ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 10, 2014) – Corvette Racing’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs placed sixth and seventh in a hectic GT Le Mans (GTLM) race at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen led the team’s charge in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette following at the finish.
The result was enough for Magnussen and Garcia to retain their lead in the GTLM driver’s championship, as did Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R in the team championship.
Both Milner and Garcia were jostled around on the opening laps. An early stop for two tires and fuel was a strategic move but it was undone by a tire going down due to debris on Garcia’s No. 3 Corvette and a one-minute penalty call on Milner for leaving pitlane with the exit closed.
Things settled down in the middle part of the race with Gavin running as high as fifth before a late-race incident with another GTLM competitor moved him back down the order.
The next TUDOR Championship event for Corvette Racing is the Oak Tree Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 24 at Virginia International Raceway.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was quite a nightmare out there. The debris puncture on our tire put us out of sequence; we were already out of sequence a little bit. I found myself trying to defend even on new tires. The car was good but we were getting hammered out there.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was a very hectic and crazy race. We tried a gamble early by taking two tires. The second caution coming out soon after that hurt our chances, along with a piece of debris puncturing one of our tires. We scored the maximum amount of points that we could today, which was the goal. We will turn our focus to VIR now and hopefully be in better position to fight for a win and podium.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was another day that kind of summarizes our year. The call for two tires early was a good one but unfortunately the penalty pushed us back down the order. My stint started well and I could run pretty good lap times and stay with the cars directly in front of me. The incident with one of the Vipers ruined any chance we had for a good result. It’s a shame as the team did a fantastic job getting us up to fifth. But we will regroup and be ready for VIR and hope for a repeat of our 2012 victory.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was a pretty rough couple of laps at the start. Both the driver’s side and passenger’s side and the rear bumper and front bumper all had contact. In some places, I was trying to make room for myself around people who didn’t want to give me room. It’s how the racing is, trying to get around PC cars. The car wasn’t bad.”
Bondurant School of High Performance Driving
Source:
Corvette Racing
Photo Credit: Jan Magnussen
Related:
Corvette Racing at Road America: An Uphill Battle for Corvette C7.Rs
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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