Terrific to see and share this press release on Highlands’ own Frankie Montecalvo last weekend. Highlands has so many native sons and daughters who have brought great pride and recognition to a wonderful town and Frankie is one of them. Look for him next at Virginia Raceway the end of the month.
Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo finished third at the IMSA Fast Lane Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday. The race saw a variety of weather conditions and yellow flag periods, but Montecalvo and co-driver Aaron Telitz were able to make their way back to the podium, breaking a streak of bad luck from the previous events.
Montecalvo qualified the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 P2 in class for Sunday’s race. When the green flag flew, rain had already started to fall in certain areas of the track, creating a challenge for all the drivers as everyone was on slick tires. Montecalvo slipped back a few places but remained in the top five before handing the car over to Telitz.
Telitz made a storm to the front but would ultimately finish third in class. The duo made their first trip to the podium since the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio, and they are hopeful it’s the start of a new podium streak as the final two races of the season approach.
“It was great to be back at Road America. I qualified second in class on Saturday. The track was dry, and the temperature was in the low 90s,” said Montecalvo.
“Sunday’s weather was much different than when we qualified. The temperatures were cooler, and ti was raining off and on. I didn’t have a great start. We fell back a few places with the mixed conditions, but all and all, we had a great first stint and a flawless first pit stop.”
“We switched to rain tires when Aaron got in the car. He was able to push his way up to P1 but fell back again in the changing weather. We were battling it out with the top five throughout the entire race.”
“It was challenging at the end with the late yellow flag coming out. I think we were good on fuel until the checkered flag, but I’m not sure if the two cars in front of us would have made it if we had not ended under a yellow.”
“The team did a phenomenal job all weekend in the pits and on the stand. Aaron was fantastic behind the wheel all weekend. Congratulations to the No. 14 car for scoring their first win of the season. Aaron and I would have loved to have been a couple steps higher on the podium, but at the same time, I’m hoping we broke that bad luck streak and can finish the last two races of the season even stronger.”
The next race for Montecalvo is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIrginia International Raceway with race action beginning Friday, August 26 and continuing through the weekend. To stay up to date with current broadcast times and all of Frankie’s racing news, be sure to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
