Wednesday, October 16, 2024 – Highlands, NJ –After ten hours of racing at Petit Le Mans, the IMSA WeatherTech season finale, Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo took home third place honors.
Montecalvo shared driving duties for the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 with Parker Thompson and Aaron Telitz. Although they started from the back of the pack, the trio led the nineteen-car field for several laps during the ten-hour endurance race. However, after being forced wide by a prototype and collecting a large amount of grass and debris in the radiator in the closing stages of the race, Telitz had to ensure the No. 12 did not overheat, but he took the car to the checkered flag and ultimately finished third in class.
“It was fantastic to be back at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans and the final race of the 2024 IMSA season. We had high goals going into the race weekend and were hoping to turn our luck from this year around and finish on a high. While we didn’t take the win, finishing on the podium absolutely accomplished that goal,” said Montecalvo.
“We started at the back after an issue in qualifying, so we knew we had our work cut out for us, but we were confident that we had a car capable of scoring a podium. Parker worked his way up to eleventh in class before the first full course yellow came out. We decided to take an early driver change, and I took over from Parker.”
“I had a great restart and made up a couple of positions, and then I was able to keep my head down, stay out of trouble, and push forward. As my stints progressed, I worked my way through the field and took over the lead of the GTD class. I drove a little over three hours and led the class for forty laps before I handed the car over to Aaron.”
“Aaron and Parker stayed in the top three in class until nightfall. Aaron took over for the final push and was on the hunt for the top spot. He was pushed wide out of turn twelve by a prototype and took on lots of grass and debris that became stuck in the radiator. He was forced to pit because it was causing the engine to overheat. Once the crew cleaned out as much debris as possible, Aaron went back out in P10.”
“Luckily, we were able to capitalize on a yellow to catch us back up to the rest of the field, and from there, Aaron went on a charge back to the front. Unfortunately, we were still overheating due to the debris in the radiator, so Aaron had to nurse the car to the finish, but he, Parker and the entire Vasser Sullivan crew did a phenomenal job to get us across the line and finish the year strong.”
“I can’t thank my teammates and everyone at Vasser Sullivan and Lexus for another incredible season. I’m glad we were able to end the year with our best finish of the season, and I’m hoping we can carry that momentum forward into 2025!”
The next event for Montecalvo is the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona in January. Remember to follow Frankie on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all of Frankie’s racing news.