Antonio Garcia will start on the outside of the front row Sunday after leading the group of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers in qualifying for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.

Garcia, in the No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, set a best qualifying lap of 1:43.346 (113.908 mph) in Saturday’s 15-minute qualifying session. That put him 0.140 seconds off the GTD PRO pole-winning time around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn Virginia International Raceway circuit.

Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R was fifth in class at 1:43.745 (113.470 mph) and four-tenths of a second from the front row for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s lone GT-only event.
The Virginia driver was on the back foot early after being balked on his first flying lap by another car that ran ahead of both Corvettes.

The Pratt Miller squad claimed six victories at VIR under the Corvette Racing factory banner through the end of last season, including last year’s win for Garcia and Jordan Taylor in the Corvette C8.R. The Z06 GT3.R already has two VIR wins this year, as DXDT Racing swept both rounds of GT World Challenge America there earlier this year with Milner as one of its drivers.

In GTD, Orey Fidani qualified the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R 14th in class with a lap of 1:47.306 (109.704 mph).
He and Matt Bell are coming off a season-best, fifth-place finish the last time out at Road America.
A repeat or besting that result at VIR would solidify Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the year earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.