DETROIT (June 27, 2018) – Following another appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing is back on American soil as it returns to competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend at Watkins Glen International.
The classic 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course in the Finger Lakes region of New York is a fitting stop for Corvette Racing, which is celebrating its 20th season of competition.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is the start of a critical three-race stretch in four weeks for Corvette Racing, which is seeking to defend its GT Le Mans (GTLM) championships in America’s premier sports car series.

Both the team’s Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs returned to home base in Michigan late last week following Le Mans.
Team personnel had only four days to revert the two race cars into their IMSA configuration and restock its inventory of parts and components for the next three events.

The first of those, of course, is Sunday at The Glen. Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen were victorious in 2014, and they were third a year ago in GTLM.
The pairing, which will share the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, comes off a fourth-place finish in class at Le Mans and third in the most recent GTLM race at Mid-Ohio.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner have one victory to their credit in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R, and they are tied with their No. 3 teammates for fourth place in championship point. Milner and Gavin hope to rebound from a disappointing Le Mans, where they were forced to retire early due to engine overheating.

The No. 4 Corvette has finished fourth and fifth in class the last two years at The Glen, and hopes are high that the Gavin/Milner duo can climb the podium at The Glen for the first time.

Both Corvette C7.Rs will run in a special patriotic livery this weekend ahead of Independence Day.
For the past 20 years, Corvette Racing has been proud to field an American team from an American manufacturer with an American sports car.

Chevrolet, Corvette on Display at The Glen

Along with its familiar yellow Corvette C7.Rs on the Watkins Glen race track this weekend, Chevrolet also will have a presence off it with its Corvette Racing Display.
Opening on Friday, Chevrolet’s Corvette Racing Display again will be part of the Watkins Glen Midway with a number of Chevrolet performance and passenger vehicles on-hand for interested spectators.
Out of all those, however, there is one special auto that likely will command the most attention: the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

Bearing a badge that is steeped in history and incredible performance, the Corvette ZR1 doesn’t disappoint. The supercar that establishes a new standard at Chevrolet for power output, track performance and technology with top track speed of 212 mph thanks to a 6.2L supercharged V8 that generates 755 hp.

Traces of the Corvette Racing program are all over the ZR1.
Most notable are the prominent splitter at the front of the car and a rear wing for additional downforce. Both were developed out of lessons learned from motorsports.

Also among the lineup of Chevrolets at the Display include:

Performance and production models such as the Chevrolet Camaro 2SS 1LE, Traverse High Country, Silverado HD High Country, Equinox Premier 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 Corvette Racing 20th Season t-shirts for fans who sign up with Corvette Racing.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen will air live at 9:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and the FOX Sports Go app. Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

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

“After a disappointing result at Le Mans, the best thing we can do is focus on what will make us successful at Watkins Glen.
We did a good job at Le Mans and didn’t make any mistakes. So that can give us confidence going back to IMSA competition, and we need to replicate that at The Glen. A lot can change in the next four weeks, to be sure. Watkins Glen is a track that I really enjoy.
Hopefully we have the pace to fight for the win.”

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

“Watkins Glen is a really tough race – a six-hour sprint race. In a lot of ways, we are going back to what we know with the IMSA process and competition. Things were a little different at Le Mans in that respect.
But at the Glen, we’ll be back among the usual teams and competition that we know a little better.
This is the start of a run of races where a lot can happen in the points. Let’s see how it shakes out for us.”

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

“Watkins Glen starts an important period of our championship.
It’s always a fantastic track to go to – high-speed, really physical and demanding. It’s great fun to drive there. We always get fantastic support there with the biggest Corvette Corral of the season. That’s always wonderful to see all the Corvettes parked at Turn One
. We’re starting a really important part of our year.
The guys on the team will have their work cut out for them getting things ready for the next month. But everyone on this program works exceptionally hard, and I’ve no doubt we all will be ready for The Glen.”

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

“In some ways, you can get a little caught off-guard by Watkins Glen because we spend so much time focusing on Le Mans.
But it’s not long after you get home that you’re off again to Watkins Glen. There is some adjustment when you arrive at The Glen.
We’ll be back in high-downforce configuration, which is a bit of a change for us.
It’s a shorter weekend than Le Mans, and things happen quick. In a lot of ways it’s a big adjustment but a lot of it at the same is similar – same team, same car, same co-drivers.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“In our 20 years of competition, Corvette Racing has been fortunate to race great tracks throughout North America.
Four years ago, we were able to add one of the best when we raced for the first time at Watkins Glen. It’s a classic American circuit that is perfect for our type of racing.
We’re hopeful to rebound from a difficult Le Mans with another strong showing for our fans at The Glen. It’s an important weekend ahead of Independence Day. We’re proud of our heritage as an American team with an American car from an American manufacturer.
That’s about as patriotic as it gets!”

As the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship celebrates the Fourth of July this weekend at Watkins Glen International
It will be an all-American first two rows leading the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class to the green flag Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

A pair of Ford GTs will lead a pair of Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs
ahead of the remaining GTLM field to start the six-hour race with Richard Westbrook on pole with a lap of one minute, 41.948 seconds (120.061 mph) in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.
He’ll be joined by teammate and 2017 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen pole winner Joey Hand in the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry on the front row.

“I knew Joey was going to make me work hard for it,” said Westbrook. “And he's beaten me too many times in qualifying in the last two years, so I finally get back on him.
We didn't have a pole the first year, but the last year in the Ford we had plenty. Just happy to keep it going.”

Westbrook’s pole was his second at Watkins Glen (2016) and his sixth in the WeatherTech Championship, moving him into fourth on the WeatherTech Championship career poles list.
It also extended Ford’s streak of GTLM poles at the track to three.

Given his and Ford’s recent success at the track, it’s no surprise that Westbrook considers Watkins Glen one of his favorite circuits. Westbrook won the race in the Prototype class and overall in 2014 and 2015, and took the GTLM win in the 2016 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

“This whole track is cool,” Westbrook added. “It's just an amazing part of motorsports history and the fact that it just keeps going and keeps delivering.
The new surface is awesome. We love coming here and hope to keep coming back here.”

Westbrook continuously posted quicker laps throughout the 15-minute session, ultimately topping Hand’s lap of 1:42.059 by just 0.111 seconds.

Another 0.3 seconds back was the No. 4 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner with a lap of 1:42.365, who edged out the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia. Both Milner
and Garcia jumped into the second row on the final lap of the session, topping a pair of Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSRs.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is the midway point of the WeatherTech Championship season and the third round of the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
The Patrón Endurance Cup rewards top performers in the four WeatherTech Championship endurance races: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

The race will be televised live on FS1 beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.

Live IMSA Radio coverage also is available on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Second-Row Sweep in GTLM Qualifying

Milner third, Garcia fourth in Corvette C7.Rs ahead of steamy Sahlen’s Six Hours

WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 30, 2018) – Both Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia made their final laps in Corvette Racing’s Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs count Saturday in qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
The Corvette Racing teammates filled out the second row in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category for Sunday’s round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Tommy Milner was third-fastest in GTLM with a lap of 1:42.365 (119.572 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R, which he shares with Oliver Gavin. Milner’s final pass around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course moved him from sixth to third and within 0.417 seconds of the class pole-winning entry.

Not long after Milner clicked off his best lap, Antonio Garcia went to fourth in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R with a lap of 1:42.497 (119.418 mph).
That came after a spin early in the session for Garcia at the Bus Stop chicane.
It left the Corvette with relatively harmless damage, and after some feedback from team engineers and feeling out the handling of the car, Garcia pressed on. Garcia and teammate Jan Magnussen were winners at Watkins Glen in 2014 with the No. 3 Corvette.

Saturday’s results marked Corvette Racing’s best combined qualifying showing at The Glen since the team made its WGI debut in 2014. The top six GTLM cars were within 0.667 seconds with only 0.25 seconds covering third through sixth.

The on-track competition won’t be the only thing that Corvette Racing will fight Sunday. Record-breaking temperatures will approach 100F, which will put incredible stress on the drivers along with the pit crews and engineers.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is the start of a critical three-race stretch in four weeks for Corvette Racing, which is seeking to defend its GTLM championships in America’s premier sports car series.
Both Corvette C7.Rs will run in a special patriotic livery this weekend ahead of Independence Day. For the past 20 years, Corvette Racing has been proud to field an American team from an American manufacturer with an American sports car.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen will air live at 9:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and the FOX Sports Go app. Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

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

“That feels like a pole position with how the lap came about there. It was pretty difficult to start with on the run with a little bit of a balance issue. I don’t know if it was knowing it was the last lap, but the balance came to me just a little bit.
Maybe it went too far the other way in some sense, but I looked at the lap predictor coming out of the Carousel, and it was good.
That gave me a little extra motivation to keep pushing and not make a mistake. We still have some work to do in thinking about the car and making it last in heat. But yes… third place is a great place to start from for us.”

ON LONG RUNS:

“The conditions from when we did our long runs in practice was when it was not quite as hot as it will be Sunday, so it’s a bit of an unknown. Looking at our competitors, the two cars ahead of us look quite strong.
We have spent a lot of time thinking about long-run pace and getting an idea about where we may stand.”

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

“That was lucky! I didn’t give up saving the car until I touched the wall.
We don’t exactly know what the damage is, but I thought it was game over.
But our engineers said everything look good, and it felt OK to me once I was rolling again. It definitely compromised things a little bit because I wasn’t quite as confident and I didn’t want to do that again. But our car is very strong.
Being on the second row with both our Corvettes is very decent compared to past years. We will hope for a good race tomorrow. I think we can be strong.”

RACE OUTLOOK:

“Other than the off in qualifying, we have run solidly through all our practice plans. The car is good.
The conditions we were have been running in are difficult, and the conditions tomorrow will be even worse.
We are doing what we need to do to prepare for the race. We are in a good spot for tomorrow.”

At the, the Ford GTs of Richard Westbrook and Joey Hand held onto their qualifying 1-2 ahead of the Corvettes of Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia, with Earl Bamber and Patrick Pilet running fifth and sixth in the two Porsches ahead of the BMWs of Tom Blomqvist and Connor De Phillippi.

The Porsche drivers swapped back at their second round of stops – as did the Corvette drivers, who’d fallen away from the Ford vs Porsche battle.
Finally the Ford drivers gave up their seats,
Hand making way for Dirk Muller, who immediately lost second place to the Porsche of Pilet after they left pitlane, while Briscoe took over the leading Ford from Westbrook.

In fact Muller really couldn’t get going in the #66 Ford and fell to fourth, now behind both Porsches which closed up on Briscoe.
Pilet finally muscled past Briscoe on the run to the Bus Stop chicane on their 66th lap, just past the two-hour mark.
Twenty minutes later, Bamber made a stupid pass on Briscoe at the same spot, running him off the road at the left-handed part of the chicane.
That allowed Muller to pass his teammate for third, and keep the #912 Porsche in sight.

However, none of these three had any answer for the #911 Porsche of Pilet at this stage, which had pulled a 13sec lead. Following the next round of stops,
Garcia in the #3 Corvette moved up to fourth behind the Porsches and Muller’s Ford, and ahead of Briscoe’s Ford.
After the Braun/Miller-induced yellow, however, Oliver Gavin found himself leading Briscoe, Garcia, Tandy, Hand and Bamber – Corvette, Ford, Corvette, Porsche, Ford,

But Bamber got past Hand on the final corner of the first lap after the restart, and then zapped Tandy when the Briton tripped over a GTD machine.
A few laps later, with two hours to go, the Porsche drivers and Hand were in prime position to watch Garcia make it a Corvette 1-2 as he went around the outside of Briscoe into the Bus Stop chicane.
Garcia then pulled away from the Ford and closed on teammate Gavin, while the Porsches couldn’t get past Briscoe.
The #3 Corvette hit the front on Lap 135, with 1h 45m to go.
Gavin then pitted and handed over to Milner, as Vanthoor took over from Bamber in the #912 Porsche.

With 85 mins to go, Garcia pitted from a nine-second lead and relinquished the driver seat to Magnussen, but gradually his nearest opposition – now Muller in the #66 Ford – crept up right onto the tail of the Dane with under an hour to go.

Following the stops and restart at the 36 mins mark,
Muller took the win from Garcia to head GTLM, as Pilet took third ahead of Milner, Vanthoor and Westbrook.
Vanthoor then got past Milner to take fourth, and that remained the order to the checkered flag

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Steamy Runner-Up for Garcia, Magnussen

No. 3 Corvette on GTLM podium for second straight season; Gavin, Milner finish top-five

WATKINS GLEN, New York (July 1, 2018) – Corvette Racing endured one of its most trying races in recent memory Sunday, and the team was rewarded with a runner-up finish by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R led 30 laps at Watkins Glen International as the squad soldiered through record-setting heat in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The result moves Garcia and Gavin to third place in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) points standings in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Chevrolet stands third in Manufacturer points heading into next weekend’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park just outside Toronto.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner also spent considerable time out front Sunday in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette and ultimately finished fifth in class.

“The Corvette drivers, crew and engineers executed their race plan in extreme conditions with the same never-give-up effort that has defined this program for the last 20 years,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.
“We picked up some critical points in the Driver and Manufacturer standings with the top-two finish.

“It’s always great to race with the support of so many Corvette owners here at Watkins Glen in the Corvette Corral and watching around the world,” he added. “We can’t wait to race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Motorsports Park next weekend.”

Sunday’s race featured multiple strategies over the six hours as the two Corvettes started from third and fourth.
The pair of cars couldn’t match the pace of its four strongest competitors, but the race’s second half saw Corvette Racing makes its move to the front.

Magnussen began the push with a strong second stint that saw him manage his fuel enough to be the last GTLM car to pit just before the three-hour mark. By going a lap longer on fuel, it meant the No. 3 Corvette needed less fuel than its competitors 30 minutes later and moved from sixth to third.

The same caution period saw Gavin move into the lead in the No. 4 Corvette as he was able to make a pit stop just before the yellow flag came out and the pits closed.
He and Milner traded single stints throughout, and both Corvettes were in position to challenge for the race lead when the final caution period ended with nearly 40 minutes left.

Corvette Racing is back in action this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix.
The race will air at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and live on the FOX Sports Go app.
Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

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

“I think we had very close to a perfect race.
You’ll always look back and think about things we could have done differently. I had fuel reserve for the last six laps or so. I don’t know how much fuel we were able to use at the end so maybe that didn’t allow us to go as hard at the end.
We had to play it more conservative just in case. Perhaps we would have been able to be more aggressive and race the Fords harder.
Thinking about where we have had lately and where we have been in practice and qualifying to be fair we weren’t dreaming about a win.
We wanted a good result, and today was almost a win where we led a lot of laps.
We can’t be upset or depressed by second place. That’s a top job and result for everyone at Corvette Racing.”

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

“It was a tough race in many areas. The heat was a problem.
The double stint early for me was not easy, but I have to say I liked the car all the race. But there at the end, we just didn’t have the pace when it mattered so we’ll work a little harder on it.
Antonio did great in the heat and trying to get the Michelin tires to last – a fantastic job.
The team did, as usual, everything they could in the pits to try and improve our position which they did.
But second was all we could get out of it today. I’m very happy with that for the points fantastic.
But after six hours of sweating, you want to win.”

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

“The race had a lot that happened.
It was brutally hot, and that was pushing everything to the limit whether that was the tires, the car, the brakes, the crew, the drivers
At points today we were over the limit with some of those things. It was a real battle out there today just to get through to the finish.
Tommy did a fantastic job there at the end just to get the car home.
Fifth points is that where we wanted to be?

Absolutely not. We want to be up there at the sharp end battling for the victory.
But it wasn’t our day. We need to go back and look and see what we can do better.
I’m glad that Tommy made it through unscathed as we leave here. It’s also good to see the sister car on the podium and get some good points for us.”

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

“The two Fords at the start were definitely the quickest, and the Porsches were strong. Our qualifying position stymied them early. It was a phenomenal job by the 3 Corvette guys to hold on to second place at the end.
Both the Porsches had a little bit of pace on us. We were struggling at the end with the brakes, so it took me a little bit to figure how to drive the car with the brakes in that condition. It’s something to look at for the future and see why we struggled there.

Fifth isn’t too bad, but it’s a little frustrating when you’re a little further up for a good chunk of the race and things fade at the end.”
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