Vasser Sullivan Racing has restructured its two-car, two-class effort in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the 2025 season.
2023 IMSA GTD Pro Champions Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat will be split after three seasons together in GTD PRO. Barnicoat will remain in the GTD PRO No.14 Lexus RC F GT3, but this year the British driver will be joined by American Aaron Telitz, who returns to a full-time role at Vasser Sullivan after running the Michelin Endurance Cup in 2024.
Meanwhile, Hawksworth will join Canadian Parker Thompson in the GTD No.12 Lexus for the full season.
Hawksworth and Barnicoat finished fifth in last year’s GTD PRO standings with a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, while Thompson was sixth in the GTD championship with a win at Long Beach, with Barnicoat as his co-driver in a one-off arrangement.
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Andretti Global IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood will continue in his role as the Michelin Endurance Cup driver aboard the No.14 Lexus, joined by Lexus veteran, 2014 GTD winner at Daytona, and NBC Sports Townsend Bell – back in the Daytona 24 Hours for the first time since 2022.
Kirkwood will also pull double-duty at Daytona, sharing the No.12 GTD entry with Hawksworth, Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo, who has shifted from full-time to an Endurance Cup role for 2025. Likewise, Bell will drive and work for NBC as a race analyst for its coverage of the Rolex 24.
Jeff Bal, Senior Manager of Lexus Motorsports, said: “The 2025 IMSA season can’t come soon enough. The only thing more difficult than winning the 2023 championship, was defending it.
“We learned that the hard way last year and haven’t taken a day off since the checkered flag at Road Atlanta in October. The entire Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing team has managed through the highs and the lows, coming into this season fully focused and committed to winning it all. The driver lineups showcase that we’ve got what it takes to win and we’re intending to do just that beginning with Daytona.
“IMSA continues to put on an incredible show for all race fans and we’re fortunate to be racing among many of the world’s greatest, most storied programs. This year’s going to be one for the ages.”
Vasser Sullivan Racing co-owners Jimmy Vasser and James Sullivan said in a joint statement: “We are headed into the 2025 season with unfinished business and the team has prepared accordingly. Every driver in this line-up has won with us and we’re laser focused on clinching another championship and bringing home the Rolex 24 victory. With Kyle Kirkwood pulling double duty between both cars, and Townsend Bell pulling double duty with the NBC booth, this will be a very dynamic and powerful Rolex 24 race for us.”
Barnicoat is also committed to a full-season role at Akkodis ASP Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which has two date clashes with the IMSA GTD Pro class: The Motul Course de Monterey on the same weekend as the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, and the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on the same weekend as the WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. No announcement has been made about Barnicoat’s priority program.