Aiming for second straight sweep of Manufacturer’s, Driver’s and Team’s titles

Garcia, Magnussen only need single point to clinch Driver’s title
Chevrolet leads in quest for 12th Manufacturer’s Championship
Eight wins at Petit Le Mans for Corvette Racing since 1999

DETROIT (Oct. 3, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s quest for another championship sweep concludes this weekend with the 20th running of Petit Le Mans – the annual 10-hour endurance race at Road Atlanta.
Heading into the final race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Corvette Racing leads all three GT Le Mans (GTLM) points categories.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R are in the proverbial drivers’ seat in the GTLM Driver’s Championship.
The pairing – driving this weekend with Mike Rockenfeller – need to score only a single point to win their second championship together; their first was in the American Le Mans Series in 2013. The same scenario would give the No. 3 Corvette squad the GT Le Mans Team’s Championship.

The Garcia/Magnussen/Rockenfeller combo proved to be a winning one earlier in the year as they won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

The closest battle in GTLM – and for that matter in the entire WeatherTech Championship – is the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship.
Chevrolet leads by four points over Ford in a classic battle between the American manufacturers. Chevrolet can clinch its 12th Manufacturer’s title in GT competition since 2001 by being the second-highest finishing marque in GTLM.

If any other manufacturer other than Ford wins, then either of the two Corvettes must only earn fourth-place
Manufacturer points for Chevrolet to repeat as GTLM Manufacturer’s champion.

The other Corvette – the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – will see Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner reunited with Marcel Fässler.
The trio won at both Daytona and Sebring in 2016 as Gavin and Milner won the GTLM Driver’s Championship.
Gavin and Milner also won earlier this year together at Long Beach.

This weekend will mark Corvette Racing’s 21st race at Road Atlanta.
The team has won 10 times at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit with eight of those coming at Petit Le Mans. The last was in 2010.

In race history, Gavin is tied for most victories by a driver with five, and Magnussen has four.

Petit Le Mans also serves as the final race in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – a competition consisting of IMSA’s four endurance races. Garcia and Magnussen remain in the running for the TPNAEC Driver’s Championship as does Chevrolet in the Manufacturer’s race.

Corvette Racing on Display at Road Atlanta

Corvette Racing’s final race of the year also is the final opportunity for IMSA fans to view a wide variety of Chevrolet vehicles and accessories on-site.
The Corvette Racing display – located in the Road Atlanta Fan Midway – will be open to spectators from Thursday through Saturday. Attractions at the display include:

The Chevrolet Corvette Carbon 65 Edition, Camaro ZL1 1LE and Colorado ZR2
The Chevrolet Traverse Redline, Equinox Premier, 2500 High Country Silverado, Cruze Hatchback and Malibu Premier
A Corvette C7.R show car
Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts and accessories available to fans for purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer
A variety of Chevrolet and racing related activities for adults and kids
Commemorative t-shirts for fans who sign up with Corvette Racing.

The Corvette Racing Display opens at 8 a.m., on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta is set for 11:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 7. FOX Sports 1 will air the race live from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET
and FOX Sports 2 from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET and 5 to 9:30 p.m. ET.
Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio and a Corvette Racing In-Car feed will be available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"With the finish in California, Jan and I are in great shape for the Driver’s Championship in GTLM.
We only need to score minimum points to win it. Once we achieve that, our total focus will be winning the Manufacturer’s Championship again.
This is our main goal as a program. I personally have yet to win Petit Le Mans, so doing that would be the best possible way to cap our championship season.
It will be great to have Rocky back with us to end the season. Hopefully this will be a race- and championship-winning weekend for everyone at Corvette Racing and Chevy."

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"It’s still a little hard to believe that we are this close to securing the Driver’s Championship.
It has been an incredible season but there is still a lot of work to do, especially for the Manufacturer’s title. No one at Corvette Racing is taking anything for granted. Petit Le Mans requires maximum attention and focus to have a chance at the win, so that is what we will do. We have a very strong lineup again with myself, Antonio and Rocky.
All year long, we have performed at the highest possible level without making mistakes. Another race like that should be enough to deliver a sweep of the GTLM championships."

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"Of course I’m really looking forward to rejoining Corvette Racing at Petit Le Mans, which is one of my favorite events.
It’s been a very long time since I was last in the Corvette C7.R and I can’t wait to get back in. The No. 3 Corvette team has had a fantastic season and I’ve enjoyed following their progress.
I’m very happy to have the chance to support them in the Driver’s Championship, and hopefully our efforts can land the Manufacturer’s Championship too for Chevrolet. It will be a huge weekend for all of us!"

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"This will be my 18th straight Petit Le Mans. It’s a fantastic event… one that has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years. Racing around Road Atlanta is a big challenge made tougher by the amount of traffic we typically see at Petit Le Mans.
You’re constantly dicing in and out of slower traffic while having to look behind you for faster cars.
The elevation changes add that other level of difficulty that we don’t see very often.
So we will bank on our lengthy experience over the years at Road Atlanta to achieve our goals: win the race, support the No. 3 Corvette in the Driver’s and Team standings and – most importantly – take the Manufacturer’s Championship for Chevrolet."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"This is a big weekend for everyone at Corvette Racing.
Obviously, we are focused on the Manufacturer’s Championship and getting that for Chevrolet.
The same goes for supporting the No. 3 Corvette in the Driver’s and Team’s Championship.
It would cap a great season for our team and program. It’s true that things haven’t gone nearly as well for Oliver and me this year, but we’re confident we can finish this year on a high note, especially with Marcel rejoining us.
We had a great run together last year at Petit Le Mans so we’ll look to continue that to close this season."

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"It will be good to be back with everyone at Corvette Racing for Petit Le Mans.
l feel like we have a great opportunity to close the season in a strong way at Road Atlanta, where we finished third last year.
The team has so much experience at Road Atlanta that we should be able to contend for a race win.
Although the No. 4 Corvette can’t fight for the Driver’s Championship, we will do all we can to help support the No. 3 Corvette and Chevrolet in the points.
The race is always a difficult one but that is what makes a great event. So let’s see what the weekend will bring!"

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

"Petit Le Mans is an event that has certainly grown in stature over the last 20 years, and Corvette Racing is honored to be have been part of this race since 1999.
This is a venue befitting of a high-caliber championship finale.
We are positioned well in the race for the GTLM Driver’s and Team championships so, all our focus will be on winning our 12th Manufacturer’s Championship in the last 17 seasons.
All year long, we’ve had extraordinary strategy planned by our engineers, remarkable execution by the pit crews plus world-class work by our drivers.
Operating in our classic ‘One Team’ mode, we are all looking forward to showing our Corvette owners and fans yet another championship-winning effort at Road Atlanta."

A trio of teams have put themselves in position to win IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship titles in Saturday’s 20th Anniversary Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
That trio consists of No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor,
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen and No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 co-drivers Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan.

FOX Sports has live coverage of the 10-hour race, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1, with a full live stream available on FOX Sports GO with FS1 authentication. FS2 continues the broadcast from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET, with FOX Sports GO exclusive coverage from 2:30 to 5 p.m. ET. The race concludes on FS2 from 5 to 9:30 p.m. IMSA Radio has live coverage throughout on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.

The Taylor brothers had a storybook opening to their 2017 season in the Prototype class. They won the Rolex 24 At Daytona alongside NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and longtime co-driver Max Angelelli in his final race.
They went on to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, accomplishing the same 36 Hours of Florida sweep as their father and team owner, Wayne Taylor, did 21 years earlier. In fact, they won the first five consecutive races.

“This year has been the best year of my entire career,” said Ricky Taylor.
“It’s been unbelievable, from driving with Jordan – which is always great – but to win together at Daytona, Sebring, and the first five races.
Hopefully, it’s going to end up with a championship. It’s just been an incredible year.
“When it’s all over, I think it’s going to be pretty emotional at the end of the season. I’m just really enjoying every second.
These kinds of seasons don’t happen ever, it seems like, for a driver’s career.
I know it might never happen again, and I’m just enjoying every second of it.”

Those five consecutive victories helped the Taylors build a substantial lead in the championship standings, which they’ve been working to protect for the past several races, sometimes at the expense of challenging for more wins.
They head into Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans with a 29-point lead over 2016 Prototype champions Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, meaning that the No. 10 duo will clinch the title even if they finished last in the 10-car Prototype field.
They’ll look to do more with that, especially with past IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay joining as their co-driver.
“Once we take the green, we’ve won the championship,” said Jordan Taylor.

“After that, it opens us up to where we can take risks to win (the race).
Obviously, it’s a big race, being Petit Le Mans, so it’s one everyone wants to win.
“We also have the (Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup) to fight for, so we can take risks at those hour marks where we need to find points [awarded at the four- and eight-hour marks as well as at the finish].
We’ll definitely be fighting for that one a lot harder this weekend.”

Magnussen and Garcia are in a similar boat in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. On the strength of victories at Sebring, Circuit of The Americas and VIRginia International Raceway and a total of nine top-five finishes from the ten races thus far, they lead No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT co-drivers Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe by 19 points, 302-283.
They also only will need to score points to win the WeatherTech Championship GTLM title.
Their endurance co-driver is Mike Rockenfeller.

“It’s still a little hard to believe that we are this close to securing the driver’s championship,” Magnussen said. “It has been an incredible season, but there is still a lot of work to do, especially for the manufacturer’s title [which Chevrolet currently leads by four points, 316-212, over Ford].

“No one at Corvette Racing is taking anything for granted. Petit Le Mans requires maximum attention and focus to have a chance at the win, so that is what we will do. We have a very strong lineup again with myself, Antonio and Rocky.
All year long, we have performed at the highest possible level without making mistakes. Another race like that should be enough to deliver a sweep of the GTLM championships.”

As for Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen, the 2017 Motul Petit Le Mans looks a lot like the 2016 rendition. Last year, Nielsen needed to achieve the minimum drive-time to clinch the WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) title for herself, Balzan and the Scuderia Corsa team and did it with a marathon three-hour stint to open the race.

She and Balzan lead No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver Jeroen Bleekemolen by 26 points, 318-292, peaking at precisely the right time by winning their first race of the season last time out in the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

So, what will it take for Nielsen and Balzan to win their second straight GTD title, Scuderia Corsa’s third straight and the team’s fourth in five years?
Yep, you guessed it. Nielsen needs to achieve the minimum GTD drive time of two hours, 45 minutes. It’s a good thing she likes Road Atlanta.

“Road Atlanta is my favorite track,” said Nielsen, a native of Denmark. “It’s a high-speed, fluid road course and is quite technical as it requires precision from the driver. And, it’s the first American track I ever raced at.
We had a podium finish here last year, so hopefully, we can repeat that. It would be nice to finish off with a victory, but anything can happen in a 10-hour race.”
Indeed, anything can happen at Motul Petit Le Mans.

That is, except for a team other than the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports program in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. Season-long co-drivers James French and Patricio O’Ward, who have won all seven of the year’s PC races to date, clinched the title in the class’ most recent race at Road America in August.
They’ll look to close out the final season of PC action in the WeatherTech Championship by preserving their perfect record, with their endurance racing teammate, Kyle Masson, with whom they’ve also clinched the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup title.

The rest of the battles for the Patrón Endurance Cup are wide open. In Prototype, it’ll either be the Taylor brothers, or the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R duo of Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa – who are looking for their third straight Patrón Endurance Cup title.
In GTLM, one of five different teams can win it, with the No. 911 Porsche GT Team pairing of Dirk Werner and Patrick Pilet currently leading the way. In GTD, it’s a six-car race for the Patrón Endurance Cup, with Nielsen, Balzan and their endurance racing teammate, Matteo Cressoni, leading the way.

Practice for the Motul Petit Le Mans gets underway Thursday with a trio of practice sessions, including a 90-minute night practice starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Friday’s schedule includes another practice session, with WeatherTech Championship qualifying set to begin at 4:20 p.m. ET.
The green flag drops on Saturday’s race at 11:05 a.m. ET.

The schedule for Thursday and Friday includes a pair of season-ending races for both the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

The 2017 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge also draws to a close with the two-hour Fox Factory 120 at 1:50 p.m. ET Friday, which will be streamed live on IMSA.com, as will the IMSA Prototype Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge races and WeatherTech Championship qualifying.

A trio of teams have put themselves in position to win IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship titles in Saturday’s 20th Anniversary Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

That trio consists of No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor, No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen and No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 co-drivers Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan.

FOX Sports has live coverage of the 10-hour race, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1, with a full live stream available on FOX Sports GO with FS1 authentication. FS2 continues the broadcast from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET, with FOX Sports GO exclusive coverage from 2:30 to 5 p.m. ET.
The race concludes on FS2 from 5 to 9:30 p.m. IMSA Radio has live coverage throughout on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.

The Taylor brothers had a storybook opening to their 2017 season in the Prototype class.
They won the Rolex 24 At Daytona alongside NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and longtime co-driver Max Angelelli in his final race. They went on to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, accomplishing the same 36 Hours of Florida sweep as their father and team owner, Wayne Taylor, did 21 years earlier. In fact, they won the first five consecutive races.
“This year has been the best year of my entire career,” said Ricky Taylor.
“It’s been unbelievable, from driving with Jordan – which is always great – but to win together at Daytona, Sebring, and the first five races. Hopefully, it’s going to end up with a championship. It’s just been an incredible year.

“When it’s all over, I think it’s going to be pretty emotional at the end of the season. I’m just really enjoying every second.
These kinds of seasons don’t happen ever, it seems like, for a driver’s career. I know it might never happen again, and I’m just enjoying every second of it.”
Those five consecutive victories helped the Taylors build a substantial lead in the championship standings, which they’ve been working to protect for the past several races, sometimes at the expense of challenging for more wins.

They head into Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans with a 29-point lead over 2016 Prototype champions Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, meaning that the No. 10 duo will clinch the title even if they finished last in the 10-car Prototype field.
They’ll look to do more with that, especially with past IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay joining as their co-driver.

“Once we take the green, we’ve won the championship,” said Jordan Taylor.
“After that, it opens us up to where we can take risks to win (the race).
Obviously, it’s a big race, being Petit Le Mans, so it’s one everyone wants to win.

“We also have the (Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup) to fight for, so we can take risks at those hour marks where we need to find points [awarded at the four- and eight-hour marks as well as at the finish]. We’ll definitely be fighting for that one a lot harder this weekend.”

Magnussen and Garcia are in a similar boat in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class.
On the strength of victories at Sebring, Circuit of The Americas and VIRginia International Raceway and a total of nine top-five finishes from the ten races thus far, they lead No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT co-drivers Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe by 19 points, 302-283.
They also only will need to score points to win the WeatherTech Championship GTLM title.
Their endurance co-driver is Mike Rockenfeller.

“It’s still a little hard to believe that we are this close to securing the driver’s championship,” Magnussen said.
“It has been an incredible season, but there is still a lot of work to do, especially for the manufacturer’s title [which Chevrolet currently leads by four points, 316-212, over Ford].

“No one at Corvette Racing is taking anything for granted.
Petit Le Mans requires maximum attention and focus to have a chance at the win, so that is what we will do.
We have a very strong lineup again with myself, Antonio and Rocky.
All year long, we have performed at the highest possible level without making mistakes. Another race like that should be enough to deliver a sweep of the GTLM championships.”
In GTLM, one of five different teams can win it, with the No. 911 Porsche GT Team pairing of Dirk Werner and Patrick Pilet currently leading the way

. The green flag drops on Saturday’s race at 11:05 a.m. ET on FS1

Last practice standings before the race

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Garcia Qualifies Points-Leading No. 3 Corvette Second in GTLM

Both Corvettes within 0.163 seconds of GTLM pole position for Petit Le Mans season finale

No. 3 Corvette to clinch GTLM Driver’s, Team’s Championship with race start
Chevrolet leading in quest for 12th Manufacturer’s Championship
Milner happy with pace of No. 4 Corvette C7.R after qualifying

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 6, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs are in solid position for Saturday’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans following IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road Atlanta. Antonio Garcia qualified the GT Le Mans-championship leading No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R second in class with teammate Tommy Milner just 0.109 seconds further back.

Garcia needs only to take the green flag Saturday to assure the GTLM Driver’s Championship for he and teammate Jan Magnussen. Starting the race also assures the No. 3 Corvette squad the GTLM Team’s Championship.

If Saturday’s race results mirror the qualifying order, Chevrolet also will win the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship for the 12th time.
Either of the Corvettes can score second-place Manufacturer’s points after 10 hours to clinch.

Chevrolet and Corvette Racing also swept the GTLM championships a year ago.

Garcia qualified the No. 3 Corvette, which he will share with Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller, with a lap of 1:71.714 (117.662 mph).
Garcia was only 0.054 seconds from pole position. The Garcia/Magnussen/Rockenfeller lineup won earlier this year at Sebring – one of three victories for the No. 3 Corvette this season.

Milner’s best time in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R was a 1:17.823 (117.497 mph) to qualify fifth.
He will share duties with Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fässler; the trio finished third in class at last year’s Petit Le Mans.

Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta is set for 11:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 7. FOX Sports 1 will air the race live from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET;
and FOX Sports 2 from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET and 5 to 9:30 p.m. ET.
Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio and a Corvette Racing In-Car feed will be available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM:

"That’s the best qualifying effort we’ve had all year… it’s so close. Qualifying was like a repeat of the last practice.
The pole lap time was probably there in our Corvette. It would have been good to be on pole and been a nice headline going into the last race of the season.
But our result was good. We are competitive. It’s a good starting point for us. We’ll hope for a good result in the race."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM:

"It’s a little bit disappointing;
we’ve been top-three all weekend, and when it does matter a little bit we’re down in sixth. But we can’t be too unhappy.
The pace of our Corvette has been good all weekend. We weren’t far off at all in qualifying.
The race is what matters here. I’m really happy with the pace of the car all weekend.
We want to finish off the year with a good, strong result in the No. 4 car.
If we do that, it plays right into our hand with what is most important and that’s the Manufacturer’s Championship for Chevrolet.
Certainly that’s the No. 1 priority.
We’ll do whatever we can for that good finish and be on our game."

C7.Rs finish at 2nd and 5th places

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R team is now four-time champions of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
The team of Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque was running second at the four-hour mark of the Motul Petit Le Mans, and that result coupled with the early retirement of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R of Jordan and Ricky Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay brought the team its fourth straight Patrón Endurance Cup.
By starting the 10-hour race at Road Atlanta, the No. 10 team clinched the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype title.

“Four times in a row,” Fittipaldi said. “It is a huge accomplishment and it came from a massive effort from the whole team. For the drivers to make sure they keep it on the black stuff, and obviously for the team and all the preparation—it boils down to Action Express doing an awesome job. If the car doesn’t finish, we don’t get points so we would never be in this position. We had the focus to have fast and consistent cars with the Corvette and then with the Cadillac.

“We are happy to win this Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup this year and hats off to the 10 car guys on their overall IMSA championship as well. They did a great job, particularly at the first half of the season.
We will regroup and learn from our mistakes, emphasize what we did well and then come back to be even stronger in 2018.”
Cadillac also clinched the Patrón Endurance Cup manufacturer title, leading Nissan by nine points, 48-39, with a maximum of six points that can be gained.
The No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi of Johannes van Overbeek, Pipo Derani and Bruno Senna led the Motul Petit Le Mans at the four-hour mark.

The No. 5 team, drivers and Cadillac join No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 and its trio of co-drivers, James French, Patricio O’Ward and Kyle Masson as 2017 Patrón Endurance Cup champions.
The No. 38 teammates clinched the Prototype Challenge (PC) title at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in July. By leading at the four-hour mark in the Motul Petit Le Mans, the No. 38 team now has earned the maximum five points for every Patrón Endurance Cup segment this season.

While the Prototype titles have already been wrapped up, it’s still wide open in the chase for the Patrón Endurance Cup in both GT classes.

In GT Le Mans (GTLM), No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR co-drivers Dirk Werner and Patrick Pilet doubled their lead in the standings, but only from two points to four, 36-32, over No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT co-drivers Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand. The No. 911 was second at the four-hour mark in GTLM, while the No. 66 was sixth.
The No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW trio of Bill Auberlen, Alexander Sims and Kuno Wittmer were third
. In the manufacturer race for the Patrón Endurance Cup in GTLM, Ford leads Porsche by a single point, 38-37.

In GT Daytona, there was a tie at the top of the Patrón Endurance Cup standings at the four-hour mark in the Motul Petit Le Mans between the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 trio of Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher and the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of Matteo Cressoni and full-season co-drivers Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen, who clinched their second straight WeatherTech Championship GTD title by starting the race.

Both cars had 32 points, with the No. 33 running third in class at four hours and the No. 63 one lap down in 14th. The No. 96 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 shared by Andy Lally, Katherine Legge and Mark Wilkins led at the four-hour mark, which has them just four points out of the class lead in the Patrón Endurance Cup standings.

Corvette Racing Secures GTLM Championships at Road Atlanta

Driver and Team titles clinched in opening hours of Petit Le Mans

Duo of Garcia, Magnussen claim second IMSA GTLM Driver title since 2013
2017 titles are 12th Team and 11th Driver championships in Corvette Racing history
Second straight sweep of IMSA GTLM titles for Corvette Racing

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 7, 2017) – With the opening stages of the 10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race in the record books, Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen clinched the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver title in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The start of the season finale also means the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R squad earned the GTLM Team Championship.

The Garcia/Magnussen pairing claimed three class victories this season entering today’s race at Road Atlanta, having won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring as well as GTLM rounds at Circuit of The Americas and Virginia International Raceway.
They also finished third at Watkins Glen.

"This championship was absolutely a team effort," said Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain.
"The drivers, crew members and engineers were versatile and adaptable, and everybody on the No. 3 Corvette C7.R team contributed throughout the season. Jan and Antonio were consistent, smart behind the wheel and took advantage of opportunities when it mattered most.
This was a hard-earned championship."

It is the second championship effort for the duo with the first coming in the 2013 American Le Mans Series GT class.
As a result, both of Garcia’s championships have come with Magnussen in the No. 3 Corvette. Magnussen also was ALMS GT1 Driver’s Champion in 2008 with Corvette Racing.

In all, Corvette Racing has now earned 11 Driver titles and 12 Team championships in North American professional sports car racing dating back to 2001.
Corvette Racing won both GTLM Driver and Team titles for the second consecutive year as Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were 2016 champions in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R.


ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – 2017 GTLM DRIVER’S CHAMPION:

"This was a very hard year.
We haven’t had the strongest car this year.
If we had a Corvette to finish third, fourth or fifth, we would finish first, second or third. No matter the kind of car we had, we could gain two or three positions ahead of that.
The Corvette Racing team did a great job all season with pit stops, strategy and preparation. No one put a foot wrong all season.
Most of the time we stuck with the pace we had and let others make mistakes or apply pressure to our competitors.
This was a very intense year but we maximized our results every weekend. Those fourth- and fifth-place finishes are where we got the most out of things.
That’s a large reason why we have won this championship."

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – 2017 GTLM DRIVER’S CHAMPION:

"I’m super happy for the whole team to be in this position to take the green flag.
It has been a hard season where we have had to make the most of sometimes bad positions, and I think that is what made the difference.
We overachieved on the tough weekends and got the absolute most out of things when we needed.
We also won the races we could.
This is an absolutely fantastic feeling and a fantastic program to be in.
Now on to the Manufacturer’s Championship!"

Chevrolet Earns Second Consecutive IMSA GT Le Mans Manufacturer Title

Championship No. 12 since 1999 in productionbased racing series

With GTLM Driver and Team championships secured, Chevrolet and Corvette Racing sweep 2017 IMSA GTLM class titles
Third Manufacturer Championship for Chevrolet to date in 2017 racing season
Chevrolet captured sixth consecutive IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship
Camaro GT4.R secured World Challenge GTS Manufacturer title for Chevrolet

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 7, 2017) – Chevrolet earned its second consecutive Manufacturer Championship in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) category Saturday at Road Atlanta. A secondplace finish in the 10hour Petit Le Mans for the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R gave Chevrolet its 12th GT Manufacturer title dating back to the 2001 American Le Mans Series season.

Chevrolet and Corvette Racing won four times in 2017 with the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, powered by a 5.5liter Chevrolet smallblock V8.
Drivers Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen also claimed the GTLM Driver Championship, and the No. 3 Corvette won the GTLM Team title.

"This Manufacturer Championship is so special because of the amazing team effort in this intensely competitive GTLM class," said Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "Corvette Racing’s passion, dedication and perseverance made the difference.
We love racing and learn from every lap about how to deliver the right combination of power, reliability, efficiency and overall performance.
We apply those lessons to every Corvette on and off the track. I’m so proud of everyone on the team."

With 35 total victories in several classes, Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer in IMSA competition dating back to the sports car merger between the American Le Mans Series and GRANDAM in 2014.
Of those, 15 have been produced by Corvette Racing in the production based GT ranks.

Historically, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet have recorded 106 victories – 98 in the IMSA ranks.
Both are North American professional sports car racing records.
Among those 106 victories are eight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 11 in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Earlier this year, Chevrolet also earned manufacturer championships in the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Pirelli World Challenge’s GTS class.

Garcia, Magnussen, Rockenfeller place second in No. 3 Corvette C7.R

Impressive drive-back nets fourth for Milner, Gavin, F&aumlssle
Result caps championship-winning day for Corvette Racing, Chevrole
Four GTLM victories on season for Corvette Racing

Corvette Racing capped its championship-winning season Saturday with a runner-up finish at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans for Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
It put a Bowtie on a day that saw Corvette Racing and Chevrolet sweep the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Manufacturer, Driver and Team titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler placed fourth in a stellar late-race comeback.

The 10-hour endurance race in the rolling hills of north Georgia was a classic in every sense of the word.
The top seven GTLM cars finished on the lead lap, and rarely were they separated by more than 30 seconds.

Six cars led in GTLM over the 392 laps and just under 1,000 miles.
The No. 3 Corvette led four times, but even more key were the positions that the team gained with excellent pit work and strategy throughout.
Especially key was a late stop for fuel and tires that put Garcia, who started and finished the race, into second place after entering the pits third.
That solidified Chevrolet’s hold on the Manufacturer Championship with 50 minutes left.

Garcia ended one second back from the winning BMW with Milner only 21 seconds further back.

The latter’s late-race effort was particularly stout as he passed three cars in the final five minutes.
He opened the race in tricky wet conditions and handed off to Gavin with Fässler driving the middle portion of the race.
Creative strategy and more stellar pit work kept the No. 4 Corvette within sight of the leaders for much of the day

The 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opens with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM:

"I really cannot expect anything else. We gave it all we had until the last lap. Actually for a moment, I thought I had some chances for a win when an hour before I thought it was done.
That is the spirit of Corvette Racing.
That has been the spirit all year long. We never give up. Big thanks to Jan and the whole crew. For me it was very, very easy for me to believe I couldn’t make it to the end because I was in the car for three hours.
After one hour, I was like ‘Don’t tell me I have to do another two.’ They really kept motivating me. That is part of their job and I am very thankful for that. Big thanks to Team Chevy, the whole Corvette Racing team and the whole Corvette community.
I think other than maybe Long Beach, this was a perfect season, so thank you all!"

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM:

"A fantastic day and a fantastic race. The whole category has been so close all day long. It was difficult to really make a difference out there… to pass people. You kind of had to wait for mistakes, but nobody made mistakes.
Traffic could sort of play into it, so it was kind of waiting for the right place and the right time to take advantage. We had great strategy.
Beating the 67 Ford out on that last stop was very important.
That Ford got taken out by a prototype later on, but it was important for us to get out ahead if for nothing else than to prove a point."

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM:

"Congrats to Corvette Racing.
It’s amazing what they achieved this year, especially Antonio and Jan; they had a fantastic year to win the Driver Championship.
The Manufacturer Championship was secured for Chevrolet so I think we fulfilled almost everything this weekend.
We wanted to win as well, but the BMW was too strong. Congrats to them. It’s been a good year with Corvette Racing. The three races I did were really strong.

The win at Sebring was really strong and very competitive.
At Daytona we were strong, just not quite enough to win. And here at Petit Le Mans we were in the hunt for the victory.
So I am I am very happy, and I hope I can be back with the team. I did my best to help as much as I can.
It’s not always easy to jump in as the third driver without so much seat time, but my teammates help me a lot.
It is just great to be part of Corvette Racing and I’m looking forward to the future.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM:

"It was great racing all the way through
very tight and close in our class. I had an excellent battle with one of the Porsches.
I managed to pass him twice; we were quicker than him in certain parts of the track, and they were quicker than us at other parts.
It’s just great racing. Petit Le Mans generates such great competition and racing. Everyone at Corvette Racing was on their game with pit stops and strategy all day.
There was so much to play for but very little lap time between the cars.
You just couldn’t pick a winner until the end."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM:

"Mission accomplished!
That is what we set out to do at the beginning of the year was to win everything, and we just about got that done.
We missed the endurance championship, but we got the rest of them. I’m super proud of this team a super proud of the guys on the No. 4 Corvette.
We had a rough year this year but those guys didn’t quit.
Their last pit stop was probably their best. I can’t thank Olly and Marcel enough.
We have a lot of fun here for sure, but it will be more fun next year when we have some better results.

"It is a team effort totally.
I’ve never heard in the seven years I have been here anyone on this team having conflicts in any way.
Olly and I had a pretty rough year this year, but we tried in any way we could to help the No. 3 car in whatever situation that we need to.
We all work together to help get Chevrolet a championship and whichever car is in the hunt for the title, we do all we can.
For some reason we seem to have this seesaw effect when one car is running well and has all the luck in the world, and the other one doesn’t.

Then it switches. Last year we had all the luck in the world, and this year we had very little luck.
We got a good win at Long Beach and we were plenty quick in a lot of places. It is easy to look at the bad things, but there are a lot of good things to build on for next year."

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM:

"It was very busy out there in my stints.
There were cars all around but there was a lot of good overtaking, especially after restarts.
Once we got running, I got caught up and Rocky (Mike Rockenfeller) went by. I didn’t want to risk doing something to hurt the sister car.
Maybe I was a little too careful and had a couple of cars go by. After that the pace wasn’t too bad.
The rear tire degradation made it difficult to race the last few laps.
I made a little mistake in Turn 3, so we had to pit a little early. So I’m not really happy about that.
But what I am happy about is that Corvette Racing has won the Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships.
It has been great to be a part of Corvette Racing again this year."