Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing announce 2025 driver lineup

Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing today announce the driver lineups for the SealMaster-liveried No. 12 and No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3s set to compete in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

In the GTD PRO class, Ben Barnicoat and Aaron Telitz will be the full-time drivers for the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus while Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson will pilot the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus entry together in the GTD category.

For the 2025 IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship, full-time INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood returns to the No. 14 Lexus in GTD PRO while Frankie Montecalvo assumes endurance driving duties in the No. 12 GTD entry this season. Lexus veteran Townsend Bell returns to the starting grid for the 63^rd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway and will assume racing duties alongside Barnicoat, Telitz and Kirkwood in the GTD PRO class. Meanwhile Kirkwood, will also pilot the No. 12 RC F GT3 in the GTD class during the Rolex 24 at Daytona, becoming the first Lexus driver to run double-duty between two entrants in the prestigious race.

Barnicoat enters his fourth season as a Lexus factory driver in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. The Chesterfield, England, native has accrued seven victories and 19 podium finishes in his tenure with the program, along with the 2023 GTD PRO championship. Last season, Barnicoat captured a GTD PRO class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring with Hawksworth and Kirkwood, as well as a GTD win in Long Beach with Thompson. Telitz returns full-time in 2025 after spending last year as an endurance driver for the No. 12 team. This marks Telitz’s sixth season with Vasser Sullivan and Lexus, during which he’s secured five victories, 15 podium finishes, five pole positions and won the IMSA GTD Sprint Cup title in 2020.

This will be Kirkwood’s sixth season as the endurance driver with Vasser Sullivan. The Jupiter, Florida, native has three IMSA victories, two of those coming in 2022 at Detroit and Petit Le Mans, along with the victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring last March.

Rounding out the lineup for the No. 14 is Vasser Sullivan and Lexus veteran, Bell, who will also continue his broadcasting duties with NBC as a race analyst. The California native has one victory and five podium finishes with Vasser Sullivan and Lexus. The former GTD champion, and Rolex 24, Sebring 12 and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, returns to the Lexus for the first time since 2022.  

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 entries return to the track in the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 17-19, 2025, to prepare for the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 25-26, 2025.  

“The 2025 IMSA season can’t come soon enough. The only thing more difficult than winning the 2023 championship, was defending it. We learned that the hard way last year and haven’t taken a day off since the checkered flag at Road Atlanta in October. The entire Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing team has managed through the highs and the lows, coming into this season fully focused and committed to winning it all. The driver lineups showcase that we’ve got what it takes to win and we’re intending to do just that beginning with Daytona. IMSA continues to put on an incredible show for all race fans and we’re fortunate to be racing among many of the world’s greatest, most storied programs. This year’s going to be one for the ages.”  

Jeff Bal, Senior Manager – Lexus Motorsports

“We are headed into the 2025 season with unfinished business and the team has prepared accordingly.  Every driver in this line up has won with us and we’re laser focused on clinching another championship and bringing home the Rolex 24 victory. With Kyle Kirkwood pulling double duty between both cars, and Townsend Bell pulling double duty with the NBC booth, this will be a very dynamic and powerful Rolex 24 race for us.”

Jimmy Vasser & James ‘Sulli’ Sullivan – Co-owners – Vasser Sullivan Championship Racing