AIM VASSER SULLIVAN 2019 Rolex 24 Qualifying Report

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN LEXUS RC F GT3 QUALIFIES 12th

FOR ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

Qualifying Summary No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3:
AIM VASSER SULLIVAN enters its first year of IMSA competition with two identically prepared Lexus RC F GT3s in the GTD class forall 11-rounds of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The The No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 will be driven by Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand with Nick Cassidy and Austin Cindric also sharing seat-time at Daytona. Heistand qualified the No. 14 AVS entry today posting a fast lap of 1:46.214 and will start 12thin the GTD class for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

No. 14 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Qualifying Quote:


Richard Heistand:
“Qualifying didn’t go the way the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN team wanted. This morning we had some issues in practice with the pace on older tires and the balance wasn’t so good. I went into qualifying not in a good rhythm, not high confidence in the Bus Stop and it took me a bit too long to sort it out. It wasn’t an optimal lap, but it’s okay. It’s a 24 hour race. Where we qualified is fine enough, we’ll get it next time in qualifying. I’m looking forward to having a good race.”

Fast Facts:
Hawksworth Fast Facts:

  • Fourth Rolex 24. Best finish: Fourth in Prototype Challenge (PC) in 2016.
  • Hawksworth drove the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD class the past two seasons.
  • During that time, Hawksworth registered a GTD series-best four pole positions in 2018 and seven of the quickest GTD race laps, including five of the fastest laps during the 2018 season.
  • Hawksworth also previously won the 2014 Indianapolis Brickyard GP (Prototype Class)

Heistand Fast Facts:

  • First Rolex 24
  • Heistand will partner with Jack Hawksworth in all 11-rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
  • Heistand joins the team after a successful return to racing this past year in Europe where he held his own against top amateur and professional drivers in the highly competitive Porsche Supercup series.

Cassidy Fast Facts:

  • First Rolex 24
  • Cassidy is a well-respected champion world-wide.
  • In addition to numerous championships in his native New Zealand, he won the All-Japan Formula 3 championship in 2015, was fourth in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and was the 2017 Japanese Super GT500 champion (second in 2018 Super Formula – Japan and Japanese Super GT500). Cassidy’s GT500 2016-2018 seasons were in the race and championship-winning Lexus LC 500.

Cindric Fast Facts:

  • 3rdRolex 24 At Daytona – Best finish 6thoverall (2018 Prototype Class)
  • Cindric, from North Carolina, has competed in several series during his young career including: USF2000, Global Rallycross (won the Bronze Medal at 2014 X Games Austin), the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hours (at 17, youngest driver to compete in the event) and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
  • Most recently, he drove in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series and is set to run the full season in 2019 for Penske Racing.

N0. 12 VASSER SULLIVAN LEXUS RC F GT3 QUALIFIES 14th FOR

ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

Qualifying Summary No. 12 AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Lexus RC F GT3:
AIM VASSER SULLIVAN enters its first year of IMSA competition with two identically prepared Lexus RC F GT3s in the GTD class forall 11-rounds of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 is campaigned by Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo for the full-season with Jeff Segal and Aaron Telitz co-driving at Daytona. Montecalvo qualified the No. 12 AVS entry today posting a fast lap of 1:46.270 and will start 14thin the GTD class for the Rolex 24 At Daytona..

Note: The AIM VASSER SULLIVAN No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 will have the only All-American driver line-up at the 57thRolex 24 At Daytona.

AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Driver Qualifying Quote:
Frankie Montecalvo:

“Coming out of qualifying, I think the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN team did a great job. We ended up changing the car a little bit to suit older tires and it didn’t work for a qualifying setup. We have some homework to do to get the Lexus RC F GT3 ready for the race, but I think, qualifying aside, the car is a better race car, so we are not far off”.

Fast Facts:
Bell Fast Facts:

  • Sixth Rolex 24. Best finish: First in 2014
  • In 2018, Bell teamed with Montecalvo in the four endurance events in the GTD class of the IWSC racing for Scuderia Corsa. Between 2012 and 2017, both Bell and Montecalvo have experienced on-track success in GT3-spec race cars while driving for AIM Autosport, but never as teammates.
  • Bell drove for a Jimmy Vasser co-owned team at the Indianapolis 500 finishing a career-high fourth in 2009.
  • Bell drove for AIM when they won the Rolex 24 and the NAEC Championship in 2014.

Montecalvo Fast Facts:

  • Third Rolex 24. Best finish: Top-four
  • In 2018, Bell and Montecalvo teamed up in the four endurance events in the GTD class of the IWSC racing for Scuderia Corsa. Between 2012 and 2017, both Bell and Montecalvo have experienced on-track success in GT3-spec race cars while driving for AIM Autosport, but never as teammates.
  • Montecalvo raced with AIM and had some success in the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint X.

 Segal Fast Facts:

  • 11thRolex 24. Best finish: First (2014)
  • Segal is a highly successful championship-winning driver from Philadelphia.
  • He won three IMSA championships (2007 Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge GS, 2010 Rolex Series GT, 2012 Rolex Series GT).
  • He has captured sports car racing’s “Triple Crown” with victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2014 GTD Class), 12 Hours of Sebring (2016 GTD Class) and 24 Hours of Le Mans (2016 GTE – Am Class).
  • Segal also has wins in the Six Hours of the Glen (2016 GTD Class and 2008 GT Class) and was 2013 Indianapolis Brickyard GP winner (GT Class).

Telitz Fast Facts:

  • First Rolex 24
  • Telitz, a native of Wisconsin, has progressed through open-wheel racing ranks.
  • He captured the Mazdaspeed/Skip Barber Racing School Scholarship Shootout in 2013 and was the 2014 Team USA Scholarship Recipient.
  • Starting in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Series in 2014, he advanced to the Pro Mazda Championship winning the title in 2016.
  • Most recently, Telitz had nine podiums including two wins in the 2018 Indy Lights Championship.
  • Telitz will compete for AIM VASSER SULLIVAN in all four of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events in 2019 (Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans).

 ###

Broadcast Times:
The Rolex 24 At Daytona will be run January 26-27 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. The start of the race will be broadcast live on NBCSN starting at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 26. It will also be streamed on the NBCSN App.

About AIM VASSER SULLIVAN:

AIM VASSER SULLIVAN (AVS) is a new professional racing team competing in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with two Lexus RC F GT3 entries. AVS is owned by AIM partners Andrew Bordin, Ian Willis and Keith Willis, and Vasser-Sullivan Racing partners Jimmy Vasser and James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan. AVS leadership has a combined 100+ years of experience in operations, engineering, marketing and racecraft.

AIM Autosport formed in 1995 and have been winners in every category of open wheel and sports car racing they have competed in. AIM has multiple race wins, plus overall team, driver and manufacturer Championships in both Grand AM and IMSA competition.

Vasser and Sullivan were allied and partners from 2011-2016 with KVSH Racing in the IndyCar Series.  In 2017, Vasser and Sullivan established Vasser-Sullivan Racing to compete in the IndyCar series. In 2018, they formed a partnership with Dale Coyne to establish Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan to compete full time in the IndyCar Series Championship.  In its first year, the team earned multiple podiums including winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and finishing seventh in the 2018 championship standings.

AIM VASSER SULLIVAN Contacts:
Kevin Diamond – Director Communications
Phone: (415) 332-2016
Mobile: (415) 729-6011
kdiamond@aimvassersullivan.com