IMSA: Hawksworth excited by Lexus opportunity

Jack Hawksworth says that he is excited to move onto the next chapter of his racing career after signing on to share 3GT Racing's No.15 Lexus RC F GT3 with Robert Alon in next year's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

"I'm really looking forward to racing a Lexus for 3GT Racing," said Hawksworth. "Paul [Gentilozzi, team owner] has shown a lot of faith and belief in me since our first race together in 2014. This is a fantastic opportunity and I know we are destined to do great things together."

The Briton's move comes after a frustrating couple of seasons in IndyCar with AJ Foyt Racing that culminated in a 2016 campaign that yielded no finish higher than 11th. The 25-year-old had earlier won IndyCar's rookie of the year honors off the back of an encouraging season with Bryan Herta Autosport in 2014, and that same year also earned an IMSA PC class victory at IMS with RSR Racing.

Hawksworth and Alon, who claimed three PC class wins in 2016, complete a 3GT full-time driver line-up that also includes Sage Karam and Scott Pruett in the No.14 sister car.

"We have been very fortunate to have the patience and opportunity to test many prospective drivers for our program," said Gentilozzi.

"Choosing Robert and Jack was the result of our team's analysis of both their on-track driving, social skills, fit in our structure and competitive maturity.

"That maturity does not always mean just the number of years they have raced, it reflects on their ability to bring our Lexus to the finish every race."