Vasser Sullivan Racing snapped a multi-year victory drought on Saturday as Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Peterson guided the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 to a controlled IMSA GTD class win at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The breakthrough came in only Peterson's third GT3 race and delivered Lexus its first IMSA victory since the RC F GT3 last stood on the top step of the podium.
Telitz, the 34-year-old from Burlington, Wisconsin, worked the Lexus squad into position from a mid-grid qualifying effort, riding out a handful of full-course cautions on the tight Long Beach street circuit before handing Peterson a leading car. The young American then held on during a nervy final stint to take the flag.
"Holy crap," Peterson said on camera, still wearing his helmet. "I got to give it up to my teammate here. He handed the car off in a good spot and he brought it home. I mean, this beast right here is just on rails all day. Aaron did a great job. The whole crew – Long Beach, it doesn't get any better than that."
For Telitz, the win was a long time coming. Vasser Sullivan had endured a winless stretch that had stretched across the 2025 season, and Saturday's result ended months of near-misses for a team that had to rebuild following a heavy crash at Sebring. "It's such a big win for this Vasser Sullivan, Lexus Racing organisation and SealMaster and all of our partners that have stuck with us," Telitz said in the post-race interview. "We've had a bit of a drought. Yeah, like you said, it's been a couple of years since the RC F has been back in victory lane, but couldn't be more proud to do it here at the Grand Prix of Long Beach."
The race itself featured the kind of door-to-door street-circuit combat that has become synonymous with the Long Beach weekend. The BMWs were aggressive early, dispatching incidents at turn one on the opening lap, while Robby Foley's #96 BMW made contact in the middle sector. Multiple full-course cautions kept the race bunched until the closing stint, where the Telitz-Peterson pit strategy and clean late laps made the difference.
The GTD championship remains in the balance after the Long Beach result, with multiple series contenders missing from the Sprint-only event and the full field returning at Laguna Seca. Telitz and Peterson's win vaults the #12 Lexus back into title contention with half the season still to run.
For Peterson, the win will be impossible to forget. Having only stepped up to the full GT3 programme after impressive performances in support categories, he now has a class victory on one of North America's most storied street circuits. "We'll go celebrate pretty hard tonight," he grinned on the podium, nodding to team boss Jimmy Vasser. "Sully's birthday was last night, so we're going to do it again tonight."
IMSA now heads to Laguna Seca's WeatherTech Raceway, where Vasser Sullivan will look to back up their Long Beach redemption and build a genuine title challenge around one of the most experienced lead drivers in the GT3 ranks and a rapidly improving co-driver.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/telitz-and-peterson-end-vasser-sullivan-lexus-drought-with-long-beach-gtd-win). Visit for full coverage.*
