Garcia, Magnussen enter with GT Le Mans championship lead
· Familiar grounds for both Corvette Racing and Corvette production cars
· Chevrolet hoping to gain ground in GTLM manufacturer standings

Corvette Racing returns to one of North America’s classic tracks this weekend: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The team’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs are part of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class field for Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – the seventh round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing.

Road America is a familiar place to Corvette Racing. Its cars – three generations worth – and drivers routinely are fast around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn layout.

In addition to its racing activities in the American Le Mans Series and now the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the team has routinely used Road America for testing ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s long straights and hard braking zones present the types of challenges found that sports car racing typically presents.

Corvette Racing first competed at Road America during the 2002 ALMS season. The team has claimed six victories since that first visit including five straight from 2004-08 in the eras of the Corvette C5-R and Corvette C6.R.
It also should come as no surprise that the roster of Corvette Racing drivers have fared well at Road America.

In particular, Oliver Gavin owns a record of four pole positions and five fastest race laps in 13 appearances. Gavin, who drives the No. 4 Corvette C7.R with Tommy Milner, has been part of three Corvette Racing victories at Road America. Jan Magnussen, teammate with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, has won twice at the track including in 2008 with Corvette Racing.

Garcia and Magnussen arrive in Wisconsin with the GTLM Driver’s championship lead, as does the No. 3 Corvette C7.R in the team standings.

Chevrolet stands third in GTLM Manufacturer points but only six points from first place. In 17 TUDOR Championship events, Corvette Racing has six wins in 17 series events – four in 2014 plus Daytona and Sebring to open 2015.

Corvette Racing also won the GTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year for the eighth time. Gavin, Milner and Jordan Taylor drove the winning No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.

Corvette, Chevrolet on Display at Road America

Chevrolet and Corvette will be featured heavily at Road America both on the race track and off. In addition to the weekend’s on-track activities, fans and guests at Road America can learn all they need to know about Chevrolet and Corvette by visiting the Corvette Racing Display from Friday to Sunday just inside the main track entrance near the Hawk Performance Tunnel.

Among the Chevrolet attractions at the Display include:

• Chevrolet production vehicles such as the 2016 Corvette Stingray Z51, Silverado 2500 Duramax Diesel, Malibu LTZ and Traverse LTZ.
• Chevrolet specialty vehicles the Corvette Z06 C7.R edition, Corvette C7.R showcar, accessorized Chevrolet Colorado, Midnight Edition Impala and City Express Van.
• Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts and accessories available to fans for purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer
• Commemorative t-shirts for fans who sign up with Corvette Racing.

In addition, a Chevy Corvette Z51 Stingray will pace the field for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, and a Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R will lead the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge field to green Saturday afternoon.

The Corvette Racing display opens at 8 a.m., Friday through Sunday.

The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase is the seventh race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing.
The event is set for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 9 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Live TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

“Road America is a very particular race track. It’s very long and that puts you in a lot of different scenarios during a race.
The track varies a lot over the course of a two-minute lap. You just need to be fast everywhere. That’s always the question about Road America on aero – do you run full downforce or low downforce? It always seems to be a wash.
You just need to decide what you want for racing. Even if the car is just as fast in both configurations, you need to choose whatever is easiest or can put you in the best situation to contend for a victory.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

“Road America is one of these places where there is a lot to be gained if you are brave enough and get the car to work like you want it to. It’s super fast. If you ask everyone in this paddock, 90 percent will say it’s their favorite track.

I’ll always pick that type of circuit over the modern ones. For me, the next couple of tracks – Road America and VIR – are such fantastic experiences to drive at.
You really feel like you must be so precise and you have to push. You know if you mess it up, it will be a big mistake.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

“It’s a number of things that I enjoy about Road America – the layout of the track and nature of the surface.

It encourages close racing.
The fact that it has a number of long straights means that cars that are following can get a decent tow – particularly at Turn Three and Turn Five.
They are slowish corners and there are pretty decent brake zones. If you can get a tow up behind someone and use that big brake zone to pass them, you can gain significant advantages.

The cars that have good horsepower are going to be strong. The introduction of a new Michelin tire will play quite a big factor in the weekend. We’re going to have to really work hard to figure that tire out as quickly as we can.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

“I’m really enjoying this run of tracks – Le Mans, Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and now Road America.
It’s a track that we at Corvette Racing know very well. Everyone talks about how fast it is but in my mind, braking is just as important.
It’s how you set up and complete your passes on a track as long as Road America.

One aspect of the Corvette C7.R we’ve seen over the last two years is its capabilities under the brakes. As close as it is in our class, any small advantage you may have over your competitors is huge.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“It's difficult to find a fan, driver or crew member who doesn't look forward to racing at Road America. The scenic and rolling four miles of tarmac produces amazingly close racing at the some of the highest speeds we see anywhere in North America.
Not to mention, this place is responsible for the creation of original Corvette Corral and the best brats, sweet corn and ice cream anywhere we go.

In the end, I think this event will definitely be pivotal in our quest for another Corvette Racing championship, and the fans are going to enjoy every minute of it. So will we!”

TUDOR Championship – GTLM Standings

Standings

1. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 188
2. Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner – 186
3. John Edwards/Lucas Luhr – 178
4. Patrick Pilet – 176
5. Giancarlo Fisischella/Pierre Kaffer – 171
8. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 157
2. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 186
3. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 178
4. No. 911 Porsche N. America – 176
5. No. 62 Risi Competizione – 171
8. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 157 1. BMW – 194

1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 188
2. Porsche – 190
3. Chevrolet – 188
4. Ferrari – 178

Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – GT Le Mans (all times CT unless noted)
· TUDOR Practice 1: Noon, Friday, Aug. 7
· TUDOR Practice 2: 4:15 p.m., Friday, Aug. 7
· TUDOR Practice 3: 9:15 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 8
· TUDOR GTLM Qualifying: 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 8 (IMSA.com)
· TUDOR Warmup: 9 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 9
· Race: 2:05 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 9 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1)

Corvette C7.Rs, Corvette DPs showing good speed ahead of Road America round

Fittipaldi second on Prototype grid in Action Express Racing Corvette DP
Chevrolet first in Prototype Engine Manufacturer standings, third in GTLM points
Corvette Racing going for seventh class win at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. - Antonio Garcia will start from the outside spot of the front row in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R following Saturday?s qualifying session for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America.

Garcia, driving Sunday with Jan Magnussen, set a lap of 2:02.608 (118.857 mph) in the Corvette C7.R that leads the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship?s GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver's and Team championships. Garcia was 0.224 seconds off the pole-winning time.

Tommy Milner qualified the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R fifth in class with a 2:03.689 (117.818 mph). He will drive with Oliver Gavin as the two Corvette C7.Rs try to boost Chevrolet?s position in the GTLM Manufacturer standings.

In Prototype qualifying, Action Express Racing's Christian Fittipaldi was second in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP with a best lap of 1:57.020 (124.533 mph) and was 0.568 seconds off the fastest qualifying time.

Two other Corvette DPs were third and fourth - Michael Valiante in the Prototype Championship-leading VisitFlorida.com No. 90 Corvette DP followed by Ricky Taylor in Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. Eric Curran was sixth in Action Express Racing's No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP.

Chevrolet leads the Prototype Engine Manufacturer standings.

The second-place qualifying position is the best for the No. 3 Corvette in the TUDOR Championship this year - the grid at Watkins Glen was set by points due to rain. Garcia and Magnussen won the first two races of 2015 and lead the GTLM standings this weekend by two points with 36 going to the race winners.

Friday's session at Road America was a wash - literally and figuratively. Heavy rains pelted Elkhart Lake all day with the two Corvettes turning a limited amount of laps. Both C7.Rs turned a considerable number of laps in the morning?s final practice.

The team's knowledge of Road America proved beneficial. Corvette Racing is seeking its seventh class victory at the track, and two years ago the team finished second and third.

The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase is set for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. Live TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM:

DID THE AMOUNT OF TRACK TIME BEING SO LIMITED (DUE TO FRIDAY?S RAIN) AFFECT QUALIFYING?
"Obviously it doesn't help. You never know if it maybe doesn't help you, or maybe hurts the rest. With everyone who has tested here, maybe having a good car out of the box helped. We felt the Corvette was good right away this morning so we did not have big challenges.
It was more about us getting used to the dry conditions and getting the most out of it. Now qualifying was a bit of ?close your eyes? and go as fast as you can.
This is a very challenging track, and it really loads the Michelin tires. You really use the tires; if you are clever and have a good strategy you can get the most out of it on that single lap.
So that's what the pole car did - a pole run on Lap Two. I just waited one more lap to be sure everything was up to temperature. But this specific track is all about that: just getting the most out of it in one single lap. I would say that's a perfect lap for the C7.R today."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM
HOW DID YOU FEEL QUALIFYING WENT?

"Looking at this morning?s practice and how far ahead our fastest competitors were, Antonio was only two-tenths off in qualifying and we weren?t that much off where they were. My quickest lap came toward the end when the tires weren?t so good.
I made a small mistake on my second flying lap and that cost more time than I would have liked. Not having two hours from Friday didn?t help.
Some of our competitors have spent more time testing than we have, and there?s something to be said for that. Our potential is greater as we continue to look at the data and make some small changes for the race."

CORVETTE DP QUOTES

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE OUTSIDE FRONT ROW?

"A half-second was pretty far away, although it is a two minute lap. Joey (Hand) really put in a great lap. Hats off to him and his team. We tried our very best; we definitely improved our car from this morning.
It had a much better feel than it did this morning, but I really don't think the feel translated into overall grip. Maybe we helped a little bit on what we were feeling this morning, but we lost a little bit on overall grip.
Now we have to regroup, see everything we did right, try to pinpoint all the areas we can improve for tomorrow and make this already competitive Action Express Corvette DP into a quicker car for tomorrow.

It was warmer this afternoon, but we had a little more rubber on the track but it is hard to say what was better. Initially this morning when we first went out, we were able to pop off some pretty decent laps with a green track. Obviously you want to be on pole, but it you can't, you want to start as close as you can to pole position.
Tomorrow is what counts and we are definitely going to put all of our efforts into the race tomorrow."

Corvette Racing's Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, and Action Express Racing's Dane Cameron and Eric Curran were the big winners for Chevrolet in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship's Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America on Sunday.

Cameron and Curran won their second race of the season in their No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette Daytona Prototype. In GT Le Mans (GTLM), Garcia and Magnussen used clever strategy late in the race to battle back to a fourth place class finish with their No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and increase their lead in the class' Driver's Championship.

With three GTLM races to go, Garcia and Magnussen have a four-point advantage heading into the next round at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks.
the No. 3 Corvette C7.R crew made the call to make their final stop earlier than most of their competitors, which allowed Garcia to push hard on new Michelin tires while others' tires were falling off.
The move allowed the No. 3 Corvette to gain four positions over the final 42 minutes.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed seventh in their No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Milner drove two stints in the opening 82 minutes while the No. 3 Corvette changed drivers on their first three stops.
Gavin was charging hard to pick up multiple positions late in the race before a fellow GTLM competitor forced him off track in the final minutes.

In the Prototype battle, Sunday's results boosted Chevrolet's lead in the class Engine Manufacturer standings.
It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Corvette DP. Action Express Racing finished 1-2 for the first time since the 2012 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi placed second in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.

The No. 31 crew brought the Whelen Corvette DP in during the early yellow and changed drivers from Curran to Cameron. Cameron settled into podium position and took the lead for good with 37 minutes left during the final round of pit stops.

Like Garcia and Magnussen, the No. 31 Corvette DP was the first of the leading Prototypes to pit, and the strategy proved sound.

The victory moved Cameron and Curran to within two points of the Prototype Driver's Championship lead. VisitFlorida.com Racing's Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook placed fifth in their No. 90 Corvette DP and retained their points lead. Barbosa and Fittipaldi are second and just one point back.

Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP of Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor suffered a mechanical issue midway through the race and placed eighth in class.

The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Oak Tree Grand Prix from Virginia International Raceway. The GT-only race is set for 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 23. Live TV coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM

WHEN YOU GET TO THIS POINT OF THE SEASON, EVERY POINT COUNTS:

"That is the point.
I mean I was excited, and at some points angry (during a battle with the No. 25 BMW) but that is where it is. We are heading into the last few races of a championship. Everybody needs to run as hard as they can. I wouldn't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing, but probably; everybody tries to find the limit on protecting.
At the end of the day, we didn't touch, we didn't have any major issues. He got caught on the only way - in traffic. At the end of the day I played my card. Traffic is part of the deal.
I really used my opportunity to go by.

It was difficult since I got back in the car again on our second stop. During the first stint I was saving my tires just in case, then I was just 100 percent the rest of the way because I needed to pass everybody out there. We went off sequence (on pit strategy) so we probably forced most everyone to follow us, and at the end of the day it paid off.
They stayed out as much as they could. I was really aggressive when I needed to be and I passed all those cars when they were on their first two or three laps. To be fair looking at our pace, that was the best result we could achieve today, so I am happy with that."

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM

WHAT DID YOU SEE AND FEEL DURING YOUR STINT?

"To start out with, things were pretty good. I liked the balance of the Corvette. I lost some time at the end of my stint with pickup on the tires.
It might be something I'm doing or something that we need to try and help the car with to not produce all the pickup. I'm not sure why I had it in the warmup and during my stint. It's something we have to work at for the next race."

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM

IT LOOKED LIKE A CLEAN RACE BUT THINGS JUST DIDN'T GO THE WAY YOU NEEDED:

"I think we all drove really hard, and raced hard with the BMWs. I
t was a little frustrating at the end there. I thought I was racing Lucas (Luhr) pretty fair, but he put me in the grass coming out of (Turn) 13.
I'm a little frustrated about that.
I didn't think that needed to happen, but sometimes that is just racing. I looked after the tires reasonably well throughout the stint, and really gained some time back on all the guys in front of me. But there were definitely two races in the (GTLM) race today.

There was the Corvette/BMW race, and then there was the Porsche/Ferrari race.
When it is like that it is just very demoralizing and very frustrating that you can't have everybody in the class racing overall for all of the positions.
We knew from the very start that we didn't have a chance to finish on the podium unless either one of the Porsches or the Ferrari broke down. I hope the series is going to look at and do something about that before we go to VIR, otherwise the rest of the season is going to be very frustrating."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM

WAS THE TRACK MUCH DIFFERENT WITH A DAY OF SUN AND DRY WEATHER?

"The track felt pretty good. The sun certainly helps the grip level. We fought really hard with the cars around us. There was some tight and good racing.
We really have nothing for the factory Porsches. They're in a different class. We've really done nothing wrong today."

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

"Today, I think we did the best with what we had to work with. It was a very interesting race between our Corvettes, the BMWs and the Falken Porsche.
I know the fans got a kick out of it. We would have liked to have a higher finish but with the way the cars are situated right now, that wasn't going to be.
We advanced ourselves in Driver and Team championship points and gathered points in the Manufacturer Championship. We'll move on to Virginia where we're hoping for a better result. We're going to work hard to achieve that."

CORVETTE DP QUOTES

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP - RACE WINNER

HOW SATISFYING IS TODAY'S RESULT?

"The competition in the prototype category is unbelievable. We were all three nose-to-tail and were all in it. It would just come and go in traffic, and it was hard to get it done on the track when everyone is that close together.
So we took a different strategy and Simon (Dawson, engineer) got us a lot of clean air and we were able to get some good laps out. These races, you have to be perfect to win, you're flat out for every single lap.
Every morning before, when we have our pre-race meetings, the goal is to finish 1-2. It might have taken a few races to get there, but it's always to goal for each race."

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP - RACE WINNER

HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS FINISH?

"No question, this is a big deal.
It's our second win of the year. Action Express did an incredible job. We finished one-two in a race. I couldn't be happier - moving our whole Corvette DP program over to Action Express and the Whelen Engineering team. We're only 1 or 2 points out of the championship going into the last few races.

This isn't one of my favorite race tracks, but we always seem to do well, so it's becoming one of my favorite race tracks. We charged forward and had a good race for a while.
The combination of the pit strategy and timing was unbelievably spot on. The team was, I think, the fastest of the race. And Dane did what he does best. It's unbelievable, the 1-2, I couldn't ask for anything more."

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP - RUNNER-UP

THINGS ARE REALLY CLOSE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

"I don't think you can get much closer than three points. It's a great championship. Action Express gives great Corvette DP cars. We were very fast today.
We had great teamwork.
One and two was right what we wanted for points.
The No. 90 had issues, so we were able to make up points on them. It's going to go down to the last lap of the last race to see who is going to win the championship. It's going to make it very exciting.
It's going to be very intense."

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE OUTSIDE FRONT ROW?

"It was excellent for the team to get a podium today. It was exciting, the beginning of the race. For the start, I thought we had agreed on going on the throttle on the bridge and not the bottom of the hill.
The 01 started pretty strong and I fell from second to almost fifth after getting caught up. After that stint I struggled a bit with the car, but when I got my second stint the car was a lot better.

Then the No. 10 and the No. 31 were running really close to each other. I knew if we didn't have any mechanical problems, at the end, the race would be between us. Hats off to the No. 31 team. I'm really happy to go on to the next couple of races. The championship is really close. I'm excited to be part of this Action Express family getting a one-two today."

RICHARD WESTBROOK, VISITFLORIDA.COM RACING NO. 90 CORVETTE DP – FINISHED FIFTH

"The car was good, but we got taken out by a competitor.

It is really, really disappointing at that stage of the race for the No. 31 to make that sort of move after the restart. He was completely out of control.
It was a terrible move. And as I was trying to avoid his mistake, it means I get knocked out for checking up. It is really, really disappointing.
The team deserved better. The car was decent. We were having a bit of inconsistency with the tires. Some stints we were good. Some stints we were not so good. We shouldn't have been that far back. At that stage of the race it should be cleaner. It is a shame that Race Control didn't have a clear view of it, but in my opinion it was amateur driving."

TROY FLIS, OWNER, VISITFLORIDA.COM NO. 90 CORVETTE DP:

"Today wasn't a great day for us by any means. We lost some points we didn't want to lose. But the car performed well. I think we had pace with the leaders.
We could run the same pace with the leaders in traffic. We were trying to points protect on our driver's side and weren't taking the risks that we should have.
We have to look at a couple of balls, but now we are going to have to swing at them. We have a good product to go to the last two. To put a great championship together it is going to be exciting for the last two."

JIM LUTZ, CHEVROLET PROGRAM MANAGER, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPES:

"It was another good day for our Corvette Daytona Prototypes at Road America.
While we may not have been the fastest cars over one lap, the consistency and reliability of our Chevrolet power, along with solid strategy by the Action Express Racing teams, proved to be the difference. With two races left, we need to keep our work ethic and preparations at high levels."