Kamui Kobayashi Joins Lexus Lineup For CTMP

Kamui Kobayashi will substitute for Jack Hawksworth at this weekend’s IMSA race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as the Englishman continues his recovery from injury.

The Le Mans Winner, WEC world Champion and current Toyota Gazoo racing Europe Team Principal will partner Ben Barnicoat in the GTD PRO Vasser Sullivan #14 Lexus RC F GT3 entry for the two-hour and 40-minute race.

It will be Kobayashi’s first time in both the car and at CTMP though he does have prior GT3 (and GTE) race experience – having raced at Spa in both a HubAuto Ferrari and Team Goodsmile AMG, also joining the Japanese twice in the Suzuka 10 Hours.

Kobayashi has also scored overall wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 and 2020, all of his prior IMSA experience has been in the Dpi class.

Barnicoat has secured two podium finishes in his first full-time season competing in IMSA’s GTD PRO category, including back-to-back second-place finishes with Hawksworth at Long Beach and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He also earned his first career IMSA win at Detroit in June, driving in the GTD class with Kyle Kirkwood. The #14 Lexus currently sits second in the GTD PRO standings and Lexus ranks second in the manufacturer’s championship.

It marks the first time since 2019 that the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course.

CTMP was the site of the first pole for the Lexus RC F GT3 in North America in 2017. Lexus has also earned two podium finishes at the Canadian road course. In 2018, Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli finished second in the GTD class in 2018, while Montecalvo and Townsend Bell scored a third-place result there in 2019 for Vasser Sullivan.

Kamui Kobayashi: “I’m thankful for the opportunity to drive the Lexus RC F GT3 with Vasser Sullivan this weekend in Canada. I wish Jack (Hawksworth) a good recovery from his injury and hope he is back in the car soon. Obviously, my experience is quite low in a GT car. It’s going to be quite different than what I’m used to driving and it’s going to be challenging, but I’m excited to see how well the RC F handles. I have a lot of support from the Vasser Sullivan team, Lexus and TRD, USA to help make me comfortable going to Canada. It will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Ben Barnicoat: “It’s great to be heading straight to Canada on the back of a positive endurance race at Watkins Glen International where we showed great pace in the Vasser Sullivan #14 SealMaster Lexus RC F GT3. We’ll be looking to continue the momentum going into Canada. I’m extremely excited to be sharing a car with Kamui (Kobayashi). He was a Formula 1 driver when I was growing up, coming through the ranks of motorsports so that’s going to be an amazing opportunity for me to share our Lexus with a driver of his caliber and also help guide him with our RC F GT3. We’re aiming to have a strong weekend and continue pressing on for the championship as we head into the second half of the season.”

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