Bell, finished P5 in the GTD class at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio on Sunday. The fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech Series once again saw extremely variable conditions with rain and near freezing temperatures leading up to the Sunday race.
Although the two hours and forty-minute race was sunny and dry, most of the practice sessions throughout the weekend were cold and rainy. The fifteen-minute qualifying session on Saturday also saw cold, damp conditions. Having spent the majority of the first two races of the season piloting the Lexus RCF GT3 in rainy conditions, Montecalvo had no problem maneuvering through traffic to qualify the No. 12 Lexus P3 for the start of Sunday’s race.
“It was a completely wild qualifying session and weekend in general at Mid Ohio. The conditions went from one extreme with the cold rain leading up to the race to the complete opposite for the start of the race,” explained Montecalvo.
“On my fastest qualifying lap, I actually ended up passing two cars, so that slowed us down. We definitely had a bit more pace in the car. Those two slower cars hurt us a little, but I think everyone else was in a similar situation.”
“The start of the race was pretty chaotic. The GTLM field in front of our class checked up before the green flag, which caused a ripple effect through the GTD class. I got bumped from behind and didn’t get the best restart going back to throttle. I got passed by two cars but was able to hold my position in fifth for the first few corners.”
“When I crested the hill at turn eight, a prototype had spun, and I’m not sure how we all made it through there without causing a yellow flag. It was definitely a close one, but I was able to get past and get into a good rhythm for the remainder of my stint.”
“When Townsend took over, he did a great job keeping the car at the front of the pack. We bounced between fourth and sixth with pit stop cycles but ultimately finished in fifth.”
“The AIM Vasser Sullivan guys did an outstanding job all weekend. I’m really pleased for our sister car that was able to come away with the win. We’re now second in the points championship, which is not a bad place to be as we head into the busy summer months. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and challenging for a win at the Detroit Grand Prix at the end of the month.”
The next race for Montecalvo will be the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle on June 1. On track action begins Friday, May 31 and continues through Saturday with the green flag flying at 12:40 PM ET. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with current broadcast times as well as all of Frankie’s racing news.