Porsche’s ownership of GTLM met its end as Bamber went for a wild hydroplaning ride entering Turn 1. Bamber’s big advantage in GTLM was traded for a spinning trip through the gravel where his 911 RSR lightly nudged the tire barrier. Although the Porsche was largely undamaged, Bamber was left stuck in the gravel. Losing two laps during the extrication process, the 911 RSR would go from the lead to finishing next-to-last in class.

But all hope was not lost for Porsche as the sister entry was in position to take the lead and keep that first win in sight as the race went from red to green. BMW Team RLL’s John Edwards had something different in mind, however, and drove his BMW M8 GTE to the front of GTLM as Tandy fell to third behind the Corvette of Antonio Garcia.

The presence of Garcia in second was a particular surprise. A brutal pit stop on Lap 40 dropped the car from second to sixth and last in GTLM when a series of wheel gun issues left the C8.R sitting stationary on pit lane as a replacement gun was gathered to tighten the left-front wheel.

An apparent issue with the replacement gun added more time to the stop when it was time to change the right-front tire.
With the right-rear wheel gun retrieved from the back of the pit stall, the right-front Michelin was secured and Garcia charged out of the box with a need to re-do all of the work he and Taylor had completed.
Once more, rain helped to shuffle the GTLM cars, and with the Corvette holding second, a trouble at the nearly flooded Kink resulted in BMW’s Edwards and Porsche’s Tandy flying off the circuit, which promoted Garcia to the lead and the sister Corvette of Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin to second.

In an instant, BMW’s grasp on an out-of-nowhere win disappeared and Corvette Racing captured its third straight 1-2 finish.
A frustrated Edwards was able to get the M8 GTE turned around and drive it across the finish line in third.

Corvette Takes 1-2 Finish After BMW Spin

Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor scored their second class victory in the last three races following a crazy conclusion to the GT Le Mans battle, in a 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing.

Corvette has now won three races in a row with its new-for-2020 mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Garcia crossed the line ahead of the No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner after an accident for the class-leading No. 24 BMW M8 GTE of John Edwards on the second-to-last lap.

Edwards and the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Nick Tandy were involved in the incident in the Kink, which ultimately forced the race to end under caution.

It came after Tandy inherited the class due to sticking on slicks through the yellow-turned-red period, although the Englishman pitted for full service once action resumed.

The pole-sitting No. 912 Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber dominated the race prior to the downpour which saw the Kiwi lose control on the front-straight and slide into the Turn 1 barriers.

The No. 24 BMW of Edwards and Jesse Krohn was still classified as third place finishers in class.