Fourth place for García, Magnussen; No. 4 Corvette suffers early contact

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 22, 2017) – Corvette Racing extended its lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) standings Saturday with a fourth-place finish for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

The pairing – in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – now lead the Driver’s Championship by seven points, and Chevrolet increased its lead in the Manufacturer’s standings to four points after seven of 11 events. Garcia also set the fastest lap of the race to earn one critical bonus point.

The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished eighth after early-race contact on the rough-and-tumble circuit. The No. 4 Corvette was forced to return to the paddock twice for repairs – an example of the never-give-up attitude that defines Corvette Racing.

Magnussen started sixth and drove the first 51 minutes before handing off to Garcia from fourth place. Garcia rejoined in fifth and eventually cycled through to the lead as different pit stop strategies emerged into the final hour. The No. 3 Corvette pitted from first with 47 minutes left and was one of the final GTLM cars to stop for fuel and fresh Michelin tires.

The strategy very nearly paid off with a podium finish, but the tight confines of Lime Rock and traffic stymied Garcia’s changes.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 6. Fox Sports 1 will air the race live with audio coverage on IMSA Radio.

ANTONIO GARCÍA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: «The points situation was in my mind at the end. I fought hard to get by the No. 24 car but I also knew that wasn’t the car we are fighting for in the championship. There were some moments where he cut me off late and almost spun himself out. Luckily nothing happened. I tried everything I could. Their car for sure was out of tires at the end and the car was very wide. The way the strategy worked, we had better tires on lighter fuel. I’m very happy with today. A podium was possible but we did all we could. It is great to get the fastest lap and the bonus point. Having that made me think a little bit how aggressive I needed to be at the end.»

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: «It was a great job by the team on strategy. Antonio gave it everything he had. It was a fantastic race at the end between he and the 24 car. Fourth place is good for the points as the 25 and 66 were behind us. It would have been great to be on the podium but it wasn’t in the cars. Now on to Road America and hopefully a return to the podium.

«My stint was a tough one. I didn’t really have the pace to keep up. I got really held back in traffic with people fighting for every inch out there. That really cost some time so we fell back quite a bit. Other than that it was pretty uneventful!»

 

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: «Today was a very atypical Lime Rock race where there were no cautions, but at the same time typical in the amount of close-quarters racing and a premium on strategy and luck. Fourth place today is a solid result for us in the GTLM Championship, where we have grown our lead in the Manufacturer’s, Driver’s and Team standings. It just shows again how anything can happen at Lime Rock! Now we regroup and ready for another great challenge and great track at Road America.»

No. 3 Corvette, Chevrolet maintain GT Le Mans points leads after fourth-place class finish

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, Canada (July 9, 2017) – Antonio García and Jan Magnussen retained their Driver’s Championship lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class Sunday with a fourth-place finish in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The duo and their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R improved three spots during the race from their seventh-place starting position thanks to another round of solid strategy and execution by the Corvette Racing crew and engineers. The result also kept Chevrolet in the Manufacturer’s Championship lead and the No. 3 Corvette first in Team points.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were classified eighth in class after the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R was involved in a heavy crash late during the event. Milner went hard into the outside tires but walked away uninjured as the safety features in the Corvette did their job. He was evaluated and released from the infield medical center shortly thereafter.

Magnussen drove the opening hour in the No. 3 Corvette with he and Gavin line astern for their first stints. After a fairly uneventful opening hour and 50 minutes, the race’s first full course caution period gave way to a heavy shower on the back part of the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit. Garcia and Milner – by now in for double-stints to the end of the race – stayed out on dry tires, as did the rest of the GTLM field.

The track remained damp on the far side of the track for the better part of 20 minutes before the No. 4 Corvette’s incident with Milner running seventh and García fifth. Another downpour with five minutes left caused another accident for a prototype car and a third full-course caution. The race ended under yellow.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Northeast Grand Prix from Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 22. The GT-only race is set for 3:05 p.m. ET with FOX Sports 2 airing the race live at 3 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage will be available from IMSA Radio via IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCÍA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: «There was the potential for third place, but on the other hand I’m glad we made it to the end without damage. It was very tricky and conditions were dreadful in the rain. With all the traffic and people going at it, it was difficult to stay on track. It’s a bit disappointing because we could have both Fords behind us, but that is racing. It’s a shame the No. 4 Corvette wasn’t there at the end. I’m glad Tommy is OK, though. We again proved that even though we had the slowest car we scored good points. We need to keep going, analyze our performance and find ways to improve. Let’s see if we can do that and come up with another win.»

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: «My stint was pretty uneventful apart from trying to navigate through traffic. The car is about what it was in qualifying with the same kind of balance. We may have been a little faster than the Fords but there was no way around them. It’s difficult; any time you get close to anyone here, you start losing performance. Hopefully our guys can come up with some interesting strategy and keep us ahead of the Fords.»

García, Magnussen fight back for third in GTLM; Milner, Gavin salvage top-five finish

WATKINS GLEN, New York (July 2, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio García and Jan Magnussen placed third in the GT Le Mans class at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday – a nice boost in their run for the GTLM Driver’s Championship. The duo in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R extended their points lead, and Chevrolet maintained its lead in GTLM Manufacturer’s points.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, driving the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, finished fifth in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s annual trip to Watkins Glen International. The team had hopes of scoring a second victory in four tries at the historic New York road course.

García, Magnussen and the rest of the No. 3 Corvette squad clawed back from an early spin to contend for Corvette Racing’s fourth consecutive win in GTLM competition. García and Magnussen steadily worked their way back up the class order and took the lead for the first time with less than two hours to go. The No. 3 Corvette led twice despite lacking the outright pace of the other GTLM runners.

Nevertheless, García and Magnussen were in position to sneak away with another victory before the last of five full-course caution periods with 35 minutes remaining.

Gavin and Milner led in the No. 4 Corvette at the midway point and gave Corvette Racing a pair of top-five finishes. More importantly, the No. 4 team led at the three-hour mark to claim maximum points in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – a competition in the WeatherTech Championship’s four long-distance races.

There is little time to rest as the Corvette Racing squad now heads to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to finish off a back-to-back run following last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at CTMP is set for 12:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. FOX Sports 1 will air the race live starting at noon with live audio coverage from IMSA Radio and a Corvette Racing In-Car feed available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCÍA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM: «This was another classic Corvette race. We were kind of struggling the whole race… a little bit like qualifying – very close on pace but very far in position. At the end, things paid off. I had a big mistake in the beginning which put us all the way in the back but that let us try a few things toward the end that paid off. We got a few things out of our mind so we could focus on the last four hours to get ready for that.

“The strategy was good. Tire changes… everything was perfect. I think the strategy was pretty decent – running super-deep into the fuel windows… we had a little bit better tires at the end than our competitors but at the end I could barely match everybody’s pace. Last year we struggled here, so hopefully that was a one-off and we are in better shape for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park next weekend.»

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM: “After qualifying and after the start of the race, for sure, to come away with third place…it is fantastic for the championship. It was a great job by the whole team and a fantastic drive by Antonio. After a day like this, we have to look at the minimum damage to the championship, and I think we gained a little bit, so not bad!”

«We weren’t quite fast enough. We’re not that far off but we are lacking just that little bit. The Corvette was nice and consistent. My stint was very tough and long. The goal was to stay out of trouble and see if anything happened at the end where we could take advantage.»

 

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: «Today’s race was not unlike our other races in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. We didn’t have the pace but we found a way to score a good result. We’ve never been the fastest car – most times we have had one of the slowest cars – but were it not for a late-race yellow we had victory in our grasp. That’s due to great pit stops, tremendous engineering strategy and the drivers continuing to deliver premium performances. That’s what Corvette Racing is about, and that’s why we continue to lead the GTLM championship.»