DETROIT (Sept. 7, 2021) – After a strong showing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing is back in the U.S. and returns to its quest of a second straight GT Le Mans (GTLM) title as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts its West Coast swing this weekend.
Picturesque WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., is the site of the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship and the second race at the circuit for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Sunday’s race is the seventh of 10 points-paying events for Corvette Racing, which is coming off second- and sixth-place finishes in the GTE Pro class at Le Mans.
Laguna Seca has been a fixture on Corvette Racing’s calendar since the program’s first year of competition. It’s one of two tracks at which the team will have competed in each of its 23 years to date. The other is Sebring, and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be the third with the season-ending Petit Le Mans.
The Corvette C8.R raced at Laguna Seca during its 2020 debut season with Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor finishing second. The result was enough to clinch the GTLM Drivers championship and the Team title for the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. Chevrolet went on to claim the Manufacturers title.
Garcia and Taylor return to Monterey again leading the GTLM points standings on the back of four wins including the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
No. 3 Corvette C8.R teammates Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor will participate in a Zoom Q&A for media at 12:30 p.m. ET today (Sept. 7).
They also were second at Le Mans in the first race there for the C8.R. Garcia has three wins at Laguna Seca and Taylor two.
Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy, teaming in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette, look to close the gap on their teammates in the GTLM standings. They teamed for a victory at Detroit and the Rolex 24 qualifying race, and added runner-up finishes at Daytona, the Watkins Glen sprint round and Lime Rock Park.
Milner, a past Laguna Seca winner, has set the fastest GTLM race lap the last two years in Monterey while Tandy was third in GTLM a year ago.
Corvette Racing will contest the Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship on Sept. 10-12 from WeatherTech Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Live television coverage will air at 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 10 with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com, Sirius 219, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“As we have seen everywhere we’ve gone, the C8.R has been an upgrade in every single aspect compared to C7. I could feel that also at Laguna Seca last year. I felt like we were more competitive there than over past years. This year will be different again because we have a year’s worth of development. I’m looking forward to getting back there. I like the area, I like the track and everything about the event. Maybe we can give the C8.R its first victory there.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“Laguna Seca is such a unique track and is always a tricky one to get right. The surface is very slippery which usually leads to pretty high tire degradation throughout the race. Last year was obviously great. Going there and clinching the championship. This year we have the same goal, going there to execute as well as we can all weekend. We’re in a good spot in the championship, but we’re going there to win the race.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“Laguna Seca is definitely one of the most challenging tracks we go to. It’s not just about its layout but also the track surface and weather conditions. It’s a place that seems like all the tire data that we learn all throughout the year doesn’t apply for whatever reason. It’s a tricky one for sure for that reason with very low grip and traffic. I feel like we are always used to high-grip surfaces and then going there, it’s quite a bit different with high degradation. Having been there already once with the C8.R, we’ll have some knowledge and data to go off of.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I’m very keen for a victory at Laguna Seca. For one, Tommy and I have been so close to winning races. We just need one or two things to go our way on the No. 4 Corvette side. Second, Laguna Seca is one of the few tracks in IMSA where I haven’t won a race. It would be nice to check off both those boxes and end the season strong. It’s never easy at this track and will require a lot of work and study to get us in optimum shape going into the race. If we can keep controlling the things we can at Laguna Seca then I think we will have an excellent weekend.”
2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM
(After Six of 10 Events)
Driver Standings
1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,207
2. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1,993
3. Cooper MacNeil – 1,984
4. Matt Campbell – 1,372
5. Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 1001
Team Standings
1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,207
2. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 1,993
3. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,984
4. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 1,001
5. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 966
Manufacturer Standings
1. Chevrolet – 2,230
2. Porsche – 2,108
3. BMW – 1,052
4. Ferrari – 330
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
Corvette Racing’s Klauser on the ACO and No GT3 Pro Class at Le Mans
The ACO Just Blew Up Corvette Racing’s Future Le Mans Racing Plans
Corvette Racing at Le Mans: Runner-Up in C8.R Le Mans Debut
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