WTSC (GTD class) ~Outstanding performance in the classic US series WTSC (GTD class) and consistent top-10 finishes near end of the season~ | The Debut Year! New LEXUS RC F GT3 | 2021 | SPECIAL | CUSTOMER MOTORSPORTS

The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (WTSC) is a globally acclaimed, long-standing endurance sports car series held in the United States. For this season, two of the brand-new RC F GT3s were entered in its GT Daytona (GTD) class. The total of twelve races, held in the U.S. and Canada, begin with the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, hailed as one of the three major endurance races of the world. With three fastest laps and earning itself the pole position with a course record in the qualifying, this race served as a proving ground for the speed of the RC F GT3.

RC F GT3 places 14th in its debut race,
the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona

　3GT Racing, led by the legendary North American driver Paul Gentilozzi, entered two LEXUS RC F GT3s in the GTD class of IMSA's 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Owing to the vastness of its host country, namely the U.S., the series features a variety of courses, including long and short distance races, standard circuits and also specially designated urban courses and banked courses, such as that at Daytona.

The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, similar to the Word Endurance Championship (WEC), features a variety of classes competing together, including prototype machines

　The Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, the opening round of the series held in February, saw the four drivers Sage Karam/Scott Prewitt and Ian James/Gustavo Menezes designated to the No. 14 car, with Karam/Prewitt as the regular drivers. The drivers for car No. 15 totaled four as well, including Jack Hawksworth/Robert Alon, Austin Cindric, and Dominik Farnbacher, a driver who races the RC F GT3 in Europe. While car No. 14 had to stop after 52 laps, car No. 15 completed the full race and placed 14th in its class (36th overall).

3GT Racing's LEXUS RC F GT3 car No. 15 competing in the 12 Hours of Sebring

　The following race was the historic 12 Hours of Sebring. The driver teams for cars No. 14 and 15 added James and Cindric to their respective rosters. Emerging from a grueling race on this course, converted from an airstrip, both cars eventually crossed the finish line. Car No. 14 also recorded a fastest lap, while coming in 13th in its class.

The RC F GT3 came just shy of the podium
in the second half of the season

　At Long Beach's BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix, the 3rd Round of the series, car No. 14 rose to a position of 6th in its first sprint race. And as its performance improved with the progression of the series, it then placed 4th at the semi-endurance Round 4, held in Austin, TX. In Round 5, held on the streets of Detroit, cars No. 14 and No. 15 came in together, finishing 6th and 7th respectively, in a top-10 finish for both the machines.

3GT Racing's two Lexus RC F GT3 machines

　In the following 6-hour Round 6 race, the Watkins Glen International, and the following Round 7 at Mosport in Canada, the two RC F GT3s were able to keep up their momentum despite the disparity in the lengths of the races. In Round 6, the RC F GT3s finished 5th and 6th, also recording a fastest lap. In Round 7, car No. 14 won pole position with a time that improved on the GTD class record by almost 2 full seconds. In the race, it went on to finish 5th, despite some unfortunate machine trouble. At Round 8, Lime Rock, No. 14 took the lead at one point, once again showing the machine's hopes for a victory were becoming tangible.

The No. 14 LEXUS RC F GT3 of 3GT Racing taking poll position in Round 7

　While hopes for a podium finish at Round 10 in Virginia were high, car No. 14 only managed to finish in at 7th place. Despite facing difficulties at the historic Laguna Seca race, in the next and final race of the series at Road Atlanta, car No. 15 finished 8th, in another example of consistent late-season top-10 finishes. Overcoming stiff competition, the debuting RC F GT3 was able to prove itself capable of competing among the leaders. Having amassed data on the courses, 2018 now promised further progress for the Lexus machines.

3GT Racing's car No.15
Jack Hawksworth

Outstanding aerodynamics provide
an edge in high-speed turns
Building on our experience from this year,
I want to win the Championship.

−−　What was your first impression of the LEXUS RC F GT3？

My first impression, before I drove it, was that it was visually beautiful: aesthetically pleasing, and that iconic grill is just so cool. The car looked very aggressive and aerodynamic. After I drove it for the first time, I was even more impressed with how responsive it was. It felt more like a prototype than a GT car. It reacted very quickly, was very responsive. And there was a lot of torque from that wonderful engine.

−−　What are the strong points of LEXUS RC F GT3？

The strongest points are that the car carries a lot of downforce, we get a lot of grit in the high-speed corners. The car also creates a lot of torque with that big V-8 engine. So, I think the two biggest strong points are downforce for grit on the high-speed corners and the engine--it pulls very well throughout the rev range.

−−　How was the season with 3GT Racing？

I thought it was very positive from the perspective of speed. We showed that the car has great performance, with multiple fastest laps and consistently being at the front. Now we're looking forward to building upon that experience in 2018. With one year of experience under our belt, we plan to capitalize on the speed and performance that we saw in the car this year, and get some solid results for 2018.