Hawksworth gets set for 100th Lexus start

In a racing landscape that rarely stands still, continuity is hard to come by. Drivers move, programs evolve, and success cycles shift. But for Jack Hawksworth and Lexus, there’s been an uncommon throughline — and this weekend at Sebring International Raceway, the combination reaches a notable marker.

Hawksworth will make his 100th start with Lexus, a figure that caught even him off guard.

“Yeah, it’s crazy, really, how time flies,” he says. “And obviously, I’ve been fortunate enough to be with Lexus. There have been good moments and not-so-good moments, but it’s been really cool to be part of this family and the success.

“It took me by surprise a bit – it [the 100 race mark] wasn’t on my radar. Until about a week ago, I had no idea, and then our PR team at Lexus reached out and told me that it was my 100th race. I guess my reaction initially was just shock, really, that I had done that many IMSA races with Lexus. It’s gone very, very quickly.

“It’s just a number, right? You tend to hold on to the win stats and the podium stats. But to have started 100 races with the same manufacturer, that’s cool.”

The milestone adds another layer to a sports car career that, at one point, wasn’t the plan. Hawksworth’s early trajectory pointed toward single-seaters, highlighted by a 2012 Star Mazda title and a stint in IndyCar with A. J. Foyt Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport.

But a reset at the end of 2016 — joining Lexus’ fledgling GT3 effort — proved pivotal. What began with 3GT Racing in 2017 transitioned to Vasser Sullivan Racing in 2019, with Hawksworth a constant presence throughout.

“You can link me with the start of the program and the RC F GT3 racing in America,” he says. “To see where we’ve come — from those early days to where we are now, being competitive at every race — it’s cool to look back on, and I’m proud of that.”

The results reflect that growth: 11 wins, 32 podiums and 13 poles across IMSA competition, with additional outings in the FIA World Endurance Championship alongside AKKODIS ASP Team.

Sebring, though, feels like the right place for this milestone. The circuit has been kind to Hawksworth and Lexus in recent seasons, delivering a run of strong results in one of endurance racing’s most punishing environments.

“It’s certainly been a good track for us – I think we’ve gone second, first, and second there the last three years across the two classes,” Hawksworth recalls. "It’s hard to put your finger on exactly why. But as a team, we’re really strong. We’ve got a good set of mechanics, good engineers, a good driver line-up, and a car that we know really well and know is really reliable.

“For a track and a race like the 12 Hours of Sebring, that kind of stuff generally puts you in good standing. Hopefully, we can keep that trend going.”

There’s also a timely boost in the driver lineup. Kyle Kirkwood arrives off the back of an IndyCar Series win at the Grand Prix of Arlington, joining Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 entry.

“Kyle has obviously had a great start to the IndyCar season, and it’s definitely nice that he’s coming off a win to join us at Sebring,” Hawksworth states.

“We’ve all been cheering him on. It’s kind of got me back into watching IndyCar a bit with him racing over there, and seeing his success this season has been really cool. I know he’s riding high off the back of that victory last weekend, so we’re hoping he brings that speed and that winning feeling to our race team this weekend. We’re lucky to have him in the race car with Ben and me.”

For Vasser Sullivan, Sebring also represents opportunity. With the Lexus RC F GT3 nearing the end of its lifecycle ahead of the incoming Toyota GR GT3 platform, each remaining outing carries added significance.

“Overall, we feel like we’re a better race team this year than we were last year, and we’ve made some good progress over the off-season,” Hawksworth explains. "We got a stellar driver line-up, stellar engineering, stellar mechanics. Yes, the car is a little bit old, but, you know, this is a BoP championship, so there should be some equivalency across the board, and if that’s what we’ve got this week, then we’re going to be in the hunt. There’s no doubt about it.

“In Daytona, [where the No. 14 crew finished 10th], we obviously were facing a straight line deficit, which we could see in practice, which was going to be a problem for us in the race. So we kind of knew that it was going to be tough.

The No. 14 finished 10th at Daytona. Photo credit: Michael L. Levitt

“This weekend is a fresh weekend, very different style of track, hopefully the field is tighter, and we plan on being in the fight. Sebring is much more similar to the other tracks in the series. Daytona is straight oriented; the cars that win are the ones that are good in sector three. So this could be a more representative look at how the rest of the season may play out.

“The last two years we’ve had a really bad Daytona, then bounced back at Sebring, and won in 2024, which was awesome, so hopefully we can turn it around.”

Winning on Saturday night, though, will likely mean fending off a challenge from, amongst others in GTD Pro, AO Racing and its 'Roxy' Porsche, which finds itself in a similar boat. Like Vasser Sullivan, it heads to the historic airfield circuit off the back of a disappointing Daytona, but with expectations set sky high for Round 2.

In 2025, it won the Pro class with Klaus Bachler, Laurin Heinrich and Alessio Picariello, and returns this year with a refreshed line-up that is eager to make an impression. Picariello is the only returnee for 2026, joined by Nick Tandy, who has moved to GTD Pro from Porsche Penske Motorsport's GTP programme this year, and newly named Porsche-contracted driver Harry King. 

The biggest unknown, on the face of it, is 25-year-old Briton King, who is a 12 Hours of Sebring rookie. But there's no reason to believe he can't immediately be competing at the sharp end with the most experienced drivers in the field. He has shown through multiple highly successful seasons in single-make Cup racing that he can be blindingly quick just about anywhere aboard a Porsche 911 and managed to get his eye in before Practice 1 earlier today.

"Last year we had a near-perfect race, and it was so special. We have a new line-up, but Harry [King] and Nick [Tandy] are really fast," Picariello says. "We all get along well, and it feels natural already. You need to build chemistry, but it went well in Daytona; we worked well together. The result wasn't good, but we share the same mindset and like the same kind of car.

"For Harry, it's his first Sebring, but he's tested here twice, and he knows it well now, so I'm not worried about his pace there."