Garcia Second in GTD PRO Qualifying
Damp, traffic-filled time trials ahead of 10-hour enduro to close the C8.R era
BRASELTON, Ga. (October 13, 2023) – Corvette Racing will start second in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class after qualifying for Saturday’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Antonio Garcia qualified the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on Friday with a time of 1:24.009 (108.728 mph) in the entry he will share with Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner. It was the last qualifying run in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the C8.R, which will give way to the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R in 2024.
Garcia was sixth-fastest among all GT drivers Friday in a damp but drying 15-minute qualifying session. A persistent light rain eased just before the start of the session with the Corvette going out on rain tires – like the rest of the GTD PRO field. A combined 25 GTD cars were on track at the same time for the qualifying session, making it challenging to find space and a clear track.
Saturday’s weather should be much improved, which could swing a little bit of momentum toward Corvette as Garcia was quickest in class during Thursday afternoon’s dry practice session.
There would no better way to end the season and the life of the C8.R by winning Petit Le Mans for the first time since 2010. A victory at 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta would mean a first victory in Petit Le Mans for both Garcia and Milner, plus give Taylor a victory in his final event with Corvette Racing before returning to prototype competition next year.
Corvette Racing also can win the class title in the Michelin Endurance Cup a four-race championship made up of the WeatherTech Championship’s long-distance rounds: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans. Garcia and Taylor, Chevrolet and the No. 3 C8.R squad sit second in the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams standings, respectively, with three points to lead. Points are awarded at the four-, eight- and 10-hour marks of Petit Le Mans.
The 10-hour Petit Le Mans from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is scheduled for 11:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 14.
The race will air live on USA beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET and with the full race stream beginning at 11:35 a.m. on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air the race at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.
2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After 10 of 11 events)
Driver Standings
1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 3,495
2. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3,307
3. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 3,268
4. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 3,230
5. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 3,122
Team Standings
1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 3,495
2. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 3,307
3. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 3,268
4. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 3,320
5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 3,122
Manufacturer Standings
1. Lexus – 3,495
2. Chevrolet – 3,307
3. Mercedes-AMG – 3,268
4. Porsche – 3,230
5. Aston Martin – 3,133
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: By the Numbers
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette
• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its 25 years: Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and as of this weekend Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road Atlanta since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the new-generation Corvette C8.R (2020-current), which made its Road Atlanta debut at September’s six-hour IMSA race in 2020
• 10: Number of Road Atlanta victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2000 – eight of those at Petit Le Mans
• 10: Petit Le Mans wins for Chevrolet – eight in GT and two in Prototype. That ranks third among manufacturers in event history
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship
• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC
• 282: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
• 41,826.42: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 27 previous trips to Road Atlanta. That represents 16,690 laps or more than 653 trips around Atlanta’s Interstate 285
• 360,734.30: 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 and more than halfway back!
