Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen: Looking for the Way Forward

Fifth in GTD PRO, ninth in GTD category for No. 3 Corvette

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 24, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTD PRO grid Sunday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen – the fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – following a challenging qualifying session Saturday.

Jordan Taylor drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the 15-minute session and posted a best lap time of 1:46.168 (115.288 mph) to start the race fifth in class and ninth among all GTD cars. He’ll drive Sunday with Antonio Garcia as the duo looks for its second victory in the Six Hours in three years.

It was a tough qualifying in a couple of ways. The ultimate pace of the Corvette has it nearly two seconds off the overall GTD pole-winning Lamborghini, which took three of the top six positions. The track also was partially dry and partially wet with rain impacting both prototype sessions after the GTD qualifying concluded.

The No. 3 Corvette team and its drivers sit fourth in GTD PRO points after four rounds. They are second, however, in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings following long-distance races at Daytona and Sebring. The IMEC is a four-race championship made up of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Watkins Glen and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans to end the season.

At The Glen, points are earned at three and six hours with strategic decisions factoring in for both points in the IMEC as well as the regular class championship.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 25 and airs live on USA from 2 to 5 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will have live audio coverage on XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and IMSA.com, which will have IMSA Radio coverage.

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

“You always want to be competing at the front. I feel like we haven’t qualified well here in a couple of years now, so it’s all down to race pace, strategies and pit stops. It’s a good thing our guys are always strong at that, but it’s always a little demoralizing leaving a qualifying session almost two seconds off the pace. I don’t think we’ve forgotten how to drive or set up a car. It felt good, there’s just no laptime in it.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO
(After four of 11 events)

Driver Standings
1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1,415
2. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 1,374
3. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 1,324
4. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1,297
5. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 1,136

Team Standings
1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1,415
2. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,374
3. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 1,324
4. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 1,297
5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 1,136

Manufacturer Standings
1. Lexus – 1,415
2. Mercedes-AMG – 1,374
3. Porsche – 1,324
4. Chevrolet – 1,297
5. Aston Martin – 1,146

Source:
Corvette Racing at Chevrolet

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