CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Aiming for More Sebring History

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Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Aiming for More Sebring History


SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2024) – The 50th anniversary Mobil 1-liveried No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will lead a group of four Corvettes to the start of Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac.


Alexander Sims – part of Cadillac Racing’s overall race-winning lineup a year ago – set a lap of 1:59.508 (112.661 mph) in Friday’s 15-minute qualifying session for GT Daytona (GTD) PRO and GTD entries. It was enough for fourth in GTD PRO and eighth overall in the combined GTD PRO/GTD category and put the No. 3 that he shares with Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella 0.8 seconds off the class pole-winning time.

Teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R qualified eighth in class and a little more than 0.2 seconds off Sims’ time – another indication of the high level of competition in the production-based classes.


In GTD, Orey Fidani paced AWA’s qualifying efforts in the No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R at 2:05.079 (107.643 mph) – a scant one-tenth of a second quicker than teammate Anthony Mantella in the No. 17 Corvette.


The rough-and-tumble Sebring International Raceway in central Florida is steeped in Corvette Racing lore with countless tests plus 29 races during a quarter-century of Corvette competition. That should bode well for the fortunes of the four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries entered for this America’s oldest sports car race.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION


The goal for each team is to put Corvette back on the top step of the podium – a place Corvette Racing has stood 14 times leading into this year’s running. The current Corvette/PMM team tested the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Sebring in November in order to gather valuable data on the first-year car ahead of the season’s most grueling race across the bumps and concrete of the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit.


To mark the 50th anniversary of Corvette technical partner Mobil 1, both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will contest Sebring with special Mobil 1-inspired liveries. Both cars – plus the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R in GTP - will feature celebratory Mobil 1 gold along with the Mobil 1 Pegasus, which throughout its history has symbolized speed and power within the brand. The Mobil 1 brand and its partners will be highlighting the brand’s legacy and future at Sebring, as well as off the track through the rest of this monumental anniversary year.


For more than 25 years, the Mobil 1 brand has been an integral part of the Corvette Racing program. It was the only lubricant used by the factory racing effort dating back to the first on-track tests of the Corvette C5-R in 1997. The Mobil 1 brand continues as a primary sponsor of the Pratt Miller-run Corvette Z06 GT3.R team, and since 1993 has been the factory fill for all new production Corvettes.


The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 16. The race will air on USA Network from 4-10 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock at 9:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air the race in full at IMSA.com along with Sirius 216, XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and 100.9 FM at the circuit.


CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For the race, the conditions we qualified in aren’t so relevant because the race is about the evening and the night. Nevertheless, we have to start the race in as good a position as we can and I think we’ve done a reasonable job of that today. The other guys were too fast for us in qualifying. For the Corvette that we have, I feel like we optimized it pretty nicely. We had some struggles in practice and some settings weren’t quite as we planned. Once we sat the car down in the evening, we hit the reset button a little bit and I’m glad those issues seem to have been largely resolved. I think we have a little bit of work to do in order to improve the car for the race pace. It's all gone well. It was nice for me personally to qualify here; you have to go back to 2018 for me in GT cars. It’s cool here with a nice bit of grip and low fuel. It causes the Corvette to come alive that little bit more, which is good fun for me as a driver. It’s all good. The team is working well and we’re doing a good job working toward the race.”


TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Obviously we didn’t qualifying where we wanted to and where we’ve been pace-wise in practice. But at the end of the day, I think we are happy with things generally. In normal race situations, it seems like pace is good. We made a change for qualifying to compensate for what we thought would happen and went a little too far. With the heat like this, you only really get one opportunity to do it. My lap was OK but was slightly uncomfortable with the car. From that you lose just a little bit, and a little bit is a lot of spots in IMSA. I’m not happy with starting eighth in class, but I’m not unhappy with how our weekend has been so far the progress we’ve made so far. I’m excited for the Corvette we have in the race.”



AWA QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Being at Sebring is always a great experience. The fans are amazing, the weather is nice and the competition is stellar. To race on such a prestigious track onboard an iconic car like the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is a privilege. I am very happy with the handling of the car. Unfortunately, we qualified in the back tier of the field, but I am confident that Lars, Matt and I will make our way towards the pointier end of the grid in no time.”


ANTHONY MANTELLA, NO. 17 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Everybody says respect the bumps when they are at Sebring. That's the track motto, but the Corvette is handling so well that we barely notice the bumps. Our engineers have got it dialed in and the car's really easy to drive really fast. Full credit goes to the engineering staff at Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing for overcoming some teething problems and getting us to a competitive level at Sebring. We are looking forward to being on the podium at the end of the 12 hours.”


Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick