For the first time in 13 years, Corvettes will be returning in Grand Touring (GT) fashion at the upcoming Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in Detroit.
“Even though this isn’t a points race, I’m glad we are back at Belle Isle,” Corvette C8.R driver Antonio Garcia told IMSA.com. “It’s the first time for me racing in Detroit. Knowing we are racing with one of the most iconic cars around there is pretty cool.”
Other drivers for the Corvette team – including Jordan Taylor, Nick Tandy, and Tommy Milner – are equally as excited about the return “home.”
“At any racetrack where you’ve had success, you’re excited to go back and enjoy being there,” Taylor said. “For me, I’ve been with GM for so many years. I won there in 2012 in a Camaro, three times in a Corvette Daytona Prototype, and then 2017 in a Cadillac (prototype). To be there always in a GM vehicle with the (GM headquarters) Renaissance Center nearby and all the big bosses coming to the race, it always adds a lot of pressure but always means so much more when the race goes well.”
Corvette’s two-car GT team will be racing in the shadow of General Motors headquarters in the annual Belle Street race, an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event that shares the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear weekend with the IndyCar Series.
The on-again, off-again Detroit Grand Prix started as a Formula One race on downtown city streets in 1982 before becoming an IndyCar event from 1989 to 2001 and again in 2007. After three idle years, GM helped revive the race from 2012 to 2019 before the pandemic forced its cancellation last year.
Another nod to the Corvette team comes from Pratt Miller Engineering, which is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of New Hudson and is responsible for designing, developing, and building the Corvette GTs for IMSA competition for more than two decades.
“This is something that I’m looking forward to – meeting some of the team members who have designed and worked on this car and seeing the people of Detroit who want to come and see us,” said Tandy, who co-drives the No. 4 Corvette C8.R with Milner. “It’s my first time at Belle Isle. From a competition standpoint, I’m looking forward to getting onto a brand new circuit. It’s not often that we go to a new track so it’s something that is exciting for me personally.”
Practice and qualifying for the WeatherTech Championship is slated for Friday, June 11, with the race airing live on NBCSN and IMSA Radio (Sirius 219, XM 202, SiriusXM Online 992) beginning at 5:10 p.m. on Saturday, June 12. Along with the Corvettes, the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes will be racing.
Source:
IMSA.com
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