Record-breaking Sebring pace goes without reward for Ben Barnicoat

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship resumed with the iconic 12 Hours of Sebring, where Ben Barnicoat and the Vasser Sullivan team arrived determined to build on their previous success. Starting from pole position, the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 led a strong charge through the early stages, remaining firmly in contention until an issue in the eighth hour briefly halted their progress. Despite the setback, Barnicoat and teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Jack Hawksworth showed resilience and determination, battling on into the night to ultimately secure an 11th-place finish.

Vasser Sullivan have proven themselves the pacesetters around Sebring International Raceway in years gone by, and 2026 was to be no different. The 2024 race winning trio of Ben, Jack and Kyle were back together, and early pace looked strong.

The race started under typically blue Florida skies. Jack started from pole position and maintained the GTD Pro lead throughout the opening stint before the first caution period ahead of the hour mark. A switch to Kyle saw positions change in the pitlane, but firmly in the lead fight, and maintaining strong pace. Positions changed throughout the opening three hours, and a Safety Car saw a strategy call for a stop to switch for Ben. He rejoined as the track returned to green flag running, and he was immediately up to speed and lapping as part of the lead group of five cars. The #14 remained in contention, and Ben gained positions as his double stint came to a conclusion, eventually handing over to Jack from P2 with just over five hours completed.

At the midpoint of the race, in the heat of the mid-afternoon sun, the Vasser Sullivan team looked to be in a strong position. With seven hours completed, Kyle returned to the car, running inside the podium positions, but after a routine stop a failure saw a front wheel come loose, and Kyle was forced to limp back to the pits for remedial repairs. Quick work by the team to diagnose and fix the issue got the #14 back out on track, but further stops were required to remedy the situation, and the resulting lost time would drop the team down the order.

With the issue fixed, and the car now running in 11th position, the team returned to a faultless execution for the remaining four hours. The cruel twist robbed Ben and his teammates of another podium, or possible second victory, around the bumpy Sebring circuit.

As the night drew in, and the race neared its conclusion, Ben completed his final stint to hand over to Jack to bring it home. With the chequered flag dropping at 12 hours, the fluro yellow and black Lexus crossed the line to finish 11th.

After a disappointing result following such a promising opening half of the race, Ben explained:

"Today was not the result that we deserved, or that we expected. We rolled out of the truck on Thursday with a fast Lexus RC F GT3 and we backed that up with a great qualifying result. Obviously, Jack put down a great lap to get us the pole position. Honestly, the race was going really well. The Porsches were strong and probably had a bit more pace on us in the heat of the day, but I think we were all very confident that it was going to come back to us at night, and we would be there at the end. But things happen. We had an issue during a pit stop that we need to analyze to understand exactly what happened, but that took us out of contention.

I feel bad for everyone on the team. They put in a lot of hard work, and it’s hard to be this good as an organization and not get the results we deserve. We’ll keep working hard and come back stronger at the next race.”

The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship now heads to the west coast for the Grand Prix of Monterey on 2-3 May.