Number 3 Corvette C8.R begins another full-season championship challenge in GTD PRO

Corvette Racing is back where it all started a quarter-century ago as the team returns to Daytona International Speedway for its two-week, season-opening event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

First up is the Roar Before the 24 – three days of official testing that culminates in qualifying for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The Roar runs from Friday through Sunday, with practice starting for the Rolex 24 on Thursday, January 26.

This season marks the second for Corvette Racing in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO category. This year’s lineup features the two-time IMSA championship-winning pair of Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor challenging for another full-season title, and fellow Corvette Racing veteran Tommy Milner in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

While this is the first race together for the trio, one has shared the cockpit of a Corvette with the other on multiple occasions.
While Garcia and Taylor are full-season teammates, Milner was a full-time Corvette driver in 2011 with Garcia as his long-distance teammate.
Coincidently, they went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year.

Fast-forward to 2015 and Taylor was the third driver at Le Mans with Milner and Oliver Gavin as the trio won their class in a storybook ending for Corvette Racing.
Daytona was the site of Corvette Racing’s first event in 1999. In its 12 Rolex starts since then, the program has won the race four times, the most recent coming in 2021 when Garcia, Taylor and Nicky Catsburg led a 1-2 Corvette Racing finish in the final Rolex 24 for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category.

There are eight entries from seven manufacturers in GTD PRO for this year’s Rolex 24. Combined with the regular GTD field, Corvette Racing will be in a fight among 23 production-based cars around the 3.56-mile, eight-turn circuit that combines Daytona’s super-speedway oval with its infield road course.

The Roar Before the 24 is set for Friday-Sunday with GTD qualifying for the Rolex 24 scheduled for 1:25 p.m. on Sunday.
The session will stream live around the world on IMSA.com.

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

“Going for the second time in GTD PRO at Daytona will be a little bit different. We have a year of experience now. A year ago, it was hard for us and hard for IMSA to know what to expect from the performance of our car. I hope we are in a better position this time around, especially at Daytona.
We were lacking a ton of performance, and we were not competitive and couldn’t fight for wins.
I hope things change. The team has one year of experience in this category. We know our weaknesses and where we are strong.
I hope we have a chance to win.”

“For Corvette Racing, Daytona is a key part of our season. We’ve been lucky enough to win it a few times. Last year wasn’t a great year for us, but I hope we have a chance to be up there, work for it and maybe win the Rolex again.”

“It’s great to have Tommy back. I was still a third driver when he joined the team, and I was able to be in the car with him for a year. We won Le Mans together, so I think it’s a good moment to get together again and win all the other big races we can win. I haven’t won Daytona or Sebring with him, so this is a good chance to try for that.”

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

“Heading into the season, the motivation is winning as much as we can. That starts with the Rolex 24.


Last year we had a tough race in our first event in GTD. Getting an understanding about what the car needs and what the drivers need is a lot to learn. Having done the whole season a year ago, we can take what we learned into practice, and hopefully we can hit the ground running strong at Daytona.” “With the GTD PRO class growing as much as it has, Daytona will be such an important event for us.

We’ve got so many manufacturers from around the world, and it’s a big deal to represent Corvette and Chevrolet on our home turf. We won the race in 2021, and hopefully we can come back with a strong car in GTD after learning what we did a year ago.

Furthermore, we’re definitely hoping for another watch this year.” “It was kind of sad not having Tommy in the IMSA field last year. He’s been a staple in this sport for so many years. I know he enjoyed WEC and exploring the different tracks. For us, it’s nice to have him back home.

The last time we drove the same car, we won Le Mans back in 2015, so we have a lot of good history and good memories. We had a good battle back in 2021 around Daytona. He’s one guy you’d rather have in your car than racing against. Hopefully we can go win some more races together.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

The team had a pretty tough year last year. They won at Sebring and were competitive at some places, but for the most part the first year bringing a GTLM car down to GTD was challenging, for sure. I would say expectations for Daytona, we go there to win. That’s why we race
. Last year was a big challenge for us. We were very slow in a straight line, hopefully that will be better. The goal is to win the race and winning a championship.

“Daytona itself is a huge part of the IMSA championship and endurance racing around the world. It kicks off the racing season around the world.
The track itself is not crazy difficult, but the race itself is challenging. You have to have a car that is good in all kinds of conditions.

It can get pretty hot in the daytime and also freezing at night. The oval itself poses its own challenges. It’s one car from each manufacturer and great driver lineups with great teams. So it’s a challenge for all of us as drivers and a team to compare ourselves to some of the best in the world. It’s a challenge that Corvette Racing is always up for. No matter what hand we’re dealt, we’ll work our magic to get our Corvette up front.”

“I enjoyed my time last year in WEC to go all around the world and represent Corvette Racing. To go around the world and show off this Corvette to a lot of fans who have never seen the car before was special. As an American kid, being at home is quite nice, and the chance to race the three major races in the IMSA championship is fantastic.”

Antonio Garcia is hopeful that Corvette C8.R Racing will be able to fight for the GTD Pro class win in next weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona in the second year of the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD program.

The Pratt Miller-run squad, which celebrates its 25th year in IMSA competition this year, will again field a solo full season GTD Pro entry for Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor, who finished third in the championship last year with only single win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to their credit.
Garcia and Taylor will team up with fellow factory driver Tommy Milner for this year’s long-distance races, beginning with Daytona as well as Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“Going for the second time in GTD Pro at Daytona will be a little bit different,” said Garcia. We have a year of experience now.
A year ago, it was hard for us and hard for IMSA to know what to expect from the performance of our car.
I hope we are in a better position this time around, especially at Daytona. We were lacking a ton of performance, and we were not competitive and couldn’t fight for wins.
“I hope things change. The team has one year of experience in this category. We know our weaknesses and where we are strong. I hope we have a chance to win.”
Garcia, Taylor and Nicky Catsburg recorded a sixth place class result in the 2022 season opener after struggling for pace with its GTE-spec car adapted to GT3 regulations, which included the use of customer Michelin S9M tires.

It proved to be a common trend over the course of the season, with the team unable to mount a championship fight to the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Heading into the season, the motivation is winning as much as we can,” Taylor said. That starts with the Rolex 24.
Last year we had a tough race in our first event in GTD.

Getting an understanding about what the car needs and what the drivers need is a lot to learn.
“Having done the whole season a year ago, we can take what we learned into practice, and hopefully we can hit the ground running strong.”
Taylor said the increased field of GTD Pro entries at nine cars for Daytona will present an even greater challenge.

Unlike last year’s two-car effort at Daytona, only the No. 3 Corvette C8.R has been entered, with GM sports car racing program manager having cited supply chain challenges and chassis availability as the reason to focus on a single car.
The class is represented by eight manufacturers, although that number is expected to be reduced to five manufacturers and teams that are committed to the full season.
“With the GTD Pro class growing as much as it has, Daytona will be such an important event for us,” Taylor said.

We’ve got so many manufacturers from around the world, and it’s a big deal to represent Corvette and Chevrolet on our home turf.
“We won the race in 2021, and hopefully we can come back with a strong car in GTD after learning what we did a year ago. We’re definitely hoping for another watch this year.”

Garcia added: “For Corvette Racing, Daytona is a key part of our season,” he said. We’ve been lucky enough to win it a few times.
“Last year wasn’t a great year for us, but I hope we have a chance to be up there, work for it and maybe win the Rolex again.”

The Roar Before the 24, the qualifying event for the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona, runs January 20th-22nd culminating in qualifying.
This year, IMSA reverts to the traditional form of class-by-class qualifying as featured at other rounds of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, rather than the sprint race we’ve seen at the Daytona road course for the last two years.

Still, it’s worth noting who the defending pole-winners are:

DPi (now GTP) – Wayne Taylor Racing Acura
LMP2 – PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports
LMP3 – Andretti Autosport
GTD Pro – TR3 Racing (Lamborghini) – not present this year
GTD – Winward Racing (Mercedes)

And it’s worth noting, too, that none of the polesitters went on to win their respective class.

The first two days of practice at The Roar, which features a total of five practice sessions, will not be broadcast, although the VP SportsCar Challenge can be watched on both IMSA.TV and on Peacock. IMSA.TV will then broadcast qualifying live on Sunday afternoon at 1.20pm ET.

Practice for the Rolex 24 starts on Thursday, January 26th, with four further practice sessions – the last on Friday evening is for GTP class only – but none of these will be broadcast. As for the race beginning Saturday afternoon, live coverage is available on Peacock for the full 24-hour cycle, while NBC will provide 10 mins build-up and then the first 50 minutes of the race, and then the final 1hr40mins and 20 mins of post-race, while the USA Network covers 13.5 hours of the race.
For details, see below:

When is the Roar Before the 24?
Friday, January 20 – Sunday, January 22

When is qualifying for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona?
Sunday, January 22 at 1.25pm ET

How can I watch qualifying for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona?
IMSA TV, with coverage beginning at 1.20pm ET.

How can I watch the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona?
Peacock will broadcast all 24 hours
IMSA TV will broadcast all 24 hours
Saturday, 1.30-2.30pm – NBC
Saturday, 2.30-8.00pm – USA network
Saturday, 10.00-11.59pm – USA network
Sunday, 6.00am-12.00pm – USA network
Sunday, 12.00-2.00pm – NBC

What type of track is Daytona?
The Daytona International Speedway road course is a 3.56-mile layout that incorporates all three turns of the banked tri-oval but inserts a fiddly infield section and a ‘Bus Stop’ chicane to create a total of 12 turns?

What’s the average lap speed?
Driving a Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R last year, the 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou set a new race lap record around the course of 1min33.724sec, an average speed of 136.74mph.

First IMSA event of the year and C8.R gets BOP as always,

With that BOP C8.R is no better than last year :-(


1 of 2 practice sessions for today is completed, and C8.R was 1 second slower on best lap, worse brought out 1 of the red flags

Three red flags interrupted the session,
the first two for LMP3 cars stuck on track,
the third for the No. 3 GTD PRO Corvette stopped, possibly with a loose wheel or suspension problem.

Second Practice, even worse

The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD of Jordan Taylor suffered steering failure in the opening session, which resulted in the GTD Pro entry slamming into the wall on the exit of the Le Mans Chicane. It returned to action in Friday afternoon’s session, having set only the sixth-quickest time in the GTD Pro class.

Taylor said of the incident:
“We left the Bus Stop and didn’t have many options. There isn’t a lot of room for error there, and we had some contact.
It’s definitely unfortunate to kick off the week that way, but we’d rather do it now than later this week or next week during the Rolex.”

One of three practice sessions completed and C8.R even did worse than yesterday

Fourth practice completed
One more night practice today and then qualify tomorrow to see how they line up for the Rolex 24 hour race next weekend

The first green flag of the 2023 racing season at Daytona International Speedway will drop this weekend, as IMSA fans will descend upon the track in preparation for the Roar Before the 24 weekend at Daytona.

The following weekend will be the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.

Some of Sundays practice

After qualify was completed, here is how the GTD-Pro cars line up for the start for the 2023 IMSA Rolex 24 hour race

A new season and Corvette Racing’s 25th will see Antonio Garcia and the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R start fourth in class for next weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.

During Sunday’s 15-minute qualifying session, Garcia posted the best lap of 1:48.077 (118.582 mph) around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course to slot into the top-five in the GT Daytona (GTD PRO) class and 12th among all GTD entries for the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 3 Corvette with Garcia teaming with Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia completed 146 laps for nearly 520 miles across the three-day Roar Before the 24 test days. The focus now turns to adding a sixth class win at the Rolex 24, the last coming in 2021.

As is traditionally the case, exploring different mechanical setups and aero configurations were the most important items to cross off during the Roar.
Aside from a steering issue in Friday’s opening session, the Corvette spent minimal time in the pit lane, which helped maximize the amount of data gathering for next week.
This is the second year for Corvette Racing in the GTD PRO class, which is composed of GT3-level cars from multiple manufacturers. Corvette Racing won one race in 2022 and finished third in the GTD PRO championship.

Corvette Racing returns to the track for the first official Rolex 24 practice at 11:05 a.m. ET on Thursday.

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

“It was a little bit messy. I didn’t know which cars had Pro drivers and which had Bronze drivers. I got caught out a few times, but that’s just the way it is. Whatever I lost behind in traffic is what I gained on the draft, so it was a trade-off.
The track changed a little bit with the rain yesterday, but it was pretty much the same in the end. The wind was pretty strong, so the car felt a little slower.
We will see what we can find in the data to try and be a little quicker next week.”

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

“From a pace perspective, it’s hard to tell where we’re going to stack up next week.
For us, we’re focusing on what we can control.
We’ve made a lot of headway, especially since 2022. When we hit the ground here last year, we were guessing on what was going to work and what wasn’t going to work.
Coming in this year, I feel like we are so far ahead of where we were last year.
This weekend went smoothly other than one incident we had. Now we’re fine-tuning the car and making small changes here and there to make all three drivers happy.
It’s nice to have three guys who agree on what the car should feel like. We’re all heading in the same direction from a setup point of view.
This weekend was about doing the little things, not just in the driver side, but also on the crew side and engineering side with things like pit stop practice and driver change practice. We’re very much prepared for next week.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“Last year was very different with the required changes we had to make for the GTD spec.
From a driver’s perspective, we need to be diligent with our preparation into next week. The car was really good yesterday in both the wet and dry conditions.

We made some progress there, and we’ll come up with a plan to get more speed out of it if we can.
Having had a full year on this car and tire combination, the crew has the car already in a better place than last year.
We have the knowledge and experience from last year, which is helpful.
The goal obviously is to win this race, so we’ll take whatever we can from last year’s race and last year’s season to apply it to this year’s Rolex 24.”

It’s not just the sophistication and technical relevance of the cars competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona this week that has piqued interest in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener to heights unseen in years.
It’s also the outstanding list of drivers from all over the world who will battle for 24 hours for the right to earn one of the most prestigious prizes in motorsport.

The 61st running of the twice-around-the-clock spectacle at Daytona International Speedway features the rebirth of the heralded Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, but with a major state-of-the-art twist. The nine prototypes entered in GTP contain an electrified hybrid powertrain system paired with an internal combustion engine designed by each of the four global auto manufacturers.
The anticipation for the actual racing debut of these forward-thinking machines has been, well, electric.

Four other competition classes will be in the heralded race as well Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) making for a jam-packed field of 61 cars (appropriate for the 61st running) eager to get started in what’s considered the traditional worldwide kickoff for the racing season. And with the list of drivers and teams involved, it’s no wonder that the Rolex 24 grabs international attention.

Of the 234 drivers on the entry list, 62 are past Rolex 24 overall or class winners. More than three dozen have conquered the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
There are three past Indianapolis 500 winners and even the reigning Daytona 500 champion from NASCAR.

NBC Sports has complete race coverage beginning on NBC network at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Stints will follow on the USA Network (2:30-8 p.m. Saturday; 10-11:59 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m.-noon Sunday) before returning to NBC for the dramatic conclusion from noon-2 p.m. Sunday. Peacock, IMSA’s livestream home, has flag-to-flag coverage of all 24 hours in the U.S.
The international livestream is available in most countries outside the U.S. at IMSA.com/TVLive. IMSA Radio also has complete coverage.

Four of the five winning teams from the 2022 Rolex 24 return in their classes, though each has gone through some change and the competition level has been raised across the board:

Grand Touring Prototype (nine cars entered): Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian used the win last year in the discontinued Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class as a springboard to the season championship.
Now the No. 60 starts anew with the new hybrid-based car, the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, and things appear promising. Tom Blomqvist converted a last-lap dash to win the Motul Pole Award in qualifying on Sunday; that after the No. 60 sat atop the speed chart for most of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test sessions.

Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud return to defend the 2022 victory, with Colin Braun filling out the lineup as Blomqvist’s season-long co-driver. Competition will be stiff, however, as Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport races its own Acura ARX-06, Porsche Penske Motorsport enters a pair of Porsche 963s, BMW M Team RLL has two BMW M Hybrid V8s, and Cadillac enters three cars – two from Chip Ganassi Racing and a third from Action Express Racing.

Le Mans Prototype 2 (10 cars entered): The winning team from a year ago (DragonSpeed USA) isn’t back, but two of the winning drivers are. Eric Lux and Devlin DeFrancesco have moved to the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ORECA LMP2 07, where they’re joined by Formula 1 driver Pietro Fittipaldi and Austin Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 winner.

Le Mans Prototype 3 (nine cars entered): Riley Motorsports is seeking a Rolex 24 three-peat in this class, as is driver Gar Robinson in the No. 74 Ligier JS P320. Felipe Fraga joined Robinson in last year’s win, and they’ll have a pair of new co-drivers this year in Glenn van Berlo (younger brother of Kay, who was part of the No. 74 winner in 2022) and Josh Burdon.

GT Daytona Pro (10 cars entered): Variety is the spice in this GT3-specification class, with eight manufacturers represented. The race-winning Pfaff Motorsports team returns, but with a completely new driver lineup (Klaus Bachler, Patrick Pilet and Laurens Vanthoor) and a new 992 generation version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. A late entry list change finds the No. 53 MDK Motorsports Porsche, whose lineup includes sports car great Jan Magnussen, moving from the GTD class
to GTD PRO.

GT Daytona (23 cars entered): The largest class in the field returns the defending winner in Wright Motorsports and three drivers from that No. 16 Porsche Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen and Zacharie Robichon. Dennis Olsen fills out the four-driver roster.

But with so many entries and eight manufacturers involved, it’s a crapshoot determining who may be the favorite.
Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini each have new or updated cars making their racing debuts. How will they fare over the grueling 24 hours?

Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 26-29, 2023


Daytona International Speedway

Circuit Length: 3.56 miles


Entry by Class:

GTP-9LMP2 - 10

LMP3 - 9

GTD PRO - 8

GTD - 25


Television/Online Broadcast: (ROLEX 24)


SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2023 (All times ET)


USA:


1:40 pm ET- 11:59 pm ET Peacock TV

1:30 pm ET -2:30 pm ET NBC

2:30 pm ET- 8:00 pm ET USA

10:00 pm ET-11:59 am ET USA


International:

1:35 pm ET- 11:59 pm ET IMSA TV


SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023 (All times ET)


USA:


12:00 am ET- 1:40 pm ET Peacock TV

6:00 am ET-12:00 pm ET USA

12:00 pm ET -2:00 pm ET NBC


International:

12:00 am ET- 1:40 pm ET IMSA TV


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


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

After 3 /1 and 6 Hours standings

Heading into 7th hours

The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 lost 20 laps after being taken behind the wall to solve electrical issues during the sixth hour of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Porsche’s challenge in the opening race of the new GTP era was dented by the setback for its No. 7 machine, which is shared by Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr and Michael Christensen.

It is the second LMDh-spec car to encounter a significant problem, after the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 developed an issue with its spec hybrid system in the first hour.

Porsche Penske Motorsport changed the battery of its No. 7 car, performing the operation in 35 minutes.

With a quarter of the race completed, Simon Pagenaud pitted the leading Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 which handed the position to Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura driver Filipe Albuquerque.

As the leader at the six-hour mark, WTR Andretti provisionally scored five points for the Michelin Endurance Cup.

Pipo Derani ran second aboard the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-LMDh, with Helio Castroneves slotting into third for MSR after taking over the No. 60 Acura from Simon Pagenaud.

Aside from the No. 7 Porsche’s electrical dramas, Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 01 Cadillac lost minor ground due to an on-track.

An LMP3 competitor hit Scott Dixon from behind as the New Zealander slowed in avoidance of the spinning Tower Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson, which had in turn rotated after contact with the MSR Acura.

TDS Racing held a one-two in the LMP2 class at the one-quarter timestamp, with Rinus Veekay in the No. 11 Oreca running just under half a minute clear of teammate Job van Uitert in the sister No. 35 machine.

Similarly, Aston Martin team The Heart of Racing held sway in the GT ranks, as Ross Gunn led the GTD Pro class and Marco Sorensen held the top spot in GTD.

Gunn powered past Tommy Milner’s No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD on the run down to the Le Mans chicane to hit the front in the Pro division.

Milner also lost a place to Jules Gounon in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, while GTD contenders Sorensen and Maximilian Goetz – driving for Team Korthoff Motorsports sat between them and Gunn’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Cadillacs were running 1-2 as the Rolex 24 At Daytona heads into the ninth hour, Alex Lynn taking the lead in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing V-LMDh from Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Racing car toward the end of the hour. It was the 19th lead change in the race.
The No. 31 has reportedly lost telemetry, however, meaning the drivers will have to verbally report energy usage back to the pit stand.

Brendon Hartley ran third in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, with Nick Tandy fourth in the No. 6 Porsche.
The racing has been hard-fought and traffic has continued to play a part, Hartley putting two wheels on the grass at one point while passing lapped cars.

The GTD PRO leaders are beginning to flock together.
Heart of Racing remains out front with David Pittard still driving the No. 23, but Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F is beginning to apply pressure.

Class leaders after the eighth hour:

GTP: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-LMDh
LMP2: Ben Keating, No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA
LMP3: Rasmus Lindh, No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier
GTD PRO: David Pittard, No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage
GT3 GTD: Mikael Grenier, No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3

Press Release:

No. 3 Corvette C8.R moves toward the front in GTD PRO in opening hours of Rolex 24

CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Eight-Hour Update
No. 3 Corvette C8.R moves toward the front in GTD PRO in opening hours of Rolex 24


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2023) – Corvette Racing opened the Rolex 24 At Daytona in strong style Saturday as the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R spent ample time out front during the first eight hours.

Antonio Garcia was in the middle of a triple stint in his second round in the GTD PRO challenger. All three drivers Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner double-stinted in their initial rotations in the Corvette. As the clock moved past the eight-hour mark, Garcia ran fourth in class and fifth of all GTD cars.

The No. 3 C8.R started fourth in GTD PRO and 11th among the GTD category. Garcia wasted little time in moving forward and gained eight overall positions and ran third in GTD PRO by the time he made his first stop shy of the one-hour mark.
He continued strong pace in the daytime and moved to second in class before he stopped to swap over Taylor.

The No. 3 Corvette benefitted from a full-course yellow just after Taylor got in the car, and he moved into the lead shortly after the restart. He drove just shy of eight hours before Milner drove in the race for the first time. The pace of some of the competing cars increased in the dark and colder temperatures, but Milner kept the Corvette clean and in contention as the driver rotation began again.

Corvette Racing’s next update will come at the 16-hour mark.

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

"It's been good so far. The pace was excellent. I don't know who was starting in every car. It's tough to judge who was driving and how aggressive you could be. I tried to be careful on the start, but lost the right-hand mirror anyway. The pace seems to be wonderful. I was able to pass people; the infield seems OK and the slipstream seems to be doing the job to get by.
Of course, once you get to the front, the slipstream goes away, and you're pretty much stuck with that you have.
But it looks pretty good, but there are many hours to go.

"Coming into the race, we didn't know the pace we would have. At the start, I kind of pushed and was a little bit aggressive. I could get closer and closer to other cars and could pass them. That was something new compared to last year when we were basically just hanging around on the oval. It's good to know we can pass cars.
Let's see, it's still too early into the race, but we have pace, and we are up there. Now it's time to start tuning everything we have toward tomorrow, and let's see where we are. Tomorrow is a different day, and it's supposed to be hotter, so we'll see where everybody stands."

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

"The stint was OK. I think we were expected pace-wise. We don't have the outright pace to compete with the top guys. I think we cycled through the front through some strategy and some slower guys getting in the car. We fought to the front in my last stint.
The LMP3 cars on the restarts are as we thought. I was able to make some moves and pass some LMP3s to gap myself to the GTD field, and that helped us keep that lead through the stint. The name of the game right now is staying out of trouble, which is difficult in traffic, but so far so good."

MORE ON THE OPENING RUN:

"So far, so good. Antonio was able to get up to P3 in his stint, and then we were able to cycle to the lead and stay there for a couple of hours.
The competition is tough. We don't have the fastest car right now, but I think through pit stop cycles and strategy, we can stay out front.
There's a long way to go. Hopefully, come tomorrow morning, we'll be in a good spot."

DEALING WITH GTP TRAFFIC AND COMFORT LEVEL:

"It's not bad. I think most of those guys are somewhat conscious as opposed to previous years with the cars maybe not as reliable. So you can tell they're a little more hesitant, which is nice for us. The closing rates at places like the Kink are a little faster, but nothing too crazy. It's usually the LMP2s or LMP3s that kind of cause more issues for us."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

The first stint for me went OK. We were close to the front when I got in, but dropped back a little bit throughout. My first stint was difficult; the tire pressure was a little too high, so that was tricky at first. The second was a lot better.
Right now, the name of the game is keeping the car in one piece and making sure we get the strategy right. We’ll see how Antonio does in his run. It seems like we were quite quick in the warmer temperatures and maybe not so much in the cooler stints, so we’ll see how it goes through the night.

RETURNING TO IMSA:

“I’m back with Brian (Hoye) again. I’ve spent a lot of years with Brian as my crew chief, so that feels very normal. I’ve been with this program for many years; I think this is my 13th season with Corvette Racing. We have a lot of new faces in some ways, but some familiar ones as well. It feels like home, no matter who’s on the car and who’s engineering the car.
The formula at Corvette Racing is shared among everyone. It doesn’t matter who’s putting on tires, who’s putting in the fuel, who’s engineering or who’s driving. We’re all trying to do the same job, and that’s to put our Corvette out front.”

Jack Hawksworth had the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 in the GTD PRO lead for the first time, with Daniel Juncadella (No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG), Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette) and Alex Riberas (No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage) in pursuit, no GTD cars in their way.

Sean Creech Motorsports has cycled to the front of LMP3, Nico Pino now in the No. 33 Ligier, as the No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier has slid backwards.

Class leaders after the ninth hour:

GTP: Renger van der Zande, No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac

LMP2: Alex Quinn, No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA

LMP3: Nico Pino, No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier

GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3

GTD: Kyle Marcelli, No. 93 Racers Edge with WTR Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

In the GT classes, it’s the same faces with the No.79 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 leading in GT Daytona PRO and the No.57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 leading in GT Daytona.
The No.3 Corvette C8.R, currently second, and the No.32 Team Korthoff Mercedes-AMG GT3, currently third, are both looking to join the conversation for the lead of their respective classes.

Class leaders after the 17th hour:

GTP: Renger van der Zande, No.01 Cadillac Racing V-LMDh
LMP2: Esteban Gutierrez, No.04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA 07
LMP3: Joao Barbosa, No.33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P320
GTD PRO: Jules Gounon, No.79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
GTD: Indy Dontje, No.57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Chip Ganassi Racing ran 1-2 with nine hours remaining in the Rolex 24 at Daytona following delays for the pair of Acura ARX-06s and a trip to the garage for the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-LMDh.
Sebastien Bourdais put the No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh out front, passing the No. 6 Porsche 963 of Nick Tandy just prior to the end of the 14th hour.

Bourdais held a 0.794-second lead over the sister No. 02 CGR entry of Alex Lynn, with Tandy having dropped to third although was due a pit stop.
Drama for the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac saw Pipo Derani slow on track prior to having limped his way to the garage with left-rear suspension damage after contact with a GTD car. Derani had been running fourth at the time.

It came after both Acura GTP class entries have faced lengthened pit stops for oil flushes, due to fuel seeping into the oil systems, according to an Acura spokesperson.
The pole-sitting No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing entry, which has been the fastest car on track, made at least three oil flushes since the start of the race, including twice in the last three hours.
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s Acura, meanwhile, made a brief trip to the garage in Hour 13 to fix an oil filler bracket, then performed an oil flush in pit lane with Louis Deletraz at the wheel.

The WTR Andretti entry dropped two laps behind the leading GTP entries as a result of the extra service as well as a pit lane penalty for working on the car while under a closed pit.
The Heart of Racing’s Roman De Angelis took over the GTD class lead following a hard-fought battle with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Philip Ellis.
The two GTD entries, which ran ahead of the GTD Pro pace-setting No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes of Dani Juncadella, benefitted from a drive-through penalty to the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes of Maxi Goetz for jumping the restart following the race’s seventh full course caution.

Magnus Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 also dropped down the running order due to a stop-and-hold plus 60-second penalty for running the red light at pit exit.
An accident by Hugh Plumb in the No. 64 Team TGM/TF Sport Aston Martin brought out the most recent yellow in the 14th hour, resulting in a lengthy period to retrieve the GTD Pro class entry.

The No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 Gibson of Ben Hanley led LMP2, while LMP3 was topped by the No. 17 AWA Duqueine D08 Nissan of Nico Varrone.

No. 3 Corvette loses, gains back laps, positions in fast-paced middle eight hours

An up-and-down middle eight hours saw Corvette Racing re-emerge from two laps down and back into contention for a class victory as daylight approached for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R ran third in the GT Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) class and fifth among all GTD runners after 16 hours in the season-opening race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

The three Corvette Racing drivers – Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner – each drove triple-stints as they rotated through the C8.R for the second time.
Garcia, who started the race Saturday, worked with the Corvette Racing engineers to improve tire performance through his three stints. By the time he handed over to Taylor a little before the 10-hour mark, the C8.R was in a better state than when Garcia took over, as Taylor left the pitlane in the class lead thanks to a solid stop by the Corvette pit crew.

Things began to look dire near the 10.5-hour mark when the No. 3 Corvette suffered a left-rear flat tire just before Taylor came on the Turn 1 speedway banking while running second in class. He nursed the car back to pitlane even as the tire came off the wheel before the Corvette made it back to pit entry.
The team quickly changed tires but had to stop a lap later to change the Corvette’s rear brakes due to damage from the flat tire. It dropped the No. 3 C8.R to two laps down.

Critically, Taylor was able to stay ahead of the GTD PRO leader and not lose another lap before a full-course yellow just before the halfway point of the race. The Corvette Racing crew got a lap back during a pass-around before stopping for fuel and tires, and then the crew changed the front brakes a lap later to return the Corvette to full strength – and the lead lap – with just over 11-and-a-half hours to go.

Taylor gave way to Milner from the sixth position in class about an hour later, with the Corvette rejoining in fifth. Less than an hour into his opening stint, the race’s eighth full-course caution drew Milner closer to the front. He ran third in class and seven seconds from the lead as the race entered the final eight hours.

3/3) We were able to get a wave around to get our lap back (while also sneaking in a front brake change).
Since then, we've been working our way up through the pack and now sit third as the sun starts to rise.

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

“Things are still not bad. I don’t know where the pace will become the morning time. Temperatures will be completely different. So far the pace has been good. Overall, everyone is pushing hard, I believe. I’m sure that will lead to some mistakes.
But we’re almost halfway through and let’s see. We’re still up there and that’s good. Hopefully it comes our way a little bit. But I’m not complaining. The car feels decent. We are up front, and that’s where we need to be.”

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

“Oh my gosh, leading for a while to begin with, and then we lost a tire and two laps.
The guys made some kind of crazy call timing-wise to where we could do a brake change and not lose any time.
Then we got a lucky yellow to get back on the lead lap and new front brakes too. It was a wild stint to go two laps down and then back on the lead lap to stay in contention. The car is still good and is in one piece.
The name of the game is still staying out of trouble. Hopefully we can make up a couple more spots now this morning and be in a good spot come sunrise.”

Evolution of the Corvette during the night: “The driving style feels kind of weird. I think the car in the cold doesn’t like to be pushed on too hard and leaned on too hard. I think it’s a driving style in the way our car works the tire. When the sun comes back up,
Antonio was really strong at the start of the race when it was warm, so hopefully that bodes well for us.”

19 Hours standings

20 Hours completed and C8.R now holding first place for some time

Up front, the No. 01 Chip Ganasssi Racing Cadillac continues to extend its lead over the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura two of three cars on the lead lap at the moment, the No. 02 Cadillac still in third. Scott Dixon remains at the wheel of the No. 1, while Simon Pagenaud is now in the No. 60.

GTD PRO is still a fight between Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG. Ben Barnicoat and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RCF remains on the same lap, but have a large gap to Juncadella.
It’s Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG battling in GTD, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Vantage driven by Darren Turner holding the lead over Winward Racing’s No. 57 (Philip Ellis) and looking quite strong.

“The AMG is good on long pace, but it seems the Astons are a little better on new tires,” said Winward Racing driver Daniel Morad.

Class leaders after the 20th hour:

GTP: Scott Dixon, No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh

LMP2: Ben Hanley, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing with APR ORECA

LMP3: Thomas Merrill, No 17 AWA Duqueine

GTD PRO: Jordan Taylor, No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette

GTD: Darren Turner, No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage

The lead changed in the GTD Pro class just after the restart, as Jules Gounon beat Tommy Milner into the Le Mans chicane to put the WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo ahead of the factory No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD

Bummer as at least 2 times during yellows Garcia goes into first place and when green flag waves,
you blink and each time he ends up in 3rd place.

Cost, ends race in second place :-(

GTD PRO came down to a fight between the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG, the No. 3 Corvette and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
Prior to the final restart, it was a flurry of position changes between the three, but in the end Maro Engel brought the WeatherTech Racing home first to claim the victory with Cooper MacNeil, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon.
Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner took second for Corvette,
with Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and Mike Conway third for Lexus.

Corvette Racing started its 25th season of competition with a runner-up class finish Sunday in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner teamed up for the second-place GT Daytona (GTD) PRO result in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

After a drive back from two laps down in the middle of the night due to a flat left-rear tire and a rear brake change, the No. 3 C8.R moved back to not just contention for the Rolex victory, but to the lead just before sunrise Sunday morning.

The chaotic events of the middle eight hours looked like they would give way with a caution-free run of more than five hours into mid-morning. Taylor drove a double-stint for his final laps in the car and led the class multiple times.
At that point and with a little more than three hours to go, Milner took over from Taylor and drove two stints of hard, intense racing that saw the Corvette and two other competitors swap the GTD PRO lead.

Milner gave way to Garcia for an even more chaotic final one hour, 45 minutes. The top three cars – the 3 Corvette, the 14 Lexus and 79 Mercedes – swapped back and forth through three full-course caution periods in the span of an hour and 20 minutes before a final 26-minute run to the flag with Garcia coming home second in class.

An up-and-down middle eight hours saw Corvette Racing re-emerge from two laps down and back into contention for a class victory as daylight arrived Sunday. The three Corvette Racing drivers each drove triple-stints through the darkness as they rotated through the C8.R for the second time.

Garcia, who started the race Saturday, worked with the Corvette Racing engineers to improve tire performance through his three stints. By the time he handed over to Taylor a little before the 10-hour mark, the C8.R was in a better state than when Garcia took over, as Taylor left the pitlane in the class lead thanks to a solid stop by the Corvette pit crew.

Things began to look dire near the 10.5-hour mark when the No. 3 Corvette suffered a left-rear flat tire just before Taylor came on the Turn 1 speedway banking while running second in class. He nursed the car back to pitlane even as the tire came off the wheel before the Corvette made it back to pit entry.
The team quickly changed tires, but had to stop a lap later to change the Corvette’s rear brakes due to damage from the flat tire. It dropped the No. 3 C8.R to two laps down.

Teammates Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, and Tommy Milner secured a second-place finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It feels great to be back, see you all at Sebring in March!
Critically, Taylor was able to stay ahead of the GTD PRO leader and not lose another lap before a full-course yellow just before the halfway point of the race. The Corvette Racing crew got a lap back during a pass-around before stopping for fuel and tires, and then the crew changed the front brakes a lap later to return the Corvette to full strength and the lead lap with just over 11-and-a-half hours to go.

Taylor gave way to Milner from the sixth position in class about an hour later, with the Corvette rejoining in fifth. Less than an hour into his opening stint, the race’s eighth full-course caution drew Milner closer to the front. He ran third in class and seven seconds from the lead as the race entered the final eight hours.
Corvette Racing’s next event in the WeatherTech Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 18.

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

“P2 at Daytona it was a bit crazy out there. With the P3 cars ahead of us, it was a lottery, especially in turns One and Three.
Everybody was getting super crazy. When you have a car with ABS, you can just go for it, and that’s what people are doing. But we did all we could. That was all we had. A lot of times, I was very surprised to be where we were. We seemed to be good on fuel, which seemed to be our only chance.
We just didn’t have the outright pace.”

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

“The Rolex 24 is always kind of a stand-alone race for us every year. If you look at our race as a whole, we had some adversity during the night, but came from two laps down. Everyone executed well.
We were in the hunt most of the way. We didn’t have the outright pace, but it was a true Corvette Racing race where we battled our way back to second.
We started with a third-place car and finished second, so that’s a win in our book.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO:

“Based on how everything was going in practice and in the Roar, I think P2 in the end is quite good. When you have a chance to fight for the win like that and for us to run up front for so much of the race, to miss it by that much at the end is tough.

We knew going in that the Mercedes guys were quick, the Aston was quick, the Lexus was quick. It was a great job by the team to persevere and to keep pushing all throughout the race. My teammates did a great job. We were just missing a little bit of pace at the end.
It was a good race for all three of us. We were racing super-hard and pushing super-hard. Furthermore, we just came up a little short.”

Corvette Racing didn’t have the “outright pace” to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona according to drivers Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia, who, along with Tommy Milner, settled for a runner-up finish in GTD Pro.

The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD came back from a two-lap deficit to lead the race in class, totaling 201 laps up front in the around-the-clock enduro.
It came amid in a three-way battle in the closing stages that included the eventual class-winning No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maro Engel as well as Jack Hawksworth, who finished third in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

The cars, mixed with the leading GTD class entries, swapped back and forth through three full-course caution periods,
although, Garcia was unable to match the pace of Engel in the final 26-minute run to the checkered flag, finishing four seconds behind.
“Based on how everything was going in practice and in the Roar, I think P2 in the end is quite good,” Milner said.

When you have a chance to fight for the win like that and for us to run up front for so much of the race, to miss it by that much at the end is tough.
We knew going in that the Mercedes guys were quick, the Aston was quick, the Lexus was quick.
It was a great job by the team to persevere and to keep pushing all throughout the race.
“My teammates did a great job. We were just missing a little bit of pace at the end. It was a good race for all three of us. We were racing super-hard and pushing super-hard. We just came up a little short.”

The Pratt Miller-run factory squad lost ground overnight after a left-rear puncture for Taylor led to a rear brake change due to the damage caused in the rear of the car, dropping them out of initial contention.
“If you look at our race as a whole, we had some adversity during the night but came from two laps down,” Taylor said. Everyone executed well.
We were in the hunt most of the way. We didn’t have the outright pace, but it was a true Corvette Racing race where we battled our way back to second.
“We started with a third-place car and finished second, so that’s a win in our book.”

Garcia, meanwhile, noted the challenges of traffic in the 61-car starting field, particularly interaction with LMP3 machinery.
“It was a bit crazy out there. With the P3 cars ahead of us, it was a lottery, especially in Turns 1 and 3,” he said. “Everybody was getting super crazy.
When you have a car with ABS, you can just go for it and that’s what people are doing.

But we did all we could. That was all we had. A lot of times, I was very surprised to be where we were.
“We seemed to be good on fuel, which seemed to be our only chance. We just didn’t have the outright pace.”
Hawksworth: Third for Vasser Sullivan Lexus Was “All She Had”

Vasser Sullivan and Lexus scored its first Rolex 24 podium finish in GTD Pro, with Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and Toyota Gazoo Racing driver on-loan Mike Conway combining to lead 76 laps in class.
“The Vasser Sullivan team has really been flawless,” Hawksworth said. “We had good stops, great strategy, and good reliability with our Lexus RC F GT3. The Lexus worked really well, and I think that was all she had today.

We were lacking the top speed compared to the other cars who finished ahead of us, but in the infield we were strong.
Mike and Ben drove absolutely fantastic and Vasser Sullivan guys on pit wall made all the right calls and pit stops were strong.
Just an excellent, strong race.
“I hate the opportunity to miss out, but honestly there was no way for us to have anything better than a third place today and I’m happy with that.”

Here is the last 6 hours of the race