CORVETTE RACING AT PETIT LE MANS: Garcia Second in GTD PRO Qualifying

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Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT PETIT LE MANS:

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!


Corvette Racing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

1999

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 5th in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Scott Sharp – 4th in GTS


2000

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 3rd in GTS (Fellows pole)

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS


2001

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Scott Pruett – 9th in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS (Pilgrim pole)


2002

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)


2003*

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 3rd in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS


2003

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS


2004

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)


2005*

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1


2005

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis – 6th in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (Beretta pole, Gavin fastest race lap)


2006

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1 (O’Connell pole)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)


2007

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)


2008

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, Magnussen fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1


2009

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O'Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GT2

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GT2


2010

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Emmanuel Collard – 1st in GT (Magnussen fastest race lap)


2011

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 17th in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT


2012

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 12th in GT


2013

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GT (Garcia/Magnussen ALMS GT title)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 10th in GT


2014

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 4th in GTLM


2015

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 3rd in GTLM


2016

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 3rd in GTLM (Gavin/Milner clinch GTLM title)


2017

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM


2018

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GTLM


2019

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 7th in GTLM


2020**

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 5th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM


2020

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM


2021

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 4th in GTLM (Sims fastest race lap)


2022

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTD PRO


* Two-hour, 45 minute races

** Six-hour race


Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick