The C8.Rs had been hit twice with BoP and to just hit again the day before this weekend's race starts

The C8.R teams were already unhappy with the C8.Rs pace and qualified well down the GTD-Pro class with a P8 and P9 finish during last Sunday’s qualifying race.

IMSA has given both the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and BMW M4 GT3 additional weight ahead of this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Confirmed in a pre-event Balance of Performance table, the Corvette will now run at a minimum weight of 1335 kg, (2,900 lbs) marking a 15 kg increase compared to its configuration in last weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24, with the BMW handed 10 kg of additional weight.

Both cars, however, have been handed aero adjustments that should help with straight-line speed, with the Corvette set to run at an 8-degree minimum rear wing angle (-3 degrees) and the new-for-2022 BMW at -2.2 degrees after previously being set at 0 degrees.

Additionally, the BMW will lose 4 liters of fuel capacity.

The changes come after both cars appeared to struggle for pace in the Roar,
with the Corvettes finishing piss poor eighth and ninth and BMWs in 12th and 13th in the 13-class GTD Pro class prior to several post-race penalties for tire pressure infringements.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2022)

Corvette Racing begins its 24th season of competition this weekend with the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
It’s a new season in more than one way as it marks the team’s first foray into GT Daytona (GTD) PRO competition.

The team logged three days of testing plus Sunday’s 100-minute qualifying race to set the Rolex 24 grid. Throughout the weekend, Corvette Racing engineers gathered useful data on a number of new items that are unique to the GTD-spec version of the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

The twice-around-the-clock endurance race around at the 3.56-mile road course inside the Daytona International Speedway presents a number of challenges and elements that aren’t found anywhere else in racing, according to two members of Corvette Racing:

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/Sirius XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“I love this event and being at Daytona. You’re going to straight into it and starting the season with one of the most important races. There’s no way to ease into things. You have to be on it, and this sets the tone for the season. It’s a unique situation compared to Europe.
I’ve done this event several times now, so I’m used to it. Plus it’s a unique setting. The track is cool and fun with the banking. Plus you have a GT class that is this big. It’s an event we all look forward to every year.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“Daytona is always cool because it’s this big, standalone event. Yes, it’s part of a points-scoring championship but it’s still the Daytona 24 Hours. So it’s always cool. It’s different this year, especially for us on the 4 Corvette side for two reasons. For one, we have this new-spec C8.R GTD car so that’s different and new.

I was telling someone the other day that Corvette Racing have been coming here for years and years and years with the same kind of formula and the same knowledge about how things should play out. This year it’s all a bit different and new. It’s fresh and very interesting to go into something new while learning and experimenting while not really knowing how things will work. Plus it’s a single event for our side of the garage before we go off to the WEC.
But Daytona still has that big atmosphere and big levels of anticipation of what’s coming and what’s ahead of you.”

CORVETTE RACING BY THE NUMBERS AT DAYTONA

• 0.034: As in seconds – the winning margin of victory in Corvette Racing’s 1-2 finish at the 2016 Rolex 24. It is the closest finish in race history.
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car going on 24 years: Corvette Racing and Chevrolet.
• 2: Number of the overall winning Corvette C5-R in the 2001 Rolex 24. Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon completed 656 laps for 2335.36 miles in the winning effort.
• 4: Rolex 24 wins in 11 tries for Corvette Racing: 2001 overall, 2015 GTLM (Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen/Ryan Briscoe), 2016 GTLM (Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler) and 2021 GTLM (Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg)
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
• 29: Number of GTLM wins for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. Corvette Racing moves to GTD PRO starting with this year’s Rolex 24.
• 24: Drivers who have driven for Corvette Racing at Daytona – Justin Bell, Ryan Briscoe, Nicky Catsburg, Kelly Collins, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcel Fässler, Ron Fellows, Franck Freon, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, John Heinricy, Chris Kneifel, Robin Liddell, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Simon Pagenaud, John Paul Jr., Andy Pilgrim, Mike Rockenfeller, Scott Sharp, Alexander Sims, Nick Tandy and Jordan Taylor. The list will grow by one with the addition of Marco Sorensen for this year’s race.
• 25: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.
• 31: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 69: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 were produced that year.
• 120: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 112 in North America and eight at Le Mans.
• 250: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 49,723.16: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing at Daytona. That’s more than two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).
• 333,179.36: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon!

What’s New on the GTD PRO Corvette?

There have been lots of questions about changes to the Corvette C8.R for the IMSA GTD PRO class. There is quite a bit of work the Corvette Racing team has undertaken to transition the car from GTLM spec to meet GTD technical regulations. Here are a handful of key areas:

1. The mass of the C8.R is increased by 65 kilograms (143 lbs.) relative to Daytona 2021. To accommodate the ballast box required by the GT3/GTD regulations to hold the extra weight, the Corvette Racing team had to reconfigure the entire passenger side floor compartment. This required the move of the air conditioning unit, fire bottle, battery box and other electronics. This was no small feat with integration requiring significant effort by the Corvette Racing engineering team.

2. The 2022 Corvette GTD entry is running on customer Michelin tires, which are required for the category. This is a change from GTLM where the C8.R ran on confidential tires – ones that were specifically designed for Corvette Racing.

3. The power output of the C8.R’s flat-plane V8 is significantly reduced under GTD rules. The difference between the size of this year’s Daytona air restrictor and 2021 is nearly 1.7 mm.

4. Related to that, the GTD PRO Corvette is running with a higher angle of attack on the rear wing than previous years. This creates a greater level of drag on the race car and significantly reduces top speed.

5. The addition of ABS is required under GT3/GTD rules. As many observers are aware, Corvette Racing tested this in competition for the first time last year at Belle Isle in the GTLM Corvette. The system continued to be improved throughout testing late last year and early this season both virtually and in the real world.

6. The differential of the Corvette C8.R must now comply with GT3/GTD regulations. A limited slip differential configuration is permitted with a single homologated set of ramps. This required removal of some tuning options previously available on the GTLM Corvette.

7. Unlike other GTD teams, the C8.Rs are required to run with torque axle sensors. These directly measure the output of the Corvette engine and the data is used by IMSA for the BOP process.

The Chevrolet Fan Experience
Chevrolet aficionados will have no shortage of things to see and do at the Rolex 24. That’s because three locations around Daytona International Speedway – the Chevrolet Experience Center, the Chevrolet Injector and Chevrolet Motorsports Display – will be full of Chevrolet vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend.

Each location will open at 9 a.m., Friday and Saturday; and 8 a.m., Sunday.

The Chevrolet Experience Center is located next to Victory Lane. The main attraction for Corvette enthusiasts is the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – a nearly mirror image of the Corvette C8.R race car. Among its features is a 5.5L, flat-plane V8 capable of reaching 8,600 rpms. The 670hp output is the highest for any naturally aspirated V8 produced by any production car in the world.

In addition, Chevrolet vehicles on display at the Experience Center include the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition, Camaro ZL1, Tahoe High Country and Colorado ZR2, plus a Corvette Z06 chassis.

The Chevrolet Motorsports Display in the Fan Midway will have a number of attractions:
• Production vehicles such as the Corvette Stingray with the Z51 package, Tahoe RST, Blazer RS, Colorado Z71, Silverado 2500 HD Crew Carhartt, Camaro ZL1, a Corvette C8.R showcar and a Stingray cutaway chassis.
• Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts and accessories available to fans for purchase from local Chevrolet dealers
• Corvette Racing t-shirts for fans who sign up with Chevrolet

At the Chevrolet Injector, nearly 20 different Chevrolet vehicles are on display throughout the four levels of fan access. Models include Trax LT, Equinox RS, Traverse Premier, Trailblazer ACTIV and RS, Blazer Premier and RS, Silverado 1500 Trailboss, Silverado HD and 2500 Crew Cab LTZ, Corvette Stingray Convertible, Camaro ZL1 and 2SS Coupe, Colorado Z71 Crew Cab and ZR2, Suburban 4WD High Country and Tahoe LTZ

As at the Chevrolet Motorsports Display and Chevrolet Experience, Chevrolet product specialists will be on-hand to answer questions on each model of Chevrolet vehicle throughout the weekend.

Corvette Z06 at Barrett-Jackson
Also of note, the first 70th Anniversary Edition 2023 Corvette Z06 off the production line will be auctioned Saturday at the annual Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Ariz. Corvette Racing veterans Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows will be on-hand and take part in the auction.

Net proceeds from the sale of these cars benefit Operation Homefront. Celebrating 20 years of serving America’s military families, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.

Corvette Racing at Daytona
1999
No. 2 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 3rd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Scott Sharp/John Heinricy – 12th in GTS

2000
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 2nd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 10th in GTS

2001
No. 2 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Chris Kneifel/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS (overall win)
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Dale Earnhardt/Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2nd in GTS

2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 10th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Robin Liddell – 5th in GTLM

2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 1st in GTLM (Magnussen fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud – 3rd in GTLM (Gavin pole)

2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 1st in GTLM (Winner by 0.034 second)

2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 9th in GTLM

2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 3rd in GTLM (Magnussen pole)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM

2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 6th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM

2020 (Rolex 24 – January)
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 4th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 7th in GTLM

2020 (WeatherTech 240 – July)
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2021
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 2nd in GTLM

A severe cold front heading south from the Great Lakes & Eastern Canada will descend on Florida Friday, making the racing there in the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 29-30 colder than it has been in years.

Temperatures could possibly even reach below the freezing mark.

A hard freeze is expected, the worst in four years in the Central Florida area.
Forecasts vary, with some having Saturday night lows from 27 to 30 degrees, along with possible rain.
The high Saturday, according to MSN Weather, will be 48, and 51 on Sunday.

Friday, when the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will take the green flag, is when the front is expected to arrive, with a high Friday of 63 and a low of 39.
There is about a 40 percent chance of rain during the race.
The rain should clear by Saturday, just leaving frigid by Florida standards temperatures for the rest of the weekend.

The cold weather could affect tire strategy and other aspects of the Rolex 24, but it will run, as always, rain, shine, hot or cold.

If wanting to watch or tape the whole 24 hours you will need to be jumping all over TV channels and if not paying for Peacock you'll be missing parts of race

NBC Sports’ coverage of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season begins this weekend with live coverage of the 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona on NBC, USA Network and Peacock.

The network’s comprehensive presentation will utilize 14 of its IMSA, NASCAR and IndyCar commentators, analysts and reporters headlined by NBC Sports’ lead IMSA commentating team of play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey, Rolex 24 winner and former IMSA GT driver and analyst Calvin Fish (analyst) alongside NASCAR on NBC analyst and NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.

IndyCar veteran driver James Hinchcliffe makes his on-air debut with NBC Sports, joining Marty Snider and Vanessa Richardson on the Peacock Pit Box on pit road, and also serving as an analyst in the booth.

Steve Letarte will be pulling an all-nighter for NBC Sports, working all 24 hours of the race. Letarte will work alongside his NASCAR on NBC booth-mate Jeff Burton to provide analysis and showcase the unique experience at the Rolex 24 infield.

Parker Kligerman, Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters throughout the event. Dave Burns and Brian Till will also serve as play-by-play commentators.

In addition to comprehensive Rolex 24 coverage, Peacock will also provide exclusive streaming coverage of Robert Wickens’ return to racing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Daytona this Friday at 1:35 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports’ coverage will also include a number of features surrounding the Rolex 24, including a piece highlighting the 60-year anniversary of the event, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s interview with Mario Andretti, and an interview with Wickens following his return to racing on Friday.

Below are the broadcast details for the Rolex 24 at Daytona (all times ET). All coverage will also stream on Peacock.

Sat., Jan. 29
1:30-2:30 p.m. NBC
2:30-4 p.m. Peacock
4-7 p.m. USA Network
7-10 p.m. Peacock
10 p.m. – 3 a.m. USA Network
Sun., Jan. 30
3-6 a.m. Peacock
6 a.m. – Noon USA Network
Noon – 2 p.m. NBC

LIVE TIMING: http://scoring.imsa.com/

Live Timing for mobile device: http://scoring.imsa.com/mobile.html


Entry List: https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uplo...ry-List-v2.pdf


Radio: IMSA Radio
http://imsatv.imsa.com/

http://radiolemans.0157.org/nplayer.php

Local: 107.9 FM local at track, 93.5 FM and 1150 AM in Daytona

XM channel 202/online 992

2) PIT NOTES: http://twitter.com/ @CorvetteRacing, @IMSA, @IMSAlive, @DISupdates, @Rolex24Hours
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorvetteRacingFans/


BoP pdf tables: https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uplo...BoP-012522.pdf

First practice today

3 cars never made a lap, so sets the C8.R times look better but clearly BoP not helping them

***This is the historic sixty anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

***The Rolex 24 is the first race of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which features the four longest races of the IMSA season.

***The 61-car field in the WeatherTech Championship is up 12 cars from 2021 and the largest field here since 2014.

***Last year’s 49-car Rolex 24 field completed a combined total of 29,678 laps or 105,654 miles, an average of 605.673 laps or 2,156 miles per starter.

***Only six of the 49 starters in 2021 competed fewer than 500 laps.

***The 2021 race winning No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 completed a massive 807 laps or 2,872.92 miles of the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway circuit.

***With 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes per hour, the Rolex 24 represents 84,000 ticks of the clock. The 2021 margin of victory was 4.704 seconds.

***With a bigger 61-car field in 2022, Michelin estimates that a 60-minute green flag run in dry conditions will produce more than 5,000 miles in a single hour.

***Michelin has shipped 30 semi-trailer loads of tires and equipment to Daytona for the IMSA season-opening events.

***There are 35 Michelin race tire engineers, tire specialists, and managers on site in addition to a crew of 75 who are working in rotating shifts to handle tire inventory, mounting, balancing and release to teams.

***Daytona International Speedway is living up to the “international” middle name, as drivers from 26 countries have entered the Rolex 24. The seven DPi entries include drivers from 13 countries.

***Last year, track temperatures in the 24-hour race ranged from 56 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees. During the 2021 season, Michelin reports that track temperatures ranged from 39 degrees at Road Atlanta to 127 degrees at Lime Rock.

***Teams may look to double stint Michelin tires, especially through the night when temperatures are colder, as keeping hot tires on the car can be an advantage.

***Tire warmers are not permitted in IMSA.

***The BMW M4 GT3 will be making its IMSA debut. This is now the top car in the high-performance M Motorsport range. Michelin is proud to have been on every edition of the M class.

***Some of the biggest names in racing will be in Daytona. This includes Indy 500 champions, IndyCar champions, a NASCAR Champ and several overall 24 hours of Le Mans winners.

***Teams and fans are excited to have the IMSA Radio crew back on site for the first time since the pandemic.

***The Rolex 24 begins the countdown to what will be the first race of the new IMSA World Endurance Championship agreement that will bring Prototype class entries from many top manufacturers here next January.

What’s New on the GTD PRO Corvette?

There have been lots of questions about changes to the Corvette C8.R for the IMSA GTD PRO class. There is quite a bit of work the Corvette Racing team has undertaken to transition the car from GTLM spec to meet GTD technical regulations. Here are a handful of key areas:

1. The mass of the C8.R is increased by 65 kilograms (143 lbs.) relative to Daytona 2021.
To accommodate the ballast box required by the GT3/GTD regulations to hold the extra weight, the Corvette Racing team had to reconfigure the entire passenger side floor compartment. This required the move of the air conditioning unit, fire bottle, battery box and other electronics.
This was no small feat, with integration requiring significant effort by the Corvette Racing engineering team.

2. The 2022 Corvette GTD entry is running on customer Michelin tires, which are required for the category.
This is a change from GTLM where the C8.R ran on confidential tires, ones that were specifically designed for Corvette Racing.

3. The power output of the C8.R’s flat-plane V8 is significantly reduced under GTD rules.
The difference between the size of this year’s Daytona air restrictor and 2021 is nearly 1.7 mm.

4. Related to that, the GTD PRO Corvette is running with a higher angle of attack on the rear wing than previous years.
This creates a greater level of drag on the race car and significantly reduces top speed.

5. The addition of ABS is required under GT3/GTD rules. As many observers are aware, Corvette Racing tested this in competition for the first time last year at Belle Isle in the GTLM Corvette. The system continued to be improved throughout testing late last year and early this season, both virtually and in the real world.

6. The differential of the Corvette C8.R must now comply with GT3/GTD regulations. A limited slip differential configuration is permitted with a single homologated set of ramps. This required removal of some tuning options previously available on the GTLM Corvette.

7. Unlike other GTD teams, the C8.Rs are required to run with torque axle sensors.
These directly measure the output of the Corvette engine and the data is used by IMSA for the BOP process.

Second practice session is over

Again, many of the cars did not spend much time on the track in the 1 1/2 hour session
You can tell by looking at the laps each completed
Notice the C8.Rs ran the most laps

Last session for today is at 7 PM

Third Practice

Still cars not having many laps for this nighttime session as some are afraid of the weather :-(

Last practice completed before the 24 hour race tomorrow

Not looking good for the C8.Rs

Many drivers & teams, after 2 days of mostly damp conditions, are relieved that the forecast for the Rolex 24 At Daytona is for partly cloudy to sunny conditions.
The corollary to that is that once the clouds clear this evening, it’s going to get very cold. Making for the coldest Rolex 24 ever.

Depending on which forecast you’re looking at, the highest temperature of the race will be about 50 degrees F (9 degrees C) about the time of the checkered flag.
The low will dip to just below freezing around 7 a.m.
Aside from concerns for keeping crews and drivers warm, the big concern over the weather for the Rolex is tires.
While the out-laps are going to be tricky and cold tires will certainly catch some drivers out, there do not to be any concerns for safety otherwise.

“With what’s currently forecast, we’re still confident that the tires will perform,” said Hans Emmel, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship manager for Michelin. “Obviously, they could take a little bit longer to warm up to as the drivers come out on cold tires from the pits.
Certainly a lot of teams will opt to double stint when and where they can to to put drivers back out on hot tires, or maybe change two tires and not change the other two, to give them some heat in the tires as they exit pit lane and go through the the infield section of the course.”

Michelin’s bigger concern for tires, notes Emmel, is mounting the tires, which can get problematic when it gets too cold.

“If the temperatures get down to freezing, we’ve put in some provisions in our mounting facility to make sure that there’s sufficient temperature while mounting the tires. That’s really where some temperature can get tricky for us.
So we’ve enclosed some areas and warmed some areas to make sure that when the tires come out of the truck through the middle of the night, it gets it’s like an assembly line through there with teams bringing us tires back, new tires going on, we’ve put provisions in to make sure that mountability is not an issue,” he said.

According to several drivers, it’s going to take most of a lap to warm the tires up enough so that they’re not sketchy, and up to three or four, depending on class and car, to get fully up to temperature.
Not only are there likely to be numerous single-car incidents on out-laps as a result, but drivers will have to be quite aware of which cars around them may have just come out of the pits on cold tires.

“The difference of speed between cars that are on their out-laps and cars that are at speed is going to be huge,” explained No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac driver Tristan Vautier. “I mean, even in the infield, a GTD [on warm tires] is going to be quicker than a DPi getting out of the pits with four sticker tires.
So all in all those situations you’re going to be exposed and if you come up to speed in a DPi on an LMP3 or a GTD with a low-experience driver on cold tires, it’s going to be very difficult as well.
So it’s going to be a lot of tricky moments.”

IMSA has made efforts to “better strengthen” Michelin’s tire usage requirements this year with further enforcement aimed to keep competitors within an optimum operating window, according to Michelin WeatherTech series manager Hans Emmel.

The sanctioning body has imposed “minimum penalties” for teams not adhering to Michelin’s operational requirements that have been in the sporting regulations since Michelin became Official Tire of IMSA in 2019.

Several teams received warnings in last weekend’s Rolex 24 qualifying race for their cars not meeting minimum cold and/or stabilized tire pressures, with the Nos. 79 and 97 WeatherTech Racing GTD Pro entries and No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R all handed post-race penalties equivalent to a drive-through for repeated offenses.

Per Attachment 3 of the sporting regulations, a third violation for a car is subject to a stop plus 10-second penalty, while a penalty assessed during qualifying may result in the qualifying times being disallowed.
Unserved race penalties, meanwhile, may translate to lap count penalties.
Emmel explained that the “new initiative” of assessing penalties has been done in partnership with IMSA, which is in charge of all matters regarding the sporting regulations.

“It’s always been stipulated that the entrants need to adhere to the tire manufacturer usage recommendations or requirements,” Emmel told Sportscar365.
As time has gone on, in partnership with IMSA we’ve looked at some ways to better strengthen Attachment 3 of the sporting regulations.
As a result of that, that’s what you’ve seen in some of the bulletins they’ve released.

The tire usage documents that were released for the commercial side of the paddock S9M and S8M [tires] used across multiple series have actually not changed.
We don’t dictate what camber the teams must run.
What we do is offer a window of cambers the teams have the opportunity to run and an associated stabilized pressure.

They actually have some choices in this, which is good for the racers.
If they want to run very aggressive on camber, they’re going to have to run a higher associated stabilized pressure.
“What we’ve done by modifying the language of the usage requirements to stabilize hot pressure, that still gives the teams flexibility to adjust their starting pressure to accommodate for car balance, front/rear axle, driver level, ambient and track conditions and so on.”

Emmel explained that tire usage requirements are no different from other parameters enforced by other suppliers.
“Our tires have a tremendous amount of technology and resource and design that go into them,” he said.
They’re designed to run within a certain usage level [in] cambers and tire pressures.

That stuff is directly correlated to our simulations and our bench testing regimes.
I think it’s important for us for product integrity that teams respect those.

It’s like everything else on the car. There are some limits. The engine manufacturers might impose rev limits, turboboost limits, lubricants that have to be used.
The racers always have choices to make.
The car engineers typically don’t run the weight of the car within one gram of the specification.
They have to build their own tolerance into all of the various limits on the car.

“I think this is no different with the tires. They know where we want [them] to run. How close they want to go to that limit without being in breach of the regulations is up to them.”
While being a “touchy subject” in the paddock, IMSA President John Doonan said he’s been pleased with how the IMSA and Michelin technical teams have been able to better “educate” competitors with this year’s more strict enforcement.

“I was in a meeting [on Thursday] and said to the Michelin team and our technical team how proud I am of the process we went through,”
It’s a touchy subject but as Michelin said, they’ve made tires for years and as long as they’re properly inflated, they’ll be the greatest tires in the world like they are.
If they’re not properly inflated, there’s a potential for challenge.
I think you see clearly from [last] Sunday, and what we had to do after the race for a couple of teams that we were trying to educate through the race, and they didn’t make any changes there [after being warned].

“If you watch the race last year when folks weren’t following the [recommendations] of what could happen
None of us want that, and we also don’t want people gaining a competitive advantage by fiddling with the tire pressures.”

Michelin Prepared for Near-Freezing Race Conditions

Emmel said Michelin is prepared to tackle the near-freezing temperatures forecasted for Saturday night into Sunday morning in this weekend’s race.
Forecasts currently call for a low of 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).
Teams were most recently impacted with cold weather in last November’s Motul Petit Le Mans, where ambient temperatures dipped to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) during warm up.
“We don’t think there’s any significant challenges as far as the tires,” Emmel said
Certainly the drivers will be challenged because tire warm up is going to be difficult.

Teams will react to that by doing double stints and scrubbing tires to try to help them warm up quicker.
It does need to be recognized that at 1 degree Celsius or 2 degree Celsius that we might face [Saturday night], the drivers are really going to have to be on top of their game to get some heat into the tires early without pushing past the limits.

“I still would expect that maybe by the Bus Stop they should have sufficient heat to get more and more aggressive as they go on their out lap.”
He added: “I believe it was 2020, we got as low as 5 degrees Celsius here at Daytona and didn’t see any major issues.

“When we look at the tire compound properties, we don’t expect that an extra 2-3 degrees is going to change anything significantly from a tire perspective.”
Emmel said no changes are planned to the tire usage requirements due to the frigid temperatures.
“More pressure in the tire helps get more heat in the tire quicker,” he explained.

“As you can imagine, a little bit more pressure in the tire, you have smaller of a contact patch.
“That puts more energy into a smaller area, which actually helps heat the tire up quicker.”

The 24-hour race to open the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will see the green flag at 1:40 p.m. ET Saturday. NBC Sports has partial coverage, beginning on NBC network at 1:30 p.m. Among the pre-race storylines:

Freezing Florida:
A wind chill advisory, something Floridians rarely experience, has been issued for the early morning hours Sunday, when strong north winds will make it feel like 25 degrees. A freeze watch also will be in effect, but the latest forecasts indicate little chance of rain through the race.

Cool temperatures usually are desirable for proper grip. Cold temperatures are not. Bourdais had the fastest lap during the final practice session Friday 1 minute 34.732 seconds (135.487 mph) but that was when the ambient temperature was in the upper 50s.

“You have to accept what it gives you,” said Mike Hull, Chip Ganassi Racing’s managing director. “It will take a while to get your tires up to temperature, but that’s a relative thing for anyone
I think we saw it in the conditions we had (Friday). Conditions rapidly changed, and people adapted to it quite quickly.
I think they all learned a lot about how tires would react, particularly in cold weather.”

Chasing history:
Wayne Taylor Racing will attempt to win the race for a record fourth consecutive time, breaking the record set by Ganassi in 2008. The No. 10 WTR Acura ARX-05 – co-driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens won the Motul Pole Award by winning a 100-minute qualifying race Sunday.

“We’ve done all the right things so far,” team owner Wayne Taylor said.
“We have excellent drivers and a really good team, and the weather conditions are certainly going to play a significant role in this race. Driving in 31- to 35-degree temperatures is going to make it extremely hard for guys to get out of the pits and keep it on the track when the surface is so cold. I see lots of yellows coming.”

Changing champions:
Two months ago, Action Express Racing celebrated the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) title with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.
The team returns for the final season of DPi with one new full-time driver.

Felipe Nasr left Action Express to join Porsche’s foray into LMDh and the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, which will replace DPi as the top WeatherTech Championship class in 2023.
He’ll compete this weekend in the GTD PRO class, but former teammate Pipo Derani will carry on in the No. 31 with new full time co-driver Tristan Nunez and endurance specialist Mike Conway.

“It is important you have camaraderie between yourself, the team and the other driver because you have to give up so much for the greater benefit of the team,” Derani said. “When you have a good relationship with your teammate, that only helps.”

Bulging Field:

The numbers are in: A field of 61 cars and 235 drivers in five classes is set to race for 1,440 minutes in temperatures expected to drop to freezing overnight.
The rookie Palou has received his advice.

Kamui Kobayashi led a frantic opening hour of the Rolex 24 at Daytona that concluded with the first full course caution of the contest after an accident for the Era Motorsport Oreca 07 Gibson.

Action Express Racing Cadillac driver Kobayashi seized the lead from Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais with a lunge down the inside at Turn 6.
The reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans winner then extended the gap to four seconds until Dwight Merriman went off under braking on entry to the Turn 6 left-hander 45 minutes into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.

A corner marshal behind the spot where Merriman hit the tire barriers has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation but has stable, vital signs, according to an IMSA spokesperson.

The caution stemming from the accident resulted in a second round of stops for the DPi field after a bout of green flag services on the half-hour mark.
Wayne Taylor Racing’s Filipe Albuquerque started the race from pole but lost his lead on the first lap to Tristan Vautier in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Kobayashi, who also got past Albuquerque in the opening exchanges, found a way past Vautier at Turn 2 as the DPi runners hit the GT traffic for the first time.
A charging Bourdais reached second before the DPi cars made their first pit stops, and emerged from the pits ahead of Kobayashi until the Japanese driver fought back ahead.

After the caution pit stops, Kobayashi led from Vautier, Bourdais, Albuquerque and Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac.
Ben Keating paced the first hour in LMP2 after fast-starting John Falb was bumped off the lead by a drive-through for jumping the opening green flag.
The class lead then changed as High Class Racing brought Dennis Andersen out ahead of the Thomas, while Keating’s PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca dropped a few places due to a driver change.

The GTD Pro and GTD front-runners were mixed in the opening 60 minutes as drivers jostled for early track position.
Mathieu Jaminet worked his way to the front of the Pro class in the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Jon Miller took charge in GTD for McLaren squad Crucial Motorsports and even led the GT field overall at one stage.

Jaminet kept the GTD Pro upper hand through the caution period, with WeatherTech Racing’s Julien Andlauer and TR3 Racing’s Rolf Ineichen close behind the Frenchman.
Jarett Andretti controlled the early stages of the LMP3 class race from pole in the No. 36 Ligier JS P320 Nissan, but dropped behind Riley Motorsports’ Gar Robinson at the caution pit stops.

How the C8.Rs are doing after 2 hours into the race

Dixon gave the No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing crew maximum points at the first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup checkpoint six hours into the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Dixon kept ahead of Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac driver Mike Conway after a restart from a full course caution to pick up five points for himself, Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Palou, who are sharing the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The caution period occurred just after midway through the fifth hour when Team TGM’s Porsche 911 GT3 R went deep into the grass run-off at the International Horseshoe and needed to be recovered.

Conway secured four points for his No. 31 Whelen-backed Action Express crew, followed by three points for Richard Westbrook in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac.

A significant moment in the DPi battle occurred at the start of the 5th hour, when former leader Will Stevens had a wild spin at the Turn 1 left-hander, resulting in a puncture for his Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05.

Stevens then crawled almost a full lap back to the pits, which dropped defending winner WTR two laps off the overall lead as the only DPi car no longer on the main lap.

KCMG led the GTD Pro class at the six-hour mark with Dennis Olsen running ahead of Risi Competizione Ferrari driver Davide Rigon.

Risi moved into the lead courtesy of a well-timed pit stop ahead of a caution-ridden fourth hour, but Olsen put the pressure on Rigon over the next green flag stint.

The lead changed in the pits during the most recent caution period, when Rigon lost time due to a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo delaying his exit from the Risi stall.

Pfaff Motorsports was third at one-quarter distance, ahead of the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG and the sole Pro-class Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

1 of the early GTD Pro contenders, WeatherTech’s No. 79 Porsche, spent time behind the wall due to an air jack failure that has removed it from the podium battle.

Tom Gamble led GTD on six hours in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from The Heart of Racing, picking up maximum Endurance Cup points in the process.

Nico Mueller and Nico Lapierre ran three seconds apart at the head of LMP2, with the former in front of the High Class Racing Oreca 07 Gibson and the latter driving for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

A close-fought LMP3 fight was led by CORE autosport driver Colin Braun with Andretti Autosport’s Rasmus Lindh and Sean Creech Motorsport’s Joao Barbosa in close view.

Additionally, an IMSA spokesperson has confirmed that all drivers involved in the multi-car accident at Speedway Turn 1 midway through the fourth hour were checked and released from the circuit medical center.


The No. 48 Action Express Cadillac, now with Jimmie Johnson at the wheel, has received new rear bodywork to replace that damaged in the contact with the No. 01 Cadillac, and a new nose, both replaced in separate stops under yellow.

The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche that was fighting for the lead earlier has taken two trips to the garage and is 38 laps down to the GTD Pro leader.

The No. 59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren 720S that stopped after contact with the No. 14 Lexus is back on track with Patrick Gallagher at the wheel, 23 laps down to the GTD leader.

Another GTD contender, the No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes-AMG has also visited the garage, and is 15 laps down.


After 6 1/2 hours of race

The No. 4 Corvette had issues, coming into the pits under the yellow, but not restarting.

The crew pushed it to the garage where they have removed a lot of parts at the rear, including the rear undertray, working on the car.


Has not returned and is 40 laps behind

C8.R Corvette Racing found itself in the thick of the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO battle following the first six hours of the Rolex 24 At Daytona with its pair of mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs. It’s the first race in the GTD category for the Corvette Racing program, which ran sixth and seventh at quarter-distance.

Nicky Catsburg was in his second stint in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R following double-stints for both Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor to start. Catsburg was the highest-placed Corvette, one position ahead of Marco Sorensen in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R. He followed stints by Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner, which had a slightly better pace than the sister car in the early going.

The first six hours featured four full-course cautions and abnormally cold conditions for Daytona Beach. The Corvettes also were dealing with an overall performance deficit but were staying close to the lead pack with fuel economy and pit lane strategy in an attempt to gain track position.

Corvette Racing’s next update will come at the halfway point of the Rolex 24.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“It was a little chaotic but not much. We know how the race is going to be. The first restart with the LMP3s around us was a little bit different. We need to know and learn how they are on these restarts. This is still the very early stage of the race, but there are people who are being aggressive and some others not so much. So we need to stay with it. It looks like we can hold our position and keep track of the leaders more or less, which is important.
We will carry on and see how the track and race develop. We can definitely follow people, but I don’t know about catching them or leading the way. I don’t know if it will be easy or not. That’s the way it is right now.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“It is absolutely chaos out there right now. A lot of guys want to be at the front, and that’s fine with me.
They can race as hard as they want, but for us, we just need to stay out of trouble. We don’t have outright pace to battle with them. We’re good on strategy right now and saving fuel every stint to try and maximize that. But yeah, it’s chaotic.
Mixing it up with LMP3 cars and slow LMP2 cars has caused some mayhem. Throughout the night, the name of the game is staying out of trouble.
Hopefully come Sunday, we have a strong Corvette and a car in one piece.”

WILL IT GET MORE TREACHEROUS OVERNIGHT WITH THE TEMPS DROPPING?

“If we have yellows, then it will breed more yellows because the cold tires are so hard to get temp in. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, but I think it will get worse during the night. The good thing is that once the tires to get temperatures in them, the grip is actually higher than what we’ve all weekend, which is nice. So you can push the car a little bit harder.
That’s a positive but keeping out of trouble during restarts will be a huge part of it.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“So far, so good. The first couple of stints were quite good. There obviously was a yellow early when everyone needed to stop in GTD. So it was good to experience the whole field coming in together. On our side, it’s running pretty well. We’re finding that when we are in a pack, we aren’t too bad because we can draft off the cars in front.
We seem pretty strong in the infield. It just becomes a bit different when we drop off the back of the pack; it looks like some leaders seem to stretch out their legs a little bit.”

HOW MUCH ARE YOU LEARNING ABOUT THE GTD CORVETTE?

“We were learning every session. We know the car. We know a lot about everything to do with how it operates.
Furthermore, we know the tires. We’ve tested on the tires. Furthermore, we’ve tested the ABS and things like this. What we’re learning here is how everything translates and works together at Daytona with Daytona-specific aero requirements, suspension, geometry settings and tire pressures.

This was something we’ve been learning throughout the week. The key thing is getting the car to work with the tire. That can vary from track to track, how you make the most of it. It’s very different from before, where we could select the tire we wanted and effectively develop the tire around our Corvette in GTLM. Now we have to work the car around the tire we’re given, which everyone does in GTD. This is one of the key differences.”

WITH MORE CARS IN THE CLASS, IS IT DIFFERENT?

“Yep! So far, I haven’t experienced too much of it to be honest.
We had kind of a clean start, and we were more to the front of the pack. But I’ve just seen on a restart there was a mix of cars, some had pitted and some had stayed out. When there are 35 cars by design that are capable of doing the same lap time in a space like Daytona, plus the other 30 cars out there, that’s something very new for us.
It was kind of the like the GRAND-AM days when there were two separate classes. This is probably somewhat similar. In the last few years, we’ve had four or five classes and all the cars had a different spread. Now there’s a much bigger group that are all similar speed.
That was really the first time we’ve seen the grid mixed up on a restart. Hopefully it’s not going to carry on like that.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“It was chaotic, but honestly a lot of fun. It’s been a long time since we’ve had to race that hard from start to finish of my stint. We’re still kind of where we expected, a little slow to be sure. We’ll try to use whatever tools we possibly can. It looks like we can go a little longer on fuel, but I’m not sure if we can make up that deficit that we have on pace, but we’ll try for sure. I was really happy with the Corvette.

The first stint wasn’t great, but we made a change for the second stint, and it was much better. With the change and maybe the track conditions, it looks like our pace improved. I’m very happy with it, and it’s been great so far.
We’ll let these smart Corvette Racing engineers try to figure out how to keep us moving toward the front.”

JORDAN SAID THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TIRES WERE BETTER THAN HE EXPECTED WHEN THEY GOT UP TO TEMP. DID YOU FIND THAT TRUE AS WELL?

“Yes. From talking to other drivers in GTD in the past, this customer tire suffers a little bit more in heat, so in these conditions it’s kind of ideal for it.
For sure, it’s tough to get heat in the tire, but we’re doing our best there. But once we do, there is a lot of grip, just like Jordan said.”

Both Chevy Corvette C8.R GTDs have gone behind the wall with apparent technical problems in a major blow to the Chevrolet factory team’s efforts to claim a second consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona class win.

The No. 4 entry from last year’s GT Le Mans class-winning team was taken back to its garage in the seventh hour and was joined by its sister No. 3 car around two hours later.

In the ninth hour, both cars were being worked on feverishly by Pratt & Miller mechanics in front of a growing crowd of on looking spectators.

A Corvette Racing spokesperson said that the team is inspecting the alternator on the No. 4 car, while the cause of the No. 3 car’s issue is unknown.
Antonio Garcia entered the pits during a caution period and parked up to allow crew members to remove the engine cover and inspect the rear of the car.

In addition to going behind the wall for more extensive checks, the Spaniard’s No. 3 entry was handed a drive-through penalty for refueling while a team member was working underneath the car.

Disaster struck Corvette Racing in the seventh and eighth hours of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Saturday. Despite lengthy visits to the garage, both Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs were still circulating around Daytona International Speedway at the halfway point of the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The No. 3 Corvette ran ninth in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class in the program’s debut in the category. Jordan Taylor was at the wheel, but 13 laps down to the class leader after the car lost time with an electrical issue that required a change of the alternator near the eight-and-a-half-hour mark. Antonio Garcia was in the Corvette when the team noticed a voltage issue on the No. 3 C8.R.

Things weren’t any better for the12th-place No. 4 Corvette, which lost nearly 2.5 hours replacing the diffuser, exhaust pipes and starter. Marco Sorensen was hit from behind while trying to avoid a spinning prototype following the race’s fifth full-course caution.

Sorensen had followed double-stints by Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner. He had to brake hard to keep from hitting the wayward LMP3 car, which also just missed collecting Nicky Catsburg in the No. 3 Corvette. Sorensen was nailed from behind, which resulted in the damaged components and sent the No. 4 C8.R back to the garage.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“It was unfortunate. We were up there, probably not in the best place overall, but we were staying out of trouble.
That wasn’t the easiest thing to do with the conditions and all the mixing of the categories.

We were P4 when the team realized we had an alternator issue. Everything was going smooth and all we needed to do was make it through the night.
We’re back out there but down some number of laps. We’ll carry on and be as close to the lead lap if the yellows permit that. We knew it would be a crazy race.”

MARCO SORENSEN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“We got hit from behind and that caused some big damage.
There wasn’t really anywhere for me to go. There was a spinning LMP3 car ahead of us and I had to brake hard because there wasn’t anywhere I could go.
Then I got the contact from behind. I don’t know who it was. The car was fine after that.

I could still keep doing good laps, and we were still in the game. Everything was good. Then just before I came into the pits, the car fully shut off on me. When Nick jumped in, we couldn’t start it and that started a big snowball that kept on rolling with issues. It’s tough. It was a long fix.”

End of race
Best C8.R could do is finish 6th in class and 30th overall

CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Tough Debut in GTD PRO
Corvette C8.Rs, team soldier through to complete full 24 hours

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2022) – Corvette Racing made it through a tumultuous Rolex 24 At Daytona on Sunday and gained valuable information on its Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs in their new GT Daytona (GTD) PRO configuration.

The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette of Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg – 2021 winners in the GT Le Mans class – led Corvette Racing’s charge with a sixth-place finish. It was a solid drive back from ninth place in the middle of the night when an electrical issue cost the team 13 laps in the garage.

The No. 3 C8.R is the team’s full-season entry in the new-for-2022 GTD PRO class.
Other than the visit to the garage late Saturday night, things ran almost like clockwork for the Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg trio.

The same couldn’t be said of the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy and Marco Sorensen.
Their C8.R appeared to be the strongest of the Corvette Racing entries in the opening hours until rear contact after a restart with Sorensen at the wheel caused significant damage near the 8.5-hour mark.

Sorensen had to brake hard to keep from hitting the wayward LMP3 car, which also just missed collecting Catsburg in the No. 3 Corvette.
The No. 4 team lost nearly 2.5 hours replacing the diffuser, exhaust pipes and starter, among other components. It eventually salvaged a top-10 class finish.

Daytona marked the only scheduled IMSA appearance for the No. 4 Corvette, which moves to the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class starting with the 1,000 Miles of Sebring (Fla.) on March 18. It is part of a combined weekend with IMSA, which will see Garcia, Taylor and Catsburg race in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 19.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO:

“This was one of those races where you wanted it to be shorter. We learned a lot and there is still more for us to learn. We had 25 or 26 stints to learn this tire. So it was a proper first real test in race conditions. We were lacking pace both days.
There still was a lot to be gained. If you add some extra testing and something else, then maybe we can be in the hunt. In the last stint, I could tell we were missing a tiny bit. If we were on the lead lap, it would have taken a tiny bit for us to be competitive. We’ll carry on to Sebring.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO:

“Other than the alternator issues, we’ve had a faultless and flawless race. The strategy and pit stops have been great. It’s good to see the team executing so well. It’s unfortunate we had that issue, otherwise we’d be fighting in the top-five somewhere.
It’s good to get the extra miles, and it’s good the guys got us back out there because we have a championship to fight for at the end of the day. We’ve made up some points by attrition.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO:

“This was nice to continue and get more experience on this tire. I think it was the right decision to keep on going and never giving up. It was a learning experience. I enjoyed it. Hopefully we will get more pace at Sebring, and we can be competitive.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – 10TH IN GTD PRO:

“It’s obviously frustrating to have the problems we did. Even so, and looking at the ultimate pace, I don’t think we had the car today to race for the win potentially. You never know in this kind of races. If you’re there at the end, and you’re close, anything can happen.
That was kind of our goal today, and obviously we didn’t achieve that. It’s frustrating from that point of view.

Even though we (the No. 4 Corvette) won’t be racing in IMSA for the full season, it’s exciting for the 3 car guys and the fans to see the racing we should have this year in GTD PRO. We haven’t really had that kind of door-to-door racing in some time.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – 10TH IN GTD PRO:

“This sort of thing does happen in motor racing. We spent way too much time in the garage today than we expected.
We bring two cars to this race for a reason, and that’s to have two shots.
To have the luck that strikes both in the middle of the night is tough to take, to be sure. It’s so surprising because it doesn’t often happen with this team.
This is motorsport and there are a lot of things that go into putting a car out on track, especially in going around for 24 hours.
Sometimes we have good days like last year, and sometimes it’s not so great like today.”

MARCO SORENSEN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – 10TH IN GTD PRO:

“It’s been a great few weeks with Corvette Racing. Of course, you come to these races wanting to compete and win. So it hurts a little bit that we didn’t get that. But in the end, it has been a fantastic experience with this team.
It’s a great bunch of guys and I like their way of going racing and how they do it. I’m just really happy to have had this chance.”