WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL / SAHLEN’S SIX HOURS OF THE GLEN
CORVETTE RACING ANTONIO GARCIA AND NICK TANDY MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT JUNE 21, 2021

Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Nick Tandy met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Monday ahead of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

“First of all, I am really looking forward to getting back there.
That is one of the races we missed last year and I really like it not just the race track but the whole event as well.
As you said, it has been quite a long time since I last won over there. We came quite close in my last appearance there (in 2019). So I’m looking forward to one of my favorite races of the year, for sure.”

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MISS SUCH AN IMPORTANT RACE FOR A YEAR WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL THERE?
IS THERE ACTUALLY SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF SKIPPING A YEAR?

“I have really missed that race track. Both the event and the racetrack itself are really, really nice to drive. So to have as many competitors as possible would be even better or even a better race for sure. But as you saw at Detroit, we only need two cars to have a good race. So, I’m sure it is going to be good fun.”

YOU HAVE WON HISTORIC ENDURANCE RACES FROM LE MANS, DAYTONA, SEBRING.
WHAT WOULD ANOTHER GLEN WIN MEAN TO YOU IN THE SIX-HOUR RACE?

“The Glen is one of my favorite events since I discovered it back in 2006, I think.
I really liked it and really wanted to win that race. I think I have only won it once or twice, I can’t remember. But every time I am there, I really like the event. The whole atmosphere with all the race fans around the area is really, really good.

So hopefully we have a really good crowd over there. And it is going to be nice during the races this year just to have more and more crowds and get more involvement between us drivers and the fans. I think we are going in the right direction so looking forward to this weekend for sure.”

YOU’VE BEEN IN SPRINT RACES AT WATKINS GLEN AS PART OF GRAND-AM, RIGHT? WITH THE SPRINT RACE NEXT WEEKEND,
DO SETUP CHANGES OR ANY ADJUSTMENTS HAPPEN BETWEEN THE SIX HOURS AND THE SPRINT RACE?

“There are a few differences. We will run into the night (during the July 2 sprint race). From what I remember, the racetrack seems to change quite a lot during the cool-down of the day and going into dusk. There are a few things we will need to learn because it’s the first time we will have run there at that time.

The experience of Corvette Racing will be good enough to help us analyze and anticipate what the car will do. It will be new for us, though, and we need to see how the track develops. It won’t be the same as it will be in the Six Hours.
You just need to react to what the track conditions are. Strategies probably will change a tiny bit.
But even in the Six Hours, when it comes to the final two hours it’s basically like a sprint race so nothing much will change.”

REFLECTIONS OF RACING AT DETROIT.

“I had been waiting to do that for a long time. I have been to Detroit several times, and I always watched the IndyCar race from Belle Isle.
I never had a chance to race there I think only Jordan had raced there (on that layout) – so it was fun to get to know the track. Who knows if we might be racing there again soon or in the future. It’s always good to get to know this track. I was impressed with how different it is than Long Beach, for example.

The speeds at Detroit are a little bit higher, and it’s very fun to drive. We only had to fight the other Corvette, but it was still a good fight. It was a good event and good preparation for the summer for Corvette Racing. We needed that to prepare for the normal IMSA season and Le Mans.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO RACE AT WATKINS GLEN, AND WHAT YOU EXPECT THIS WEEK?

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Watkins Glen actually. It is one of these iconic race tracks.
The place is so fast, especially in the latest GTLM machinery. It is a real pleasure to drive and is something that I think a lot of us missed last year not going there. Of course, this time we get to race twice there in pretty much a week.

The last time I was there we were victorious. It was always a place, and especially in the six-hour, and a race that I had wanted to be successful in for a long time. It was kind of the last of the endurance races that I got to tick off my list. I managed to do that the last time in 2019.
So really looking forward to going back to a track that is good fun to drive and good fun to get success at as well.”

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MISS SUCH AN IMPORTANT RACE FOR A YEAR WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL THERE?
IS THERE ACTUALLY SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF SKIPPING A YEAR?

“From a competition point of view, it isn’t really an issue.
I see it more from the sporting point of it that we missed. It is the fact that we did miss out on racing against other great cars on this great circuit.
Of course there are people we see at Watkins Glen that we don’t see anywhere else on the IMSA circuit.
I think from a purely competitive point of view, missing a year doesn’t affect anything from a sporting side. It just makes us more eager to go back.”

YOU ARE THE DEFENDING GTLM WINNER AT THE GLEN AND THE WINNER IN DETROIT,
SO DOES THE CONFIDENCE INCREASE THIS WEEKEND?

“Yes (laughing), I guess so. My confidence level is growing all the time with each day I spend with the team and each race I do in the car.
We had a great Detroit event for the team with both cars. The cars were competitive. The cars were reliable.

The team did a good job and we had a good fight with speed in the race and also strategy.
This got us kind of back going into the swing of things going racing.
It’s good to know we’ve had that kind of week of practice if you like.
As for Watkins Glen I remember the last time we were there.
It basically came down to a fight with my car and this other chap that is next to me in the video in a yellow Corvette!

I’m kind of hoping it will come down to that again in the next race, but this time it is the two Corvettes out front fighting it out for the last couple of hours. Yes, it’s just great to think about the fact of going back. Driving a fast car around Watkins Glen, it’s always a pleasure.
So we’re looking forward to going back to compete and hopefully bag another win for the No. 4, and if not then for our buddies in the No. 3.”

TALK ABOUT THE TRANSITION INTO CORVETTE RACING SO FAR.

“Talking purely technically about the machinery, both cars (the Corvette C8.R and Porsche 911 RSR) are quite similar for a reason.
They are made to set of regulations to run with similar power, similar grip and similar aerodynamic ability.
This is the whole idea of the class. Past that, there is a different way that I’ve found the cars achieve lap time, and this is something I kind of had to get used to quite a bit.

I won’t tell you where the cars are strong and where they’re not (laughing). But yeah, the cars are very similar. There are differences in how you operate functions within the car from a systems point of view. This is all pretty basic stuff that you learn from a manual or a sim session.
Finding the last one percent (of performance) is different. One type of car is maybe better in straight-line braking and one type of car is maybe better in the trail-brake phase.

Once you kind of get your head around it, it only takes a day or so (to get up to speed). Luckily, we have some great people at Corvette Racing and I have some great teammates to help me out with the best driving style to do this.
Past this, the hardest thing for me was to find out my place, how I could integrate into the team, find out what my role as a driver should be, and how I can best make my role as a driver to help the team go forward and that’s of course not just driving the car.

It’s been great, and every time we go to the racetrack it’s been better and better. I feel like when we go racing now, it’s my new family. I look forward to seeing them all.”

WITH THE SPRINT RACE NEXT WEEKEND,
DO SETUP CHANGES OR ANY ADJUSTMENTS HAPPEN BETWEEN THE SIX HOURS AND THE SPRINT RACE?

“Like Antonio says, the endurance races typically come down to the last two or three hours anyway your typical sprint-race length.
From a car setup point of view, everything would be pretty similar.
From a hardware point of view, the only thing we tend to do is run different brakes if we are in a 12-hour race or longer, but probably in the Six Hours we will run a sprint brake package.
So other than the track conditions changing and adapting to that, the cars will be pretty similar.”

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO IN THE FUTURE FOR YOURSELF AND OTHER CATEGORIES OF RACING?

“I don’t know where GT classes are going at the moment, honestly whether there will be global GT unification as has been talked before.
I don’t think the decision is going to be made any time soon. I don’t know perhaps other people know more about it than we do.
At the end of the day, I’ve always said I wanted to drive the fastest cars possible in the greatest championships with the greatest racing.
That changes from year to year, let alone from generation of sports car racing to generation of sports car racing.

As to what the cars and classes will be in the future, I don’t know. Given the evolution of the sport, the cars won’t be any slower or any less fun to drive.
We all like driving the fastest cars possible with the greatest teams against the greatest competition.
For me, that whole ethos has surrounded GTLM and IMSA for the last three or four years.
That’s why I’m so happy to still be in this environment.”

REFLECTIONS OF RACING AT DETROIT.

“I was pretty shocked, actually. I had seen the racetrack and event on TV, and I had driven the track on simulation software.
But I didn’t realize how much fun it would be and how fast the track at Belle Isle actually is. I must admit I really enjoyed the whole event.
I got into the whole euphoria around bringing the Corvettes back to Chevrolet’s home base and the release of the new production car that we got to drive across the bridge.

I wasn’t sure how we would approach the race weekend before we got there, but when the team said we were treating this like a normal race weekend and it would be good practice for future events, it was good competition and good fun.
I enjoyed driving the circuit and I enjoyed the event.”

Last time he raced in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Nick Tandy won.

That, of course, was a different time and a different team. Now, nearly two years since that victory with the Porsche GT Team, Tandy returns to Watkins Glen International this week with Corvette Racing, a group with which he’s grown accustomed.

“Every time we’ve gone to the racetrack, it’s gotten better and better,” Tandy said of his third official race with Corvette. “I feel like when we go racing now, it’s my new family.”
While the equipment is different from the Porsche 911 RSR-19 he drove to victory in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in 2019, Tandy is more than familiar with The Glen’s 11-turn, 3.4-mile layout.

The year away from The Glen only makes him more ambitious to return.

“From a competition point of view, (the year off) isn’t really an issue,” Tandy said. “I see it more from the sporting point of it that we missed.
It is the fact that we did miss out on racing against other great cars on this great circuit.

Of course, there are people we see at Watkins Glen that we don’t see anywhere else on the IMSA circuit.
I think from a purely competitive point of view, missing a year doesn’t affect anything from a sporting side. It just makes us more eager to go back.”

Last time Tandy raced at WGI, the sporting side was just fine for both his present and future teams.
Antonio Garcia won the pole position in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R co-driven with Jan Magnussen, then dueled with Tandy and his co-driver, Patrick Pilet, for the race win.
This time, Tandy will team with Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R.

Garcia, back in the points-leading No. 3 Corvette this weekend with co-driver Jordan Taylor, won at WGI in 2014 and scored poles in 2015 and 2019. A year away because of COVID restrictions was one year too many.

“I really miss that racetrack both the event and the racetrack itself,” Garcia said. “It’s really, really nice to drive, The Glen is one of my favorite events.
Every time I’m there, I really like the event and the whole atmosphere with all the race fans from around the area.”
Tandy remembers the most recent visit for its battle with his future team and future teammate.

“I remember the last time we were there,” Tandy said. “It basically came down to a fight with my car and this other chap next to me (Garcia) on the video in a yellow Corvette.
I’m kind of hoping it will come down to that again, that it’s the two Corvettes out front fighting it out for the last couple of hours.
Whenever you drive a fast car around Watkins Glen, it’s always a pleasure.”

While Watkins Glen will be the third points-paying race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the GTLM class, Corvette had a chance to stay fresh with a non-points run June 12 in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Detroit.

“I had been waiting to do that for a long time,” Garcia said. “I have been to Detroit several times, and I always watched the IndyCar race from Belle Isle.
I never had a chance to race there.
We only had to fight the other Corvette, but it was still a good fight. It was a good event and good preparation for the summer for Corvette Racing.”

Moving from one team to another has its challenges.
The differences between the Porsche and the Corvette were fairly simple to sort out, Tandy said. The more complicated aspect was fitting into a different organization.

“The hardest thing for me was to try to find my place,” he said. “How I can integrate into the team and find out what my role as a driver should be and how I can best make my role as a driver help the team move forward.”

All five WeatherTech Championship classes will be in action this weekend, with practice on Friday and qualifying Saturday (live stream at 11:45 a.m. ET on IMSA.com). Live coverage of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen which is also the third leg of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup begins at 10:40 a.m. Sunday on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass. The NBCSN telecast airs at 7 p.m. Sunday.

North America’s longest-running sports car program is back at The Glen – along with the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
It’s the first of back-to-back weekends at the circuit for IMSA teams and a trip that Corvette Racing is relishing.

The next two weeks including a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race on July 2 present an opportunity to make up for lost time after last year’s Six Hours was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That meant Corvette Racing didn’t have the chance to show off the mid-engine Corvette C8.R during its debut season.

Now, the Corvette quartet gets a chance to double its pleasure with more than 8.5 hours of racing during the next two weekends around the historic 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course that has played host to some of the most famous faces, manufacturers and championships in the last 60 years.

Corvette racing added itself to the honor roll of winners at The Glen with a victory in 2014.
There have been plenty of near-misses since with three consecutive podium finishes from 2017-2019.
The latest has a greater since of irony this season as Garcia and Jan Magnussen finished second in GTLM after a titanic late-race battle with Tandy, of all people.

Chevrolet on Display at Watkins Glen

In addition to happenings on the racetrack at Watkins Glen, fans will have no shortage of things to see and do from Chevrolet’s automotive product line.
That’s because the Chevrolet Motorsports Display will be full of Chevrolet vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend.

The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. from Friday plus 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in the fan midway.
Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include:

• A Corvette Racing C8.R showcar
• A 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition coupe
• Additional Chevrolet products such as the Camaro Coupe 2SS, Blazer RS, Silverado Trail Boss, and Tahoe RST
• A special display with various Corvette Racing artifacts
• An opportunity to receive a Corvette T-shirt

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen begins at 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 27.
Same-day coverage will be available from 7-10 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Live streaming video on Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App begins at 10:35 a.m. ET. Live audio coverage of qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

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

“The Glen is one of my favorite tracks. I really missed the chance to get to know the C8.R around there.
The previous car was really good there, and we had some great races.
It’s the same feeling I have about Le Mans; we missed it last year too, and these are two places where I’m looking forward to driving the C8.R around. Two consecutive races at The Glen will be interesting, but it’s good preparation for the summer and what we have coming up in our championship.”

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

“Watkins Glen is a staple of road racing in North America. All the drivers and teams love going there. It has such a huge fan base for road racing.
It was a huge loss for us last year.
Furthermore, it’s one of the coolest tracks in America and has that old-school feel that a driver enjoys and fans love to watch. It always offers great racing, and the Six Hours is a classic event on our calendar.
It’s also another endurance race that we can get under our belt before we go to Le Mans, so it checks off a lot of the boxes that we missed out on last year.”

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

“Watkins Glen is one of the classic American racetracks, and the Six Hours is one of the crown jewels of sports car racing worldwide.
To miss that one last year was a big bummer. We’re all excited to get back there this year and go for it with this new C8.R.
We haven’t raced there with this car, so we’re looking forward to seeing what it can do.
The C8.R should be pretty well-suited to a track like Watkins Glen. It’s a pretty fast and high-speed circuit. I think one place we felt like we struggled with the C7.R was the Carousel coming out of the Bus Stop. We’re excited to see what this new Corvette can do.”

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

“We missed being at Watkins Glen last year. It’s a circuit that absolutely should suit this C8.R. It’s fast, flowing and a high-downforce circuit.
Likewise, it’s just great to drive on. I can’t wait to see what the Corvette is like around there.
The last time we visited The Glen, I had a titanic tussle with Antonio and the No. 3 Corvette. It was a duel to the end!
I’m looking forward to being on the other side, going back to back at Watkins Glen but this time in a different car!”

2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM (After Two of 10 Events)
Driver Standings
1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 697
2. Cooper MacNeil – 656
3. Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 653
4. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 647
5. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi/Philipp Eng – 636

Team Standings

1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 697
2. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 656
3. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 653
4. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 647
5. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 636

Manufacturer Standings

1. Chevrolet – 720
2. BMW – 700
3. Porsche – 692
4. Ferrari – 330

Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen

2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM

2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM

In GT Le Mans, Corvette secured a front-row lockout with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R leading Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R. Garcia’s best time was a 1m40.944s and was +0.374s quicker than Milner.

“That felt fantastic
It’s always fun to qualify here. That’s when you really get to experience Watkins Glen,” Garcia said.

“You can really go for it & be really close to the walls. It was fun.
Unfortunately, I had one lap deleted (for track limits infraction), which didn’t help, but I was able to almost do it again.
The C8.R was great again. It’s always good to get on pole and to get one for Corvette Racing.”

After the 2 C8.R Corvettes came the two BMW M8 GTEs with the No. 25 BMW of Connor De Phillippi getting the better of John Edwards in the No. 24 BMW. De Phillippi’s best time was a 1m41.357s. Cooper MacNeil had qualifying duties in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR and ended the session last in class.

Corvette Racing swept the front row of GT Le Mans (GTLM) grid Saturday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with Antonio Garcia taking pole position in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Garcia led a 1-2 result for Corvette Racing with the mid-engine C8.R is on its maiden Watkins Glen International weekend. He took his second straight pole at Watkins Glen he did the same in 2019 with a lap of 1:40.944 (121.255 mph).
Tommy Milner was second in class with the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette and 0.374 seconds off Garcia’s time at 1:41.318 (120.807 mph).

Saturday’s result continues Corvette Racing’s season-long run of first-place starting positions in each of the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM races to date.
The No. 4 Corvette started on pole at Daytona and Detroit, with Garcia putting the NO. 3 C8.R on pole at Sebring.

The next several days including a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race on July 2 present an opportunity to make up for lost time after last year’s Six Hours was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That meant Corvette Racing didn’t have the chance to show off the mid-engine Corvette C8.R during its debut season.

The C8.R and Corvette Stingray production car were developed simultaneously, and the race car and production vehicle share more technology and parts than any previous-generation Corvette.
When initial Corvette C8.R design and development work began more than six years ago, Corvette Racing engineers worked closely alongside Corvette production personnel with a heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation testing.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen begins at 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 27.
Same-day coverage will be available from 7-10 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Live streaming video on Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App begins at 10:35 a.m. ET. Live audio coverage of qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER:

“That felt perfect. We’re back on pole because the last time we were here, we on pole too. It’s always fun to qualify at here. That’s when you really get to experience Watkins Glen.
You can really go for it and be really close to the walls. It was fun.
Unfortunately, I had one lap deleted (for track limits infraction), which didn’t help, but I was able to almost do it again.
The C8.R was great again. It’s always good to get on pole and to get one for Corvette Racing.”

“It was a pretty good, intense qualifying like always.
It’s always good to be out there in the best car possible and go for the fastest lap around this racetrack as well. That’s when you get to experience this track. I’m really happy with that and how everything felt, although I did have one lap deleted, which confused me a little bit because it was like almost two laps after I actually did the lap time.

Fortunately, I still had good laps left to be on pole, and I was able to improve again. It was intense, like always here at the Glen. It means a lot, but in a way it’s still six hours to go.
Furthermore, it’s going to be a classic six hours here where everything will probably come down to the last two pit stops, probably. I hope we can always be up front. I’m sure maybe we will cycle a few positions up and down with strategies. But you can’t ask for more, a Corvette one-two. So that’s pretty good.”

THE RACE OUTLOOK

“I think we will be alright. We saw this morning how cold it was compared to now. The car felt completely different in practice.
The work we did yesterday was perfect, and that will be way closer to what we will experience tomorrow.
We were competitive on Friday, and we will have to be the same in the race. Still, the Six Hours will come down to the last two or two-and-a-half.
But we are in the best spot we can be.”

WHEN YOU QUALIFY AT WATKINS GLEN, DO YOU HAVE TO SCARE YOURSELF A LITTLE BIT?

“I think you need to close your eyes a few times!
You need to get close to the walls here, for sure. That’s the fun part of it. It’s not that you have massive run-offs.
You do at Turn One and a little bit at Turn Eight. The good thing is that you still have very interesting points around the track.
This is very challenging, and we’re glad to be back.”

RULES FOR TRACK LIMITS:

“You need to keep two wheels on the curbs in Turn One and Turn Eight.
Those are the two places where you can be really close to that. The one that got invalidated, it probably wasn’t the best lap time, but I’m sure they reviewed that. And that’s the thing.
I would rather have the banner they have on Turn Eight, so that gives everybody a heads-up. We always try to find the limit and probably overshoot there.”

WHAT WILL YOU DO BETWEEN RACES?

“Just prepping the next race. Hopefully we have a clean race tomorrow, so all we need is to redo the cars.
Hopefully we won’t have anything to repair.
Also, I think I will be doing some inserts for Le Mans because we are running another chassis over there.
They need to redo the car in only two or three days and that’s a big push for (the crew).”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM:

“Obviously, going one-two is a good start for the weekend.
For us, I think the car was just a bit out of the window balance-wise to kind of put it all together. It seemed like Antonio had a couple of good laps there. I say we missed it a little bit, but the car was still super, superb and super quick.
But when you are looking for a tenth here and a tenth there, those little differences definitely make a difference.

We’ll definitely work on those and get it better for warm-up and for the race.
Obviously, the pace all weekend has felt good. The Corvettes are driving really ,really well. From the first session, the car has been super close on being a good race car. Sometimes you come to some racetracks, and you are a little lost, and you are playing catch-up.
I think right now we are in a good spot. Hopefully that holds true for the race.
The race is six hours, so a lot can happen, but this is a good start.

“Qualifying is always fun. It doesn’t matter where you are, but especially here at Watkins Glen.
You have new tires, low fuel and be able to really go for it to really crash the curbs in the Bus Stop and driving the
Carousel super, super fast with just a bit of a lift there
This track always feels fast, but especially so during qualifying.”

Within the 1st hour of the race

Dane Cameron led the opening hour of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, maintaining an Acura 1-2 from the pole.

Cameron’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 holds a 4.643-second advantage over pole-sitter Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry following the first round of pit stops in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round.

While having started second on the grid, Cameron jumped into the lead early as John Farano spun and clobbered the wall in his No. 8 Tower Motorsport by Starworks Oreca 07 Gibson in Turn 1.

A left-rear fire from the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Cooper MacNeil that happened simultaneously brought out the race’s first full-course caution on the opening lap.

MacNeil drove the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring class-winning Porsche into the pits on fire before bailing from the car in a competitor’s pit box.

It marked the first official retirement of the race.

The No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R of Renger van der Zande runs in third ahead of Pipo Derani’s No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac and the Harry Tincknell-driven No. 55 Mazda RT24-P in fifth.

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. leads halfway through the Sahlen’s Six Hours of Watkins Glen after moving up the order during a full-course yellow pit cycle. Felipe Nasr is currently in the car, but Olivier Pla in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05c is within a second of the leader.

The No. 60 Acura & the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05c seem to have the edge on the rest of the field, but they have been unable to truly pull away from the pack.

C8.R Corvette still holds the lead of the race in GT Le Mans with the No. 4 Corvette C8.R ahead of the No. 3 Corvette C8.R.
Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor are in the cars, respectively.

Behind them is the No. 25 BMW M8 of Phillipp Eng.
BMW has been unable to mount much of a challenge to Corvette thus far.

Problems for the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA 07 in the first hour and recent electrical issues for the No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA 07 have turned LMP2 into a three-horse race. It’s currently the No. 11 Win Autosport ORECA 07 ahead of the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07 and No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA 07. The cars are fairly close together after a recent restart.

The No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320 has retired from the race after contact with the No. 42 NTE Sport Audi R8 LMS GT3. They were not the only LMP3 car to hit trouble, as the No. 2 United Autosports USA Ligier JS P320 went for a spin coming out of the toe of the boot.
Damage to the right rear of the car was repaired, but the team still lost one lap on the class leaders.

In GT Daytona, it’s still the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R leading the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC-F GT3.
Those two cars have been the quickest all weekend and nothing has changed in the first half of the race.

The No.19 GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo retired from the race after a spin for Misha Goikhberg sent him careening into the wall at pit entry. A fire soon broke out in the right rear.

Goikhberg was uninjured and the fire was extinguished for the second time today by members of the Andretti Autosport LMP3 team.
The spin seemed to be the result of a mechanical failure rather than driver error.

C8.R Corvette Racing took the victory in GT Le Mans with Antonio Garcia surviving a late-race challenge from the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M8 GTE of John Edwards.

Garcia took the class lead with 30 minutes to go from teammate Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, who dropped to third behind Edwards in the scramble.

It marked Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor’s first class win since the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona & the first for the Pratt & Miller-run group at Watkins Glen since 2014.

The No. 3 Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor took home the win in GT Le Mans, getting the better of their teammates in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R and defending off a surprising challenge from the No. 24 BMW M8 in the final half-hour.

Garcia passed Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Corvette for the lead of the race, but the hole the Corvettes punched in the air by running side-by-side gave John Edwards in the No. 24 BMW the run he needed to crack the stronghold Corvette and held on the top two spots.
Garcia went from second to first as Tandy dropped from the lead to third, losing a spot to his teammate and the No. 24 BMW.

The No. 4 Corvette had a mechanical problem that was costing it speed and finished 4th

The No. 25 BMW M8 GTE of Connor De Phillippi, Philipp Eng, and Bruno Spengler ended the race in 5th.

No. 3 Corvette takes season’s second victory; Milner, Tandy charge derailed late in race

C8.R Corvette Racing returned to Victory Circle at Watkins Glen International on Sunday with a GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory for Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. They drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette to a steamy and hard-fought triumph for the team’s first win at Watkins Glen International since 2014.

Pole-winner Garcia won for the second time in the Six Hours while Taylor claimed his first victory in the event. The duo increased their lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM standings as they look to repeat their 2020 title.

The fight in the category looked like it would come down to a battle of the mid-engine Corvettes. Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy led a majority of the race in their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R with Milner taking the lead on the opening lap. The two Corvettes swapped the lead eight times throughout the six hours and were first and second on a restart with a little less than 40 minutes to go.

Tandy, who held the lead through two pit stop cycles thanks to excellent pit work and car performance, held the point when the race went back green but reported a mechanical issue that severely handicapped the No. 4 Corvette. He just missed out a podium finish for he and Milner.

That left Garcia to hold off John Edwards in the No. 24 GTLM entry over the last five laps.
The two had to battle through class leaders in other categories, and Garcia held on for a 0.845-second winning margin.

Taylor drove a marathon two-hour, 30-minute stint in the middle of the race and swapped the lead with both Tandy and Milner during his time in the No. 3 Corvette. That left Garcia to drive his own tense, nail-biting triple stint to the finish.

Corvette Racing will be back in action at The Glen for the WeatherTech 240 on Friday, July 2.
The race will air live at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage of Thursday practice along with Friday’s qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTLM RACE-WINNER:
IT LOOKED LIKE A BATTLE BETWEEN TEAMMATES BUT THEN IT GOT DIFFERENT TOWARD THE END.

“It was another great battle with our teammates and the BMWs. They were all very strong.
The start was a little confusing with all the debris in Turn One. I played it a little careful, and Tommy went around me. From that point on, it was a flat-out fight with our teammates and the BMWs. There was no time to rest.
At times, we were behind and at another times we were ahead. With about 2:30 left, the two BMWs went on a different strategy, so we had to cover them. We split ours with the 4 because we had to do it. That put us ahead of them at the time, but they got ahead when the last pit stop came.

We had the pace and knew it was going to be not only a lot of fast laps but also to manage tire wear and tire temperature. Stints here were very hard on the tires. The 4 car lost some pace at the end. I don’t know if they had some trouble. It would have been nice to get a Corvette 1-2 but in GTLM you cannot miss a thing. As soon as you start losing time, other cars are on you.
Even at the end, it felt like I had a comfortable margin over John (Edwards) of about three or four seconds.
Then all the classes got together with about two laps to go DPis, GTDs, LMP2s, LMP3s and us.
Fortunately, there were no crashes and no yellows, and I managed to stay ahead and bring home a victory. I’m happy for Corvette and Team Chevy.”

IN THE TRAFFIC DID YOU HAVE ANY CLOSE CALLS?

“Oh yes, many. Not for myself, but people trying to get by me in very, very dangerous places.
I had a three-wide I think with the 48 with Kobayashi or whoever was driving going into the grass on my right. I was just praying that any car wouldn’t hit me. That was the thing there, to stay calm but be aggressive because the No. 24 was there right behind me.
Initially I played it a little safe, but when I saw him coming, I knew I had to go. That is the classic thing.

We saw this at Sebring already. With all these classes, and the way we do these restarts with all the LMP3s going ahead of us, it creates some difficult situations on the track. But when you have that many classes on the track, that is the way it is.
You need to live with that and play it smarter than the rest. It’s not only about being fast but being smart enough to clear everybody.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTLM RACE-WINNER:
YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER AND THIS IS THE FIRST WIN AT THE GLEN FOR YOU, HOW DOES THIS FEEL?

“It is awesome. You nailed it I think.
I think this is one of the only tracks I haven’t won here on the IMSA calendar. Lime Rock might be another one. I don’t think I’ve won there. Only a couple of poles maybe. Watkins Glen has always been a big one, the Six Hours especially.
I finished second back in 2011 with Autohaus where we probably could have won the championship with that win.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it is great to be back here with Corvette Racing. The first time here with the C8.R and with testing, to come out here and win the race, and have a possible one-two it was just an unfortunate event there for the No. 4 there at the end, but I can’t be prouder of the whole team.”

A LONG HOT RACE, BUT LEADING BOTH CHAMPIONSHIPS MUST MAKE ONLY FOUR DAYS OFF A LITTLE SWEETER?

“That does definitely make nicer. It’s good to have a couple of days to rest on it as the guys go through the data to see where we can improve for next week.
It’s going to be another fight next week, and we will try and maximize the points again.

WAS IT DIFFICULT TO GET INTO A RHYTHM?

“It was definitely an odd race, especially with the LMP3 cars cycling to the front of the GT packs every time, and we have to drive through that. You saw at the end with a couple laps to go how we caught a big GT pack mixed in with some LMP3s. You mix in the Prototypes and the other cars coming though, it was mayhem.
It was crazy but at the same time that is part of IMSA.
That is what makes this series great and what makes sports car racing amazing. Thankfully, Antonio kept a cool head and brought it home.”

THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE REAR OF THE NO. 4 AT THE END?
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS AND WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR CAR?

‘We only heard what you said. I don’t think any of the guys said anything about seeing anything in the data.
The guys will go through the data. We have a couple of days to have a look at it.
This car is still relatively new, so it is good testing for us to get these endurance races under our belts before we head overseas to Le Mans.”

WINNING THE SIX HOURS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

“It was huge. I grew up watching my dad race. He always talked about his favorite tracks, and Watkins Glen was always at the top of the list. I could be wrong, but I think this is the one he didn’t win as a driver. Ricky (Taylor) won for him as a team owner, and that’s the first time he won here.
I finished second in 2011 in GRAND-AM with Tommy (Milner) as my teammate.

So it’s been high on the list every year. It seemed like something always went wrong. But this was a perfect weekend. Antonio got pole. It’s our first time here with the C8.R – no testing just time in the simulator. It was very impressive that we rolled off the truck as strong as we did. We made very minor tweaks, so big kudos to the team for the preparation coming in here.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM:

“We’ve had four races so far this year, and for all four I feel like we’ve had car that can win. Sebring didn’t last very long, but the car had been fast up till the race. Looking past that frustration, I’m happy with the performance of everyone on the 4 Corvette today, from top to bottom.

Every single person did an excellent job today. The car was great all the way to the end until the mechanical issue that gave Nick a pretty challenging final stint there. He did an awesome job to hold off the BMW for so long there with a broken car to salvage something out of it, but in the end it was too much to overcome. On one hand, I’m frustrated.
But on the other, I’m really happy with the overall performance today. We had good pit stops and strategy. All the things we can control, we’re doing right. We just need some luck to go our way.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM:

“It’s bitterly disappointing.
We put ourselves in position as a team to have what looked like a pretty comfortable 1-2. Up to the point, the way the guys managed the race the pit stops, how the engineers set the car up for the race had us absolutely flying
. A few laps before the last yellow, I felt something strange on the car, and we’ll have to investigate what happened.
We’re disappointed, but there are a lot of positives to go into next week with.”