Ben Barnicoat gets 2026 IMSA campaign underway during the Rolex 24 at Daytona

The #14 Lexus RC F GT3 of Vasser Sullivan made its 2026 season debut, rolling out for the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Ben Barnicoat joined his teammates Jack Hawksworth and Kyle Kirkwood for the heavily interrupted 64th running of the twice-around-the-clock event, eventually bringing home a top-10 finish to kickstart their championship campaign.

Starting from P11, the GTD Pro entry made steady progress throughout the opening hours, which saw several short caution periods. Ben’s teammate Jack took the start, with Kyle following on in the opening hours. Ben – the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship champion – then took over as the race moved into the third hour, with the race under a full course caution, taking the #14 into the top-10 for the first time. Battling hard, Ben gained further ground to the GTD Pro field, climbing as high as P7 during his stint, before pitting as the fifth hour began.

Ben returned to the cockpit as the race reached the ninth hour, with the sun beginning to set and fog descending across Daytona International Raceway. The #14 was lacking overall pace, but faultless stints by each driver and slick pitstops by the crew kept them in contention, inside the top-10. Visibility would continue to be an issue as the race progressed into the evening, and an extended full course caution was called in the 11th hour. This saw the race neutralised for more than six hours due to the fog, with the field circulating at a reduced speed, positions changing and strategies continuing to play out.

The #14 steadily moved up the GTD Pro order as the fog continued to thicken, and Vasser Sullivan moved into the podium positions for the first time during the early morning hours, leading the race for one lap as the pitstops cycled through. Ben returned to the track again shortly ahead of sunrise, and ran firmly inside the top-5 as the race resumed with just over six hours remaining.  Ben kept the #14 firmly in the fight, battling hard through the murky sunrise hours, running P8 as the fog gradually burnt off and the race headed into the final hours.

Positions continued to change as the race reached hour 20, and Jack and Kyle completed their stints. Further full course cautions kept the field tightly packed, and Ben began his final stint just before the race returned to an uninterrupted three hour run to the flag. A late retirement from one of the leaders secured a late position, before a drive through penalty and longer stop for some remedial repairs would ultimately end the challenge for further gains. With the chequered flag eventually falling at the end of a hectic 24 hours of racing, the team successfully brought the #14 home in P10.

With the conclusion of his fourth successive Rolex 24 at Daytona, Ben explained:

"The efforts by the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team these last two weeks was a prime representation of what resiliency a race team can showcase. This race is always a challenge, but that didn’t stop the incredible performance by our whole team and making sure we did a perfect job the whole way. I’m extremely proud of Jack, Kyle and the whole #14 team,for not putting a foot wrong the entire way. We all did a superb job.

"It’s a little hard to take in that we did everything right, managing only a 10th-place finish, but that’s racing. Really excited leaving here in such a strong position as a team, and I’ve never felt more confident in a group of people heading to Sebring.”

The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship returns to Florida in March, as Ben and his Vasser Sullivan teammates take on the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, 18-21 March.