Within the tenth season for the venerable Lexus RC F GT3, Vasser Sullivan Racing is proving that have, inner evolution, and relentless deal with execution can nonetheless set the benchmark in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors.
Moderately than searching for exterior fixes, the crew has doubled down on a core philosophy: Constructed, not purchased. By strategic inner promotions and a retooled pit cease program, Vasser Sullivan has reclaimed its championship rivalry kind, proving that small operational tweaks can ship game-changing outcomes on monitor.
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Returning to the Core PhilosophyTravis Morgan (left), James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan (center), Bozi Tatarevic (proper)
Travis Morgan (left), James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan (center), Bozi Tatarevic (proper)
The shift in momentum wasn’t born out of radical redesigns, however reasonably a return to basic rules following early-season setbacks.
“After letting one other Sebring win slip away the way in which we did this season, it was clear it was time to get again to that,” James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan, Co-Proprietor of Vasser Sullivan Racing, advised Motorsport.com.
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“We had a saying that guided us in our most up-to-date championship run: ‘We do not want extraordinary issues, we’d like the odd issues, finished terribly properly.’
“We’re devoting our vitality to executing on this day by day. And we’re seeing the fruits.”
That renewed dedication paid large dividends lately at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), the place race-winning technique met flawless pit lane execution.
Retooling the Pit Lane#14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat
#14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat
The defining second of the CTMP race got here throughout a vital first pit cycle. Technique and engineering leaders Geoff Fickling and Dwight Brown on the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 referred to as for an aggressive short-fill cease. The pit crew delivered, beating each opponent off pit lane and reshaping the course of their weekend.
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That lightning-fast cease was months within the making and a direct results of an overhauled pit cease program targeted.
The structural overhaul depends closely on rigorous evaluate and devoted trackside oversight. Beneath the management of Workforce Supervisor Greg Cates, the crew now conducts deep-dive video evaluation of each pit cease from prior occasions, pairing the footage with open roundtable discussions that deliver drivers and ‘chilly aspect’ assist personnel immediately into the dialogue. Complemented by Travis Morgan’s promotion to Crew Chief – a shift that locations him on the skin of the pit field to look at stops in actual time and provide rapid suggestions – Vasser Sullivan has constructed a decent suggestions loop centered on steady refinement.
On the identical time, equal weight is given to grassroots innovation, with crew members actively inspired to voice concepts no matter their place. That collaborative surroundings paid direct dividends at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the place tire technician Richard Boyles prompt a modified tire placement place and entrance changer Saul Perez Hernandez really helpful a delicate timing tweak. Each crew-driven changes yielded rapid velocity positive aspects on pit lane, proving that race-winning execution depends simply as a lot on crew initiative because it does on technique from the pit wall.
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The crew’s pit lane prowess depends on a deep properly of firsthand expertise. Cates was an achieved tire changer in CART and IMSA who received a number of pit cease contests – and even pitted for crew co-owner Jimmy Vasser within the 2003 Indianapolis 500. In the meantime, Boyles brings a NASCAR tire-changing background, and Perez Hernandez provides expertise from IMSA GTP and NASCAR.
Empowering Management From WithinJack Hawksworth (left), co-driver of the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus, with Travis Morgan (proper)
Jack Hawksworth (left), co-driver of the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus, with Travis Morgan (proper)
Central to Vasser Sullivan’s present trajectory are key personnel strikes made for the 2026 season that emphasize development from inside the group.
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Having joined Vasser Sullivan in 2021 and served as Automotive Chief on the #14 machine beginning in 2022, Morgan stepped into the Crew Chief function over each vehicles this season.
“The most important factor I’ve realized and one thing that I am nonetheless studying is that I must step again and delegate,” Morgan advised Motorsport.com. “In my earlier roles as a automobile chief and a mechanic, I used to be at all times one of many first to leap in and attempt to clear up points by being hands-on. However in my new function as crew chief, I’ve realized to empower the mechanics to deal with the problems themselves and information them utilizing my expertise and observations.”
Moving into Morgan’s former function as Automotive Chief on the #14 entry is Adam Berberich. After working throughout NHRA, Ferrari Problem, SRO, LMP2, and LMP3, Berberich rejoined Vasser Sullivan full-time in 2025 earlier than incomes his promotion to Automotive Chief for 2026.
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“Over-communication and documentation have been key parts of my transition to automobile chief to be able to guarantee transparency whereas working to maintain everybody on the identical web page,” Berberich advised Motorsport.com.
“The sudden factor I’ve needed to study to do is to handle a number of timelines directly: be within the current sufficient to information what is going on on within the second to do our rapid jobs, assume forward to reduce obstacles sooner or later, and deal with issues which have occurred up to now.”
Championship Pedigree Throughout the Board#12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Aaron Telitz, Benjamin Pedersen
#12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Aaron Telitz, Benjamin Pedersen
Past the pit lane refinements, Vasser Sullivan’s operational surge is anchored by elite engineering expertise throughout each garages. Main the cost on the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 is Race Engineer Fickling, whose successful rapport with driver Jack Hawksworth dates again to their dominant 2012 Star Mazda championship marketing campaign. Fickling brings a battle-tested resume to the stand, having engineered Indy Lights title runs for Gabby Chaves in 2014 and Ed Jones in 2016 earlier than serving as a race engineer and strategist within the IndyCar Collection.
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On the #12 aspect, Race Engineer Matt Beckman provides an equally formidable technical pedigree. Beckman’s intensive background spans championship-winning CART squads at Newman/Haas Racing, a 2005 stint aiding co-owner Jimmy Vasser at PKV Racing, and a storied tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing – the place he engineered Denny Hamlin to a Daytona 500 victory and managed the group’s whole simulation and engineering group. Collectively, Fickling and Beckman present the high-level tactical depth required to persistently flip split-second pit highway execution into race-winning outcomes.
A Becoming Farewell
Because the decade-old Lexus RC F GT3 prepares for its closing laps in top-flight competitors, Vasser Sullivan Racing is not counting on previous glory. By trusting inner expertise, empowering crew members at each degree, and perfecting the “odd issues,” the squad has reignited a successful formulation able to preventing for victories proper all the way down to the ultimate checkered flag.
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