CORVETTE RACING LONG BEACH & PORTIMAO SPOILER

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Press Release:

Garcia, Taylor battle to the front to second-place class finish in
California street fight

CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Hard-Fought, Runner-Up Finish
Garcia, Taylor battle to the front to second-place class finish in
California street fight

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 15, 2023) – Some second-place finishes are better
than others. That was the story for Corvette Racing on Saturday as Antonio
Garcia, Jordan Taylor and the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
earned a runner-up GT Daytona (GTD) PRO result in the Acura Grand Prix of
Long Beach.


On a day where nothing came easy and passing was limited, the Corvette
team – drivers, crew and engineers – made the most of its opportunities to
claw forward two spots from the start and earn valuable points in the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO standings.


Garcia started the race in fourth after Friday’s qualifying but ran the
first 10 minutes of Saturday’s 100-minute sprint under full-course yellow
due to a crash involving two GTP cars. Once the race went back green, he was
able to stay within reach of the four lead GTD cars – three PRO entries and
one regular GTD competitor – as the pack began to run up on lap traffic.


The first pit stops began near the 35-minute mark, and the No. 3 C8.R team
brought in Garcia to swap over to Taylor after 40 minutes and running third
in class. A quick service of a full fuel load and four fresh Michelin tires,
plus a stellar out-lap by Taylor meant the Corvette didn’t just hold on to
third place, it gained more than three seconds on Klaus Bachler in the
second-place Porsche.


After some hard, side-to-side racing, Taylor stayed within one second of the
No. 9 and made a strong, decisive move into Turn Six with a huge dive to the
inside of the Porsche – straight out of his recent experience in the NASCAR
Cup Series – with 40 minutes left to take the second-place spot.


GTD lap traffic and faster GTP cars going by meant that Taylor had to spend
the rest of the race with Bachler right on the rear bumper of the Corvette.
Taylor stayed tough and held the position as the race ended during another
full-course caution.


Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA championship is May 12-14 at
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTD PRO: “Starting where we started, it was really difficult to do
something super-crazy to gain positions. On pure speed, we had no real
advantage to make a move. The only way was to do it by strategy as we did
and then play the traffic like Jordan did to gain those spots. I think we
had a fourth-place car and we finished second, so we can be happy for once
at Long Beach! We didn’t have the pace to win or really fight for it like we
have had in the past. It sounds strange, but I’m happy with second.”


JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTD PRO: “We had a good Corvette – maybe a fourth-place car on
pace. Antonio did a good job from fourth in his stint, which is where we
were speed-wise. The guys made a good call in the pits to try and jump some
guys. We came out even with the Porsche, and they were pretty aggressive on
their out-lap and pushed me wide at the fountain. Once he pushed me once, I
knew it was fair to push him back. Once I got close enough, he defended
pretty aggressively and I wasn’t going to let up. I gave him a little tap
from the NASCAR world and was able to get by. It was difficult to defend the
rest of the race. I’m glad traffic worked out relatively well to keep him
behind us, so a great day for us points-wise. We had a fourth-place car and
to come away with second and beating two guys who probably should have been
on the podium, we can be proud of that. At the end of the year when we look
back on the championship, hopefully this is one we count for some good
points.”


Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick

***********************

CORVETTE RACING AT PORTIMÃO: Two Wins in a Row!
Strong driving, stellar pit work nets unexpected GTE Am victory for No. 33
C8.R


PORTIMÃO, Portugal (April 16, 2023) – Corvette Racing has gone back-to-back
in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a stunning GTE Am victory in
the Six Hours of Portimão for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone
in the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

The win was a tense one as Catsburg held off in an intense final-hour fight
with Ferrari’s Alessio Rovera by just 0.260 seconds. It increased Corvette
Racing’s lead in the Driver and Team championships in the GTE Am category
heading to the next race at Spa-Francorchamps in two weeks.

Just as in the season-opening victory in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring,
Corvette Racing made zero mistakes on the track or in the pitlane. The team’s
pitwork, especially, was a key difference in the result as it offset a pace
difference due to 30 extra kilograms of success ballast due to the Sebring
victory and championship lead.


That was never more clear than on the race’s final pit stop with 50 minutes
remaining. Catsburg came in with the Ferrari hot on his heels but left with
a nearly 10-second advantage after a fast tire change by the Corvette Racing
crew and a quick out-lap by Catsburg. As evidenced by the winning margin,
every second counted.

Keating began from pole and slid down to third during his first stint on a
softer, more worn set of tires. The impact of the Corvette pit crew became
evident on the initial stop by picking up a spot to move Keating up to
second for his final stint on a better set of tires.

He stopped again at the two-hour mark from fifth place due to higher-ranked
drivers getting in their cars during the second hour. Varrone took over and
cycled the C8.R back up to third not long into his first run as the skill
levels of the drivers continued to vary mid-race.

That mix plus the amount of inter-class traffic made things tough during
Varrone’s opening stint but he persevered to move up to second place before
he brought the Corvette back in just past the three-hour mark. Another
stellar stop and another fresh set of tires gave Varrone track position and
eventually the lead once the GTE Am field finished its pit stop cycle.

Catsburg got in the car for the final two stints with a little less than two
hours to go, and a ferocious fight developed with Rovera and his rapid
Ferrari. The two cars were separated by less than a second before the race’s
lone safety-car period bunched up the field. Both the Corvette and Ferrari
stopped one lap after the race resumed with Catsburg greatly benefitting
from the aforementioned strong Corvette pit stop.

He made the most of it, holding off the Ferrari multiple times inside the
final five laps for the victory.

Corvette Racing returns to action April 27-29 for the Six Hours of Spa – the
final race before June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.


NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE AM
RACE-WINNER: “It takes two drivers in order to do that (on the finishing
battle). Hats off to Alessio for being a clean racer. He was way faster than
we were today and had a big pace advantage. It’s one thing to get close in
order to close the gap, but it’s another thing to pass someone. I noticed he
got a little bit of understeer when he got close to me, so luckily we
managed to keep him behind. Some of the traffic made it extra-interesting, I
would say, in the last few laps. But it’s a mega result for us and
unexpected. I really struggled to match the pace that he was doing but
somehow we managed. The team was amazing today. Every pit stop, we gained
six or seven seconds. This is an amazing feeling!”


BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE AM
POLE-WINNER: “Totally impressed today with the Corvette Racing team. I was
completely blown away by their speed on the tire changes, and they did it
all day long. Everyone on the whole team did an incredible job. I’m
obviously delighted the result but didn’t expect it. That makes it even
sweeter.
“It was an interesting start for me. I didn’t mind not maintaining the lead
with some of the mayhem in the P2 field. I just wanted to stay close up
front, which I was able to do for the first 12 or so laps. I struggled with
my tire choice after that. I also had four track-limit warnings so if I had
one more we would have ended up with a penalty. I was really worried the
whole time that I'd have some accidental track limits. I had to really
change the way I drove and be a little more conservative, going down a gear.
That’s hard for a racer to do. Thankfully, I feel like I did what I needed
to do. Unbelievable stops! This team is so incredible. I don't know how far
ahead Sarah (Bovy, No. 85 Porsche) was from me in the first stint but we
came out ahead of them... just an unbelievably great stop and great job by
the team."


NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m really
happy. Thanks to Nicky and Ben for a great race and to the Corvette Racing
team. They were the quickest in the pitlane today and was the main
difference and why we won in the end. On every stop it was like we would
have something like six seconds (of a gap) out of the pits, so I’m really
happy for them. The end of my first stint was good and we got back into the
lead. From that on, it was a bit difficult with the tires and the heat. We
struggled a lot at the end of that stint. In the second one, I managed to be
more consistent, and the car was feeling better and more balanced. I managed
to build a gap to hand it to Nicky for the end of the race. It was really
stressful to watch it from the outside! It was really nervous but he did a
great job, and I was sure he was going to do it. Two wins to start this
season is pretty good.”


LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “It was a great
day for Corvette Racing. The team did a phenomenal job, the drivers did a
phenomenal job, everyone hit their marks and working through it with great
pit stops. Nicky fighting and defending the lead at the end was so exciting
to watch. We’re all incredibly pleased with today’s results and the start of
our first season in GTE Am with two victories for the Corvette C8.R.”

Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick