ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 9, 2014) – Back at the site of its first test nearly a year ago, Corvette Racing’s two Corvette C7.Rs qualified sixth and eighth in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class Saturday for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America. Oliver Gavin was the quickest Corvette driver with a lap of 2:04.650 (116.910 mph) in the No. 4 C7.R that he drives with Tommy Milner.
Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R set a best lap of 2:04.738 (116.827 mph). He and teammate Antonio Garcia lead the GTLM driver’s championship with a class-best four victories this season, all in succession. In addition, Chevrolet leads the class manufacturer’s standings.
In addition to its initial test last August, Corvette Racing tested at Road America in early May ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The two Corvette C7.Rs ran in a lower downforce package than what it is using this weekend. Corvette Racing also has been consistently good in race trim this year, and the team’s focus has been on optimizing the balance of the cars over longer green-flag runs.
John Edwards set the fastest time in GTLM qualifying at 2:03.747 (117.763 mph).
FOX Sports 1’s television coverage of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase starts at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday. Live coverage of qualifying begins at 4:20 p.m. ET Friday on IMSA.com.
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Qualifying was difficult. Obviously eighth place in qualifying is not where we like to be, and it’s no fault of the efforts of the team. Fortunately, we traditionally have been very good for the races and over long runs, no matter our qualifying positions. That has been the focus of our practice sessions this weekend. Hopefully it will make a difference in the outcome tomorrow.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“We have focused quite hard on getting a good race car here. For a longer run we are in pretty good shape from what we can see from practice so far. I feel reasonably confident that we’re going to be getting better as the race goes on. I felt as I was qualifying the car was coming, coming and coming, and I felt like the next lap was going to be a bit better. That is a promising sign for the race. In practice we had the same thing. So I’m quietly confident that we are going to get the maximum out of our car here for our team this weekend. It is going to be tough – very, very tough. You just look at the gap between us and the cars on the front row and it is pretty substantial. I remember here a couple of years ago when there was a two-tenths split between the first seven cars. Now we are in the position where there is a second split between the top six or more which is kind of disappointing and frustrating. It is what it is, and we can only work with what we’ve got. I think that Chuck (Houghton, Corvette Racing engineering manager) and all the guys on the No. 4 car have maximized that over the weekend, and we have made good use of our time on track. We haven’t been hit by too many problems or issues, so I feel that we are a ready as we can be for the race.”
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – TUDOR Championship (all times CT)
- TUDOR Championship Warmup: 9:05 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 10
- Continental Tire Road Race Showcase: 1:15 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 10
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – Watch It (all times ET)
- Race: 6:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1), Sunday, Aug. 10
Bondurant School of High Performance Driving
Source:
Corvette Racing
Photo Credit: IMSA.com
Related:
Corvette Racing at Road America: Back to Hallowed Ground
Corvette Racing to Field a C7.R in the FIA WEC Race at Circuit of the Americas
Corvette Racing at Indianapolis: Corvette C7.Rs Place Fourth and Fifth in GTLM
Corvette Racing in Canada: Garcia, Magnussen Earn Hard-Fought GTLM Win
[VIDEO] Corvette Racing at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans
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