BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 6, 2019) – Corvette Racing will look to charge through the field Sunday following qualifying for the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Doing so would write another remarkable chapter in Corvette Racing lore and secure a 12th class victory at the high-speed track east of Toronto.
Jan Magnussen, teaming with Antonio Garcia paced the program’s effort in qualifying with a lap of 1:14.295 (119.151 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. The time placed Magnussen seventh in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) category.
Teammate Marcel Fässler wasn’t far behind at 1:14.769 (118.396 mph) in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. He is driving with Oliver Gavin in place of Tommy Milner, who injured his left hand in an opening-lap incident last weekend at Watkins Glen.
It’s been a challenging last month for Corvette Racing. The team’s annual trek to the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in heartbreak with separate incidents for the two Corvettes, most notably a heavy incident for Fässler that required a new chassis for the No. 4 side of the team. It didn’t get any better at Watkins Glen when Milner was hit and the crash by and large destroying the just-rebuilt Corvette.
There is reason for optimism, however. No team in the IMSA paddock boasts more races, miles or victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park than Corvette Racing. Another solid result at CTMP would be a boon for the program, especially with Magnussen and Garcia only one point out of the GTLM Drivers Championship lead. They have four podium finishes in the last five races at CTMP and are on a streak of four consecutive podiums this season.
The Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix presented by Acura begins at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 7. It will air live on NBC beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage of Sunday’s warmup and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN GTLM:
“I’m a bit disappointed in how things turned out. I’m not quite sure why we had a balance shift, and I wasn’t able to do anything with it in qualifying. It’s a real shame. We need to see what it was and why it happened.”
MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH IN GTLM:
“First, thanks to the team for giving the opportunity to qualify today. It wasn’t not easy to jump in and do qualifying at a track where I don’t have much experience and still have to learn a bit. I was quite sure I could improve in my qualifying run. My fastest lap felt OK, but I was disappointed in my lap time at the end. I was expecting a little bit more. We have to have a look and see what was actually different from the sessions before. For sure the race is long and we’ll see what we have to do for tomorrow.”
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
IMSA Hangs 10KG of Weight on the Corvette C7.Rs in BoP Adjustment Ahead of CTMP
Corvette Racing in Canada: Familiar Ground for GTLM Contenders
Corvette Racing in Canada: Fässler to Fill In for Milner at CTMP
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