Two GTLM podium positions for Corvette C7.Rs
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 10, 2016) – Sunday was a good day to drive a Chevrolet Corvette-powered race car in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Corvette Racing claimed two podium positions in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and Corvette Daytona Prototypes swept the top four overall positions with Action Express Racing’s Eric Curran and Dane Cameron winning their first race of the season.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner drove their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to a runner-up GTLM finish in the two-hour, 40-minute race as they retained their season-long lead in the Driver’s Championship for the category, as did Chevrolet in Manufacturer points. Third place went to the pole-sitting No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen for their best result since opening the season with a runner-up class finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Gavin and Milner picked up four positions from their sixth-place qualifying result in a measured drive through the field. For the second weekend in a row, strategy and pit stop execution proved key as Milner leap-frogged the No. 3 car following the last stop for both cars, which saw them pit on consecutive laps with a little under an hour to go.
Garcia had taken over for Magnussen with 57 minutes, but Milner had the advantage with warmer Michelin tires and moved ahead of his teammate on Garcia’s outlap. Gavin had started the race in the No. 4 Corvette and picked up a position before the end of his 43-minute stint.
Garcia and Magnussen led much of the race’s opening half before the final pit sequence. Magnussen drove the middle stint while Garcia had the opening and closing ones. Garcia, who claimed pole position, made up two positions in the final 54 minutes to climb back on the podium with Magnussen. The result unofficially moved them to fifth place in the GTLM Driver’s Championship.
The next event for Corvette Racing is the Northeast Grand Prix from Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 23. Corvette DPs return to the track at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America on Sunday, Aug. 7.
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTLM:
“The top step is always the ultimate goal. But today, would we have taken second at the beginning of the day? I think we most probably would have. It was a tough battle and a good battle. Tommy did a great job when he got in the Corvette. He really hustled the car, and Reed (Sullivan), our engineer, made some great changes to the car to make it more comfortable for Tommy in the end. It’s very good points in the championship, and it’s very close between us and the 67 car. I think it might be like that for the rest of the year. But the nice thing is that we are right back in the hunt. The Corvette was fast and good today. The team did a fantastic job in the pits, and you have to give them credit. They kept digging and digging all the way through the race. So I’m very happy.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTLM:
“I feel like we’ve definitely earned this one. The car doesn’t feel that much different than the last few races, but we are in the hunt. All the work we did the last couple of races to find some speed in our Corvette has paid off today. Olly did a great job in the first stint. It’s so tough to pass here, especially early on when you’re all stacked up on top each other. Keeping his nose clean was an awesome job by him.”
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM:
“It’s a little bit of a shame. We led two-thirds of the race. I feel like the race came down to the last pit stop. We were the only car to do a driver change, so maybe it took a little longer than the other cars that pitted, especially the winning car. They ended up gambling on fuel. It put me in a very difficult situation with Tommy (Milner) on warmer tires. But it’s a 2-3 for Corvette so I think this is a very good bounceback for us.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM:
“The way the 912 and 67 cars pitted, which put them out front on the second stop, was the race. That was a gamble we couldn’t take because we were in the lead at the time. We would have looked pretty foolish if we tried it and didn’t work out. That put us a little bit behind for when Antonio got back in, but he did great to fight his way back up to third. When you’re leading two-thirds of the race, you want the biggest trophy. But this is a good step forward for Corvette Racing with both Corvettes on the podium. Now we need to try and get some wins.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
“Today was a tremendous example of why we consider the IMSA GT Le Mans category to be the best GT racing in the world. Each car and each manufacturer were competitive, and taking two positions on the GTLM podium is a great achievement for the Corvette Racing program. The strategy was very solid for both Corvette C7.R teams, as was the execution in the pitlane and by all four drivers. All in all, it was a very good day in results and points for Corvette Racing.”
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
Corvette Racing in Canada: GTLM Pole Position for Garcia in No. 3 Corvette
Corvette Racing in Canada: Going for a Dozen North of the Border
IMSA Issues Emergency Changes to BoP for GT Le Mans Class in Advance of CTMP
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