Karam earns 3GT Racing a second top 10 finish at CoTA
Austin, Texas (May 6, 2017) – 3GT Racing’s Sage Karam earned the team’s second top 10 finish during the Advance Auto Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on May 6. Karam reached the checkered flag in 9th position during the fourth race of IMSA’s 2017 WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Karam’s co-pilot in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, Scott Pruett, said he thought Sage did a great job, calling the race a “fight to the finish.”
Pruett started the race in the No. 14 when the green flag dropped at 1:35 p.m. He encountered a snarl of traffic among several GTLM cars at the first turn of the 3.427-mile, 20 turn track.
“It was crazy. Luckily, we got out of that, but that’s how the race started,” Pruett said. “I thought the car felt loose, and for me it was just about doing the best I could for the first stint, then get it over to Sage. He really did a great job and got everything he could out of the car.”
Karam posted the fastest lap in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 (2.09.693) during lap 24. He said he was happy with the 9th position, but thinks that a better result is not far off. “The crew has been amazing. The guys have been working so hard and we had some great pits. Plus, the car’s been getting better every day. I really think we’re getting closer to a better result,” he said.
The team of the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 took to the track with Robert Alon in the driver seat, starting in the last position. Hawksworth had qualified the No. 15 in 2P on Friday, but a post-race technical inspection found one feature of the No. 15 was .015 inches too low, which forced the team to start at the back.
“It’s really hard to start from the back,” Hawksworth said. “When I got in the car, I was hoping I could move up and get a better position so I was pretty aggressive. I passed two or three cars and then I spun the Porsche.”
Hawksworth, who posted the fastest lap in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 (2.09.398) during lap 21, earned a drive-through penalty for the Porsche incident.
3GT Racing’s Managing Partner, Paul Gentilozzi, said the penalty was deserved. “The GTD class is very competitive and passing is difficult,” he said.
“You can be two seconds faster and still be unable to get through that field. That’s what happened to us. That, and we were a little too aggressive and got the penalty. Our apology to the Porsche team. It wasn’t our intention, they checked up, and we ran into them.”
The next race for the 3GT Racing team will be in Michigan, the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix presented by Lear Corporation will be held on June 3.
About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 46 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.