The 2026 edition of the Sebring 12 Hours will be a career milestone for Jack Hawksworth as he makes his 100th career IMSA start. He has a dozen wins, and the majority of those came while driving a Lexus RC F GT3.
«It’s crazy, really,» said Hawksworth about his upcoming 100th start. «Time flies, and obviously, I’ve been fortunate enough to be with Lexus for the best time. I mean, for a decade now, and you know, we’ve competed in a lot of races together, 100 to be exact, and will be after this weekend’s Sebring race. But, yeah, there’s been a lot of pretty good moments, and some so not so good moments. It’s been really cool to kind of be part of the part of this family and be a part of the success and the championships and the race wins that we’ve been able to have. It’s been the highlight of my career to be with this brand and to do it for so long.”
Hawksworth also admitted that he had no idea bout the milestone until Lexus PR informed him, saying his initial reaction was ‘shock’ that he had already reached that many starts.
«It’s just a number, right? The stats that you want are the win stats and the and the podium stats. But the stat to have started 100 races with (mostly) the same manufacturer, that’s kind of like, yeah, I think it’s cool and I look back a little bit and kind of just realize the whole journey we’ve been on right from the beginning of this program.»
The Vasser Sullivan driver is a champion of IMSA, winning the 2023 GTD Pro title. Over the years, Sebring has been one of his stronger tracks. Along with class wins in 2020 and 2024, he has podiums in the last three 12-hour races there. He doesn’t really have an answer for why, saying «it’s a hard one to kind of put your finger on.»
2026 is also the last year of the RC F GT3 before it is phased out of competition. Speaking on that, Hawksworth said: “You can kind of link me almost, you know, with the start, certainly with the start of the Vasser Sullivan program and the start of the RC F GT3 racing in America and to see more so to see where the program has come from those early days. You know, the beginning of 2017 to kind of where we are now. I feel we’re a factor pretty much at any race, on any given day that we can win as a race team. I think it’s cool to look back on. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been on that journey the whole way and been able to work with some really good people and a really good organization.»
Teaming back up with Kirkwood after big IndyCar win
Along with regular co-driver Ben Barnicoat, they will again be joined by IndyCar star Kyle Kirkwood. The American enters Sebring with a lot of momentum, as he just bested Alex Palou to win the inaugural IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington.
“It’s definitely nice that he’s coming off a win and joining us at Sebring,» said Hawksworth of Kirkwood. «Kyle’s had a great start to the IndyCar season, and we’ve all been cheering him on. For me, it’s kind of got me back into watching IndyCar a little bit with him, with him racing over there and just kind of seeing his success this season’s been really cool. So, I know he’s riding high off the back of that victory last weekend, so we’re hoping he brings that, brings that speed and hopefully that winning feeling to our race team this weekend and yeah, it’s cool. Having Kyle with us, he’s been with the team a long time and seeing his success in the IndyCar side is awesome and yeah, we’re lucky to have him in the racecar with myself and Ben.”
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