Team seeking ninth win at Laguna Seca; Garcia to make 100th post-merger start
DETROIT (May 9, 2023) – Corvette Racing will wrap up its two-race West Coast swing this weekend with what’s been an annual stop for the last quarter-century. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the Monterey Peninsula will play host to America’s most successful sports car team for Sunday’s MOTUL Course de Monterey.
The two-hour, 40-minute race, set for 3 p.m. ET and airing live on NBC, is the third race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Full-season teammates Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor will pilot the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the GT Daytona (GTD PRO) class as the team goes for its ninth victory at WeatherTech Raceway.
This is the 25th straight year that Corvette Racing has visited the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit just off the Pacific Ocean. The track is one of two where the program has raced in each of its previous 24 years – Sebring is the other – with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta joining the list at the end of the season.
This weekend also marks another important milestone: Garcia will become the first driver in the WeatherTech Championship to make 100 starts in the series since the start of the post-merger era in 2014 when the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM joined together for one American sports car championship.
Since that time, Garcia has won 20 races – including in 2014 at Laguna Seca – and four championships… all with Corvette Racing.
He and Taylor hope to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish in GTD PRO. This time around, the Corvette program has a year’s worth of car and tire data to fall back on following its inaugural season in the class during 2022 with a modified version of the mid-engine Corvette C8.R.
The MOTUL Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N is set for 12:10 p.m. PT / 3:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 14 and airs live on NBC with full streaming coverage on Peacock. IMSA Radio will have live audio coverage on XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and IMSA.com, which will have IMSA Radio coverage of all practice sessions, Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“We have made good progress with our car since we were last at Laguna a year ago. There is data we can look at for tire wear and performance, plus we have some correlation from our simulator to help. Last year we did lead early thanks to some luck and strategy, but it was clear we didn’t have the pace to compete. I’m hoping this year is better.”
(Making 100th start post-merger): “It doesn’t seem like it should be my 100th IMSA race! I have always said that racing in America is a lot of fun because of the tracks, the fans and the competition. It’s a lot of time away from home, but I feel like I have a second family with Corvette Racing, who I’ve been with since 2009. I am fortunate to have had a lot of great teammates and great races with many wins and championships in this series with I hope more to come.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I’m looking forward to Laguna Seca. We didn’t have great pace there last year, but it was also early on in our development with this car on this tire. I feel like since that event we’ve made some big gains which we saw late last year and even in Long Beach and Sebring this year. Our guys have been nailing everything in the pits and strategy the last few events, so hopefully we can be a contender for the win.”
2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO
(After three of 11 events)
Driver Standings
1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1067
2. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 994
3. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 991
4. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 989
5. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 844
Team Standings
1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1067
2. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 994
3. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 991
3. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 989
5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 844
Manufacturer Standings
1. Lexus – 1067
2. Mercedes-AMG – 994
3. Chevrolet – 991
4. Porsche – 989
5. Aston Martin – 854
Source:
Corvette Racing at Chevrolet
Related:
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Hard-Fought, Runner-Up Finish
Corvette Racing at Long Beach: Time to Make Some Magic
Corvette Racing at Sebring: Fifth in Late-Race Carnage
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