IMSA champion Hawksworth eyes Le Mans return after strong super-sub showing

Jack Hawksworth says he is keen to return to return to the Le Mans 24 Hours in future, having impressed on his debut in a last-minute super-sub appearance for Lexus.

After being called up by the ASP team when regular driver Jose Maria Lopez returned to Toyota's Hypercar line-up to replace the injured Mike Conway, the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Pro title-winner finished tenth in the LMGT3 class aboard the #87 Lexus RC F GT3 he shared with Esteban Masson and Takeshi Kimura.

"It was awesome to be here," Hawksworth told Autosport. "Obviously, it was last minute, so really enjoyed it.

"We ran up front for large parts of it and I think on another day, we could have maybe snuck a podium out of that.

"I'd like to be back here. It is very special and now that I've done it once, I definitely want to do it again.

"The event is amazing, would love to win it one day."

Hawksworth's car led the race at various stages and was in contention for a podium until encountering several issues on Sunday morning, including a broken windscreen wiper and failure of its anti-lock braking system.

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson, Jack Hawksworth

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

"We were genuinely a top-three or four car," said the Briton.

"Once the ABS went, especially when the conditions are like this and it's a bit slippery, you can still go around at a reasonable pace but the problem is you can't fight anyone.

"They can just brake so much later, so you're so tentative on the brakes and just a sitting duck really."

Hawksworth was then following the Iron Dames Lamborghini that ultimately finished fifth when a bracket on the bonnet broke, obscuring his view and forcing him into a slow tour back to the pits for repairs.

"There was no contact, it was one of those things," clarified Hawksworth. "The last kind of four hours is when the wheels fell off really.

"We tried, but the guys did a really good job the whole way through. They made me really welcome and I think we worked well together all week."

The sister #78 car finished seventh in the hands of Kelvin van der Linde, Timur Boguslavskiy and Arnold Robin after overcoming a two-minute penalty at its first pitstop for starting the race from the pitlane - the result of repairs necessitated after a warm-up tangle between van der Linde and Nyck de Vries in the #7 Toyota GR010 Le Mans Hypercar.

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson, Jack Hawksworth

Photo by: Marc Fleury

Its finishing position was not affected by a steward's investigation into silver-rated Boguslavskiy violating the rule that stipulates a driver may complete no more than four hours of driving within any six-hour period. This was caused by a power outage in the team's temporary pit garages, located closest to the pitlane entrance, during the lengthy safety car early on Sunday morning.

"The Stewards heard from the competitor that the power in his pit box went out and they lost the data needed during that period to calculate drive time," its report stated.

"The Stewards confirmed this fact. In addition, the period of time in excess was during the safety car, and the driver concerned was not the fastest driver of the car, which the competitor was entitled to use.

"Therefore, the Stewards take all this into account, and considering that there is no competitive advantage, chose to issue a Reprimand."

Having scored points with both cars for the first time in the WEC, ASP team boss Jerome Policand took heart from the team's most competitive showing since its switch from Mercedes to Lexus and told Autosport that his Spa 24 Hour-winning squad now has a greater understanding of the venerable car's strengths and weak points.

"What surprised me in terms of balance, the car was good [at the] Porsche Curves, [Ford] chicane, the car was quick," he said.

"Since the beginning of the season, we thought that the car was a bit old-fashioned. But now we know."