Two Chevrolet Corvettes to start from third and fourth rows
LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 5, 2018) – With an eye toward a questionable raceday forecast, Corvette Racing will head into the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio prepared for both a dry and wet race. The two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs will start from the third and fourth rows of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) field.
The team’s task of winning for the ninth time at Mid-Ohio is not an impossible one. Corvette Racing won in its last appearance at the 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit in 2012 with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner coming from sixth place to do it.
Saturday, Antonio Garcia qualified fifth in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at 1:18.114 (104.063 mph) while Milner wasn’t far off at 1:18.452 (103.614 mph) in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. Garcia will drive with Jan Magnussen, and Milner is back at Mid-Ohio with Gavin.
While the qualifying positions aren’t ideal, there is the knowledge that Corvette Racing is confident in both its dry- and wet-weather setups. Friday’s two practice sessions were run in mostly rainy – and windy – conditions while Saturday stayed dry for final practice and qualifying.
Sunday’s forecast calls for dry conditions early with an increasing likelihood of rain in the afternoon… just as the two-hour, 40-minute race will enter its closing stages.
A victory would be the 108th for the Corvette Racing program and its 100th in North America.
Corvette Racing is in the midst of its 20th season of global competition. Mid-Ohio is one of 21 tracks where the team has claimed at least one victory.
The Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio will air live at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 and the FOX Sports Go app. Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM:
“I did so many laps exactly the same that it was a bit annoying. It felt like no matter what I tried, the lap time was the same. So far the weekend has been reasonable. We have been reacting to the track a little bit, and we don’t know how it will develop like we do at other tracks where we have been often. I’m not happy with the result but I think we are close enough to be competitive tomorrow.
(Rain chances) “That always seems to be a question mark about this track: when it will rain, how hard it will rain and for how long. We cannot do anything about that except react to it and be in the right spot.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH IN GTLM:
“A lot of people, like us, haven’t been here in awhile. We seem to have a bit of a struggle with car balance. We are throwing big changes at it to try and improve. We made another big jump there in qualifying but obviously not enough. We’ll keep working at it. I feel like we are sort of headed in the right direction, so that is good. We haven’t lost ourselves yet… we are making steady progress. Our position isn’t ideal but the pace isn’t that far off, knowing how the car felt in qualifying. It felt to me like there should and could be more performance in the car. We just need to find it and unlock it.”
Driver Standings
1. Richard Westbrook/Ryan Briscoe – 95
2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 88
3. Dirk Mueller/Joey Hand – 84
4. Nick Tandy/Patrick Pilet – 83
5. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 81
Team Standings
1. No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – 95
2. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 88
3. No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – 84
4. No. 911 Porsche GT Team – 83
5. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 81
Manufacturer Standings
1. Ford – 97
2. Chevrolet – 93
3. Porsche – 91
4. BMW – 88
5. Ferrari – 58
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio: By the Numbers
[VIDEO] Relive the Win by Corvette Racing at Long Beach
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Gavin, Milner Go Back-to-Back!
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