In defense of its class victory from a year ago, Antonio Garcia and Corvette Racing will start from pole position in GT Daytona (GTD) PRO for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Garcia, in the No. 1 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, set a best time of 1:59.315 (112.843 mph) just before a red-flag period ended Friday’s 15-minute qualifying session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He and teammates Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner will look to give the Corvette Racing program its 13th victory in the Florida endurance classic and second in a row.

Garcia’s qualifying effort continued a strong pre-race program for Corvette Racing, which posted the fastest GTD PRO times in the final two of Thursday’s three practice sessions around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn circuit. Pre-event work – including significant work in Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator helped establish an early baseline, with the results validating the virtual efforts.

Garcia, Taylor and Milner finished second in GTD PRO to open the season at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
They have combined for eight class wins in the 12 Hours – nine when adding a sprint-race victory for Milner and then-teammate Oliver Gavin in the 2020 season.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday. The race will air on USA Network from 4:30-10:30 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock at 10:05 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will stream the race at IMSA.com with radio coverage also on SiriusXM 392, SiriusXM Online 992 and 100.9 FM at the circuit.

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

“The car felt excellent. A good thumbs-up for the team. We were not here for the (IMSA February) test, but so far things have been perfect through practice. Even warm up just before qualifying felt really, fantastic, so we just went for it and it was enough.
Luckily enough I was just across the line before the red flag because I just messed up the previous laps. I’m very happy for Corvette Racing. I’ve had a few pole positions here, and I love this race and love this track.”

More on pole position: “Things felt superb. I have to say that after Practice One, we were not where we wanted. But from Practice Two onward, everyone seemed to be faster Tommy, Jordan, so we have a good package, for sure. Last night felt good.
We tested in the little warm up before qualifying and the car felt good. I had in the back of my mind that this Corvette was good, and I would have a chance be on pole.”

His Sebring success:
“That is true. In GTLM, I was on pole the last two times and now today. The car really suits this racetrack and I think there is more to come because we love racing here. I’m looking forward to the rest of the race. I wouldn’t mind the race in an hour! So it’s a long wait until we start.
There are a lot of things to think about, but obviously the car is good so maybe we should just clean it and put it in the truck!”

Outlook for the race from pole: “It’s confidence. We have confidence that we have a good Corvette. We knew from practice last night that the car was good, but we didn’t know where it was for a quick, quick lap, but we were up there.
Tomorrow is a long one, but I’m already looking forward to those last two hours of the race.”

In the 20-minute warm-up for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, all but seven cars turned laps to get ready for the 10:10am start of the race, most of them well below race pace. Mathieu Jaminet led GTP in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963. Other quickest laps were Mikkel Jensen in LMP2 (No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA); Dan Goldburg in LMP3 (No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Duqueine); Jordan Taylor in GTD PRO (No. 3 Corvette Racing); and Antonio Fuoco in GTD (No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296).

Qualification penalties

Two Mercedes-AMG entries failed to meet the ride-height requirements in post-qualifying technical inspection.
The GTD PRO-class No. 79 WeatherTech Racing entry and the GTD-class No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG will be moved to the back of the GTD PRO/GTD category.

Tire allocation

For the GTP cars, IMSA has allowed 11 sets of tires for qualifying and race, which should be more than enough for a 12-hour race. Both Acura teams, though — Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing — used two sets in qualifying, reducing their sets of stickers for the race. It’s likely not something that will make a big difference, but something to pay attention to. Neither team was able to really use the second set due to the red flag brought out by Campbell’s crash in the No. 7 Porsche 963.

Sebring? “It’s mega!”

Glenn van Berlo is racing at Sebring International Raceway for the first time, but managed to set a new LMP3 record in the No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier and take the pole by a big margin. So what does he think of the track?
“It’s different from every other racetrack and especially with low fuel and qualifying, it’s mega! I would like to do this 24/7, like quality laps on low fuel.
It’s unbelievable. It’s really nice.”

LMP2 traffic issues

Traffic is always an issue, and often the key to victory, in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, but there’s some concern that with the new 35 mm restrictors on the LMP2 cars implemented this year to provide more speed differential between GTP and LMP2 could create more problems than it solves as it makes it harder for LMP2s to pass LMP3 and GTD cars. Ryan Dalziel, driver of the No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA, has voiced the concerns that many drivers have about the new LMP2 BoP and the issues it can cause in traffic.

“I said it at Daytona I was pretty vocal about it, and it’s going to be 10 times worse at Sebring,” he said. “The potential of a P2 car ruining somebody’s day is quite high, and that could go for the pro or the bronze drivers. It’s just we have zero power in the infield.
And it’s going to be extremely tough with the amount of cars we’re going to have.
Two-thirds of the grid is cars slower than us. I think that’s where the problem for all the cars in P2 is going to come, trying to navigate traffic without losing a whole lap stuck behind a GT car and risk over reward. And obviously the, you know, the least experienced guys have a tougher time with that.”

How qualify went

4 1/2 hours of race completed

Corvette Racing led GTD Pro, with the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD assumed the lead during the stops under the full course caution caused by Derani’s incident.

Jordan Taylor was ahead of the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maro Engel, with Kenton Koch’s No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports running third in the pack as the GTD class leader.

Take a lap around Sebring International Raceway with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R GTD.

The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD continued to hold command of GTD Pro, while the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Indy Dontje was credited with the GTD class lead at the halfway mark.

C8.R still leads with 8 hours completed, with 4 hours to go

9 hours into the race

The GTD PRO battle between Corvette vs. Mercedes-AMG was raging when the yellow came out, as the No. 3 Corvette and the No. 79 WeatherTech car continued to pull away from the rest of the field with any time of racing.

Tommy Milner led in the Corvette as the hour ticked over ahead of Maro Engel, but the Corvette had a problem with the left-rear shock and went a lap down while the team changed it during the yellow.

Davide Rigon was third in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 when the yellow came out, followed by Bill Auberlen in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW and Jordan Pepper in the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán.

Made no difference that the C8.R lead most of the first 8 hours
But after the left real shock broke and had to be replaced, the C8.R just could not make the time up in the last 4 hours and finished back in 5th place :-(

C8.R Corvette Racing showed itself strong early but was left wondering what might have been at the end of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday.
The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R – with Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner sharing the wheel – placed fifth in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class after the second race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

After fighting back first from an untimely full-course yellow early and then a mechanical problem with four hours remaining, Corvette Racing appeared to be in a great spot for a second straight Sebring class victory until late-race chaos that started with the GTP-class fight with 20 minutes to go undid all the team’s good work at the end.

The Corvette had the race going its way in the opening eight hours. Garcia began from pole position and steadily increased his advantage through the first hour. The first bit of misfortune struck at the race’s second full-course yellow just past the hour mark, as the Corvette couldn’t make its first stop before the pits closed.

As a result, it had to enter the pit lane for five seconds of emergency fuel and pit again for full service when the GT pits opened.
Garcia fell to eighth in class but carved his way back toward the front with a dynamic drive through traffic in the span of 25 minutes. He moved up to second by the time the race went yellow again at the two-hour mark.

Taylor got in the Corvette for almost three hours as the Corvette Racing crew got him out ahead of the No. 79 Mercedes for the GTD PRO lead.
It was a spot that Taylor held for most of his triple-stint before he handed the C8.R to Milner, who rejoined with the lead.

The Corvette continued to lead out front despite the air and track temperatures climbing during the hottest part of the day. Still, while leading, Milner radioed to the Corvette Racing pit box for the crew to check something at the rear of the car. On his final pit stop with about four hours left, the crew found and replaced the C8.R’s left-rear damper.
The fix cost Corvette Racing a lap, but Taylor got in for his second run in the car, still with good pace but needing a yellow.
Nearly 2.5 hours later, the yellow flags flew again to solidify the Corvette getting back on the lead lap. Taylor stayed in until the 10-hour mark, when Garcia re-entered the race for the final stints to the end.
A series of additional full-course yellows and some sharp strategy calls moved the Corvette as high as third and first among the GTD PRO cars that made their final scheduled stops under yellow with about 50 minutes to go.

On the subsequent restart, however, Garcia was hit from behind and knocked off track. The contact sent the C8.R down to sixth place. The final blow came with 17 minutes to go when Garcia and the No. 62 Ferrari were involved in a crash instigated by the overall leaders. Despite the second spin, the Corvette did gain a spot to its final fifth-place finishing position.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the WeatherTech Championship is Saturday, April 15 in Long Beach, Calif.

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

“I’m really disappointed with the finish, but it has nothing to do with the team.
They did a great job all weekend with the car, our strategy and helping to keep us in the race when things weren’t looking so good. We kept waiting for a long time for a yellow to get back with the main GTD PRO group, and it finally came our way not long after I got in.
I felt like we were in the best shape of all, with about an hour to go before all the chaos broke out.

I really don’t know what to say. All I know is that I was spun twice, and it ruined our race and our car. I understand that this is an important race but there is no call for what happened late. It was careless and reckless driving by a lot of guys who should know better. I don’t know if we would have won, but I do know that we had that chance taken from us. I’m not happy.”

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

“A disappointing finish. The guys did an amazing job. We were up front and in control for a majority of the day before our mechanical issue.
I’d say driving standards for today were pretty sub-par from the whole field. There were so many yellows early on and the end of the race was embarrassing to be part of, to be honest.
It’s disappointing to finish fifth after how strong we were, but we’ll move on to Long Beach.”

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

“The start was great from Antonio. The first stint from Jordan was awesome. The car was very, very good. At some point in my stint, we had our issue, and it looked a little grim for a while.
Then it looked like we would have an opportunity and a chance to race for a podium, which I think we certainly deserved as we had the car to beat.
At the end, you had a lot of guys who were driving over their heads, and there was a lot of that today.
Unfortunately, we got the worst of it. I feel for the rest of the guys in GTD PRO to have to deal with Antonio for the rest of the year. He’s going to be fired up.”

35 minute highlight of the race
Watch around 21 minutes into this when A-holes caused a crash that also watched into the C8.R :-(