DETROIT (Oct. 5, 2021) – Following back-to-back victories in California, Corvette Racing has headed back eastward for the next-to-last event on its schedule – the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.
The race – only for GT entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – is one at which Corvette Racing has been immensely successful. The program has three overall victories plus an additional class win since it began visiting VIR in 2012. Corvette Racing will go for another VIR win live on NBC at noon ET on Saturday.
Tommy Milner, a Virginia native, and Nick Tandy arrive at Virginia on the heels of consecutive GT Le Mans (GTLM) wins in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R – at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the Long Beach street circuit.
The late-season run by the No. 4 Corvette duo has given Milner and Tandy significant momentum heading into the final two races of the year – VIR and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans in November at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. As has been the case throughout the year, their strongest competition may come from inside their own team.
Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, teammates in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R, are defending winners at VIR after having won last year in the C8.R’s maiden VIR race. It was one of five victories on the year for the No. 3 Corvette, and the pairing again lead this year’s GTLM Drivers Championship on the strength of four wins and seven consecutive pole positions.
All four Corvette drivers have tasted success at VIR. Garcia’s three VIR wins – all with Corvette Racing – ranks him second among all IMSA drivers entered for Saturday’s race. leads all active IMSA drivers with three VIR wins. Milner, Taylor and Tandy each have two victories to their credit.
In addition, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with eight IMSA VIR wins with four coming from Corvette Racing.
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for noon ET on Saturday with live coverage on NBC, NBC Sports Gold and Trackpass. Live IMSA Radio coverage will air on XM 202, SiriusXM Online 992 and IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“It’s easy to say that a track where you have a lot of success is a favorite. But even without any wins, VIR would still be one of my favorites. It is that kind of classic American track where you can either be rewarded for risk or punished for a mistake. The layout of the track and the elevation of the land makes it memorable. I’ve had many good races and wins there with Corvette Racing including last year with Jordan. It was a big race to set us up for the championship. We can do the same this weekend with another win for the C8.R. It will be a tough fight against our competition – including our teammates – so let’s see how the race goes.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I love going back to VIR. We won the race there last year, of course. It’s obviously a much different feel and style of race than what we had at Long Beach and even Laguna Seca. There are a lot of different corners with different speeds for each – high and low speeds. How the track rises and falls away across the layout is a big challenge for us as drivers and engineers. Plus it will be GT-only. So this will be a flat-out and intense race with no prototypes going by. It’s always nice to be racing for an overall win, so I can’t wait to get there.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I’m really excited to get another IMSA race since we are two for our last two. Nick and I are heading into VIR with some momentum but we’ll have to work as hard as ever to continue that trend. VIR is an awesome, awesome racetrack… one that is a lot different than what we are coming off of at Long Beach and even Laguna Seca. There is a ton of grip at VIR so it will be a fun challenge. This C8.R was a lot of fun to drive there last year. It’s improved from last year so I’m looking forward to seeing how good it is around VIR this time around.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I love VIR… absolutely love it. I have since the first time I went there. It reminds me of racing at a lot of tracks where I grew up in the UK. There is greenery everywhere. It feels different and is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. Past that, the track layout is awesome. It has everything… super-fast with long straights, elevation changes, slow technical sections and super-high speed technical sections. It definitely is one of my favorite places to race on the IMSA calendar. Having seen how good our rival car was there last year, I know it’s a circuit that will suit them. From the Corvette side, we’ll have to be on the top of our game. But I think I know how to get a car to go well around there so I’m really looking forward to this one.”
2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM
(After Eight of 10 Events)
Driver Standings
1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,917
2. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2,757
3. Cooper MacNeil – 2,644
4. Matt Campbell – 1,702
5. Mathieu Jaminet – 1,324
Team Standings
1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,917
2. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 2,757
3. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 2,644
4. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 1,001
5. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 966
Manufacturer Standings
1. Chevrolet – 3,000
2. Porsche – 2,812
3. BMW – 1,052
4. Ferrari – 330
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Another Win for No. 4 C8.R
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: GTLM Pole for Taylor, No. 3 C8.R
Corvettes for Sale: C7.R Tribute 2015 Corvette Z06 Offered on Bring A Trailer
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