DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports remained in the battle for the lead of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class at the halfway point of the first race for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Both the No. 3 and No. 4 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvettes took turns in the lead of the class to open the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Alexander Sims (No. 3) – in the final leg of a tripe-stint – and Earl Bamber (No. 4) were installed in the pair of new Z06 GT3.Rs at the 12-hour mark with Sims leading the team effort in second place.
The race had just restarted following the 10th full-course caution period of the opening 12 hours.
In GTD, the No. 17 and No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs continued trying to work their way up the standings. Starting driver Nico Varrone was in the middle of his second stint in the No. 17 Corvette at the halfway mark while Lars Kern was in his first stint in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R.
The next Corvette Racing report will come at the race’s 18-hour mark.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
HOW WAS YOUR SECOND RUN COMPARED TO YOUR FIRST? “That was a long time in the car. I stayed in the car with the same tires on my second time around was a stretch. We took right-sides and then when the 4 car elected to stay out, we came in for fuel and didn’t take tires. So that was almost 50 laps on that set and three-and-a-half hours for me in the car. It was hard. I would say that was pretty much my limit. I was kind of in the mix with GTD cars but I couldn’t really pass them even if I had a little more pace. Just like earlier, there was no real reward if you make a move on anyone like that. So there was a point where I chose to stay where I was. Things are running well. Alex and Dani are doing a good job. We just need to carry on.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
WAS THERE A NOTICEABLE CHANGE FROM YOUR FIRST STINT TO YOUR SECOND? “Not too much. There’s just a better understanding of this car and the tire now. As soon as the ambient temperature dropped, I could feel it through the car. That will certainly help us down the road. I’m happy with how the Corvette feels. I see that Antonio is leading, so they are having a good time as well at the moment. We are for sure missing some power compared to some of the other guys out there. We’ll keep hammering and keep doing what we are doing – not make mistakes and maximize what this Corvette can do. Hopefully there are no issues, and then with four hours to go we can talk about the end of the race. For now, it’s about maximizing what we’re doing, not making mistakes and just putting in laps.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 17 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST RUN? “We’re still learning so much every stint, both on the driving side and the team side. We’re only a couple of laps back but were super-close to getting one of the laps back before the red light (at pit exit) came on just as we were getting to pit exit. We’ll keep cracking on to the end. For me, my stints were OK. I was trying to stay risk-averse. Ultimately, we weren’t close to unlapping ourselves on track; it was only going to be in the pits. So there was no point in taking big risks at that minute. More important was keeping the car in one piece for the end of the race.”
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CORVETTE SO FAR? “I am. We were only meant to do single stints on the tires. The way that it went, I did 20 laps and then another full stint on the same tires. For sure they were hurting a lot at the end, but my pace stayed consistent. So things went pretty well.”
Source:
Corvette Racing at Chevrolet
Related:
Corvette Racing at Daytona: Six-Hour Report
Corvette Racing at Daytona: The Rolex 24 Challenge
Corvette Racing at Daytona: Rolex 24 Qualifying Report
Corvette Racing at Daytona: It’s a New Era!
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 PRO class at the halfway point of the first race for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.){kind=link}