Weekend Racing: Lexus Sweeps Podium in Super GT, Struggles at Watkins Glen

Posted by Kevin on July 1st, 2019

It was a busy weekend in Lexus racing, with teams in the United States and Japan competing with varied success.

Super GT

Lexus swept the GT 500 podium at Super GT Round 4 in Thailand, with Lexus Team Wako’s LeMans LC 500 finishing first for the first time in five years. Drivers Kazuya Oshima & Kenta Yamashita endured the high heat, driving from pole position to victory.

Lexus LC 500 GT Super

Atsushi Hirakawa & Nick Cassidy with the KeePer TOM’S LC 500 #37 finished second, and Yuko Kunimoto & Shobo Tsuboi in the WedsSport ADVAN LC500 #19 continued in third place.

Lexus teams also dominate the season standings, with KeePer TOM’S at the top, followed by Wako’s LeMans in second and Zent Cerumo in third. The top five teams are all driving LC 500s.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Lexus RC F GT3

The AIM VASSER SULLIVAN (AVS) #14 RC F GT3 finished fifth in IMSA’s GTD class at Watkins Glen International with co-drivers Jack Hawksworth, Richard Heistand and Philipp Frommenwiler.

The AVS #12 Lexus RC F GT3 finished ninth in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on Sunday with co-drivers Townsend Bell, Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz competing in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Lexus currently sits second in the provisional GTD overall manufacturer championship point standings. In the overall GTD team standings, the AVS #14 Lexus moved into second-place (three points behind the leader), while the #12 RC F GT3 sits third in points (six points out of the lead).

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krew

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Lexus Race Car Driver Scott Pruett to Retire This Month
18-01-07-lexus-scott-pruett.jpg


Rolex 24 at Daytona will be his final race.
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Faisal Sheikh

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Scott Pruett is my hero. A true legend in the sport. A fierce competitor who does everything to win while being an extraordinary gentleman to everyone who talks to him. I have seen him in countless LFA videos where he explains everything meticulously and with so much poise (considering he had to do it all day long while giving hot laps). Hope his next chapter in life is just as successful as he was in racing (I am sure it would be his vineyard which was his second passion).
 
F1 Silver Arrows

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Hey all, new member here. As a huge fan of motor sport, cars, and everything in the automotive industry, I had a question. What do you guys think of Lexus entering Formula 1? We had Toyota (one of my favorite teams) give it a shot (and it failed unfortunately), but what about Lexus?
 
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Faisal Sheikh said:
Scott Pruett is my hero. A true legend in the sport. A fierce competitor who does everything to win while being an extraordinary gentleman to everyone who talks to him.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct -- I've been lucky enough to spend significant time with Scott over the years, and he's absolutely one of a kind. First time I ever rode in an LFA, he was the driver:

 
krew

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F1 Silver Arrows said:
Hey all, new member here. As a huge fan of motor sport, cars, and everything in the automotive industry, I had a question. What do you guys think of Lexus entering Formula 1? We had Toyota (one of my favorite teams) give it a shot (and it failed unfortunately), but what about Lexus?
Click to expand...

Welcome @F1 Silver Arrows!

I don't know about Lexus entering into F1, as I think their focus now is more grassroots and focused on GT3. Anything's possible, of course, but I don't imagine Lexus will be in F1 any time soon. Would love to be wrong on that, though!
 
PeterF

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krew said:
Absolutely correct -- I've been lucky enough to spend significant time with Scott over the years, and he's absolutely one of a kind. First time I ever rode in an LFA, he was the driver:

Click to expand...

Krew, I can only imagine the grin on your face as you drove in the LFA with Scott! great video!

Scott Pruett is a fine human being. You can tell from his commentary and the various causes he supports. Thanks Scott!
 
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Thanks @krew ! I believe they should. I do realize it is a enterprise worth easily hundreds of millions of dollars. However, I have reasons why they should!

1. Lexus (Toyota too) have executives and engineers who are huge fans of motor sport.
2. Lexus (Toyota too) have enough cash for R&D, and to compete.
3. Participating in F1 allows Lexus to bask in the world's stage, get more known to people who are not entirely familiar with Lexus and spread their F brand. It will also help for the pursuit of their electric/hybrid program (alongside Toyota with their WEC program), as F1 cars currently use trick electric systems for their cars.
4. F1 management currently would like more teams to participate in their sport and expand the sport even further.
5. I really do think Lexus will be able to do better than many teams like Renault, Williams, Force India, and go toe-to-toe with constructors like Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
6. Whats also weird was that Toyota pulled out of F1 because of "financial reasons/economic times" and "the lack of a single win in 8 seasons" in 2009. However, with the teaser of the "racy" GR concept released by Toyota, there seems to be hope. In the Press Release Toyota stated that they will pursue motor sport for a long time, and wont be swayed by the economy. This is promising.

It is a stretch to say that they'll make a comeback, but I dont think Super GT/GT3 racing is enough for Lexus. I know they can do more.
 
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F1 Silver Arrows

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PeterF said:
my thoughts exactly! Emil Frey has a great team as well.

let me guess, F1 of course!
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Hahaha! Yes my good sir! ;) You got me good. F1 it is. It is simply a series that leaves me on the edge of my seat. Now that I am thinking about it, what about IndyCar? Toyota is hugely successful in the WEC and in Nascar, they are wiping the whole series with the other constructors (think of Mercedes-Benz in F1 from 2014 onward at the start of the hybrid era). When they released their new 2018 Camry, drivers said it was a harder car to drive, but it DOMINATED everything. Chevy, Ford and Dodge, their wins combined wouldn't even touch Toyota's wins in Nascar.

I think IndyCar is a good idea for Toyota, and F1 would do wonders for Lexus! Ideas, ideas!
 
PeterF

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F1 Silver Arrows said:
Hahaha! Yes my good sir! ;) You got me good. F1 it is. It is simply a series that leaves me on the edge of my seat. Now that I am thinking about it, what about IndyCar? Toyota is hugely successful in the WEC and in Nascar, they are wiping the whole series with the other constructors (think of Mercedes-Benz in F1 from 2014 onward at the start of the hybrid era). When they released their new 2018 Camry, drivers said it was a harder car to drive, but it DOMINATED everything. Chevy, Ford and Dodge, their wins combined wouldn't even touch Toyota's wins in Nascar.

I think IndyCar is a good idea for Toyota, and F1 would do wonders for Lexus! Ideas, ideas!
Click to expand...


love your enthusiasm!!! (from a rather enthusiastic person)! Let's see it Lexus!
 
F1 Silver Arrows

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Haha! I am quite the enthusiastic (and a passionate one while I am at it) person! Glad our love for Lexus and racing is helping us all bond together! Our community needs to be stronger than ever! I honestly cannot wait for Toyota/Lexus to bring the competition to the rest of the world. It is time that we show what our brand values are, and not get ridiculed because of people with their blind views. Like that Autobild article a few days ago! I am so sick of journalists shoving their noses up at us. Hopefully we'll do so well that it will straighten their necks (so they can look straight at us resurging...... and swallow their pride).
 
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