Corvette Racing at Road America: Drive for Nine in Elkhart Lake

Garcia, Taylor looking to build on team’s eight previous Road America wins

DETROIT (Aug. 3, 2022) – Corvette Racing is going from the shortest track on the IMSA schedule to the longest when the team and the rest of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship return to spacious Road America for the IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend.

The 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course is one of the most revered on the IMSA calendar with high speeds, big braking zones and heavy g-loads under cornering. It also is one of Corvette Racing’s most successful venues with eight victories for the program and 14 IMSA wins for Chevrolet as a manufacturer.

In the two-hour, 40-minute race, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor will continue their push for their third straight IMSA Drivers Championship in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

After seven races, the pairing have one win on the season – at Sebring – and sit second in the Drivers Championship in the new GT Daytona (GTD) PRO category.

Garcia and Taylor were GT Le Mans (GTLM) winners at the circuit in 2020 – the first year of the C8.R. With the class discontinued for 2022, this is the first time for Corvette Racing in GTD PRO at Road America. There are a number of differences – more weight and less power, for example – but the biggest change will be the GTD-spec tire from Michelin on the Corvette instead of the “confidential” Michelins that were designed specifically for the C8.R over the course of two-plus years.

Road America is usually notorious for eating up tires with high levels of degradation. Despite a lack of overall pace throughout the season, the No. 3 Corvette has remained in championship contention due in large part to its tire management, engineering strategy and crew execution.

Road America and the Corvette brand have a lengthy history dating back nearly 60 years. Chevrolet routinely used the track to test and validate the performance of early-generation Corvettes with that tradition continuing into the present day. Road America was the site of the first on-track running of the Corvette C8.R in 2018, and the mid-engine Corvette continues to write new chapters each weekend.

Chevrolet Motorsports Display On-Site at Road America

In addition to the many series and events on the racetrack at Road America, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. The Chevrolet Motorsports Display will be full of Chevy vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend.

The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday plus 7:30 a.m. Sunday and is located in the Fan Midway in the Road America main paddock. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include:

• The 2023 Corvette Z06 convertible
• Additional Chevrolet products such as Blazer RS, Silverado ZR2, TrailBlazer Activ, Camaro 2SS and Colorado ZR2
• A Corvette Racing C8.R showcar
• An opportunity to receive a 2022 Corvette Racing t-shirt

The IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend from Road America is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. CT on Sunday, August 7. The race will stream live on Peacock and air same-day beginning at noon ET on USA. IMSA Radio will broadcast all on-track sessions beginning with Friday afternoon’s practice at IMSA.com. The race call Saturday also will be available on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“This will be a little different Road America than we’re used to with the GTD Corvette and the cars are racing now – both GTD and GTD PRO. You have to think about attacking the track in different ways given weight, power and other differences that are part of the GTD configuration versus GTLM. We also don’t know about tire degradation, which was quite severe there in past years. We don’t know how it will be this year on this tire but it can open up several different strategies for the race and can play a big role in the outcome. So we’ll see. One thing that hasn’t changed is how enjoyable it is to drive around Road America and in the area. It’s a highlight visit every year, but hopefully this year that includes a good result or win for us.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“Road America will be an interesting one for us. Knowing where our car’s strengths and weaknesses are, this could be a tricky one for us from a pace point of view. From a tire degradation point of view, that has been our strength this season. Hopefully that will suit us. We have some ideas in the works for car development for that race, so I think we’ll go there with a little bit of a stronger package and hopefully be contending up front. We’ve been to simulator since Lime Rock, so we’ve done some running with some big swings of changes to see what comes alive. That’s been the tough thing this season with just one car on track each weekend. You don’t have the opportunities to take big risks on setups. That’s where the simulator has brought big value to us.”

2022 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO
(After seven of 11 Events)

Driver Standings
1. Mathieu Jaminet/Matt Campbell – 2,441
2. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,226
3. Ben Barnicoat – 2,181
4. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 2,170
5. Connor De Phillippi/John Edwards – 1,946

Team Standings
1. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 2.441
2. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,226
3. No. 14 VasserSullivan – 2,181
4. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2,170
5. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 1,946

Manufacturer Standings
1. Porsche – 2,441
2. Aston Martin – 2,240
3. Chevrolet – 2,236
4. Lexus – 2,211
5. BMW – 2,031

Source:
Corvette Racing

Related:
[VIDEO] Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor Offers this Mid-Season Recap
Corvette Racing at Lime Rock: Tough Job in the Race
Corvette Racing at CTMP: No. 3 Corvette Back on Podium