Rounds of contact, yellows knock all four Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs from podium finishes
ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (August 3, 2025) – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Chevrolet emerged from Road America on Sunday with their GTD PRO Drivers and Manufacturers championship leads intact following a rough-and-tumble Motul SportsCar Grand Prix.
All four Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round had their podium hopes dashed late in the going with Garcia and Sims recording the highest finish of the quartet – fourth in GTD PRO with their No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.
Both of the Pratt Miller Corvettes took turns out front in class in the opening 90 minutes. Sims was going for the lead following a restart after the race’s third full-course yellow when he was hit and knocked into the gravel trap at Turn One.
The resulting damage limited the Corvette’s performance for the rest of the way, but Sims and Garcia soldiered on to drive from 10th and back into podium position in the late going.
On the No. 4 side of the pitbox, Tommy Milner led 10 laps early in the No. 4 Corvette before handing over to Catsburg after 50 minutes with the Pratt Miller entry consistently toward the front. Unfortunately for Catsburg, he was caught up in an incident two corners after Sims’ off and spun in the middle of the track in traffic to fall down the order.
atsburg found himself roughed up throughout his stint from a number of GTD PRO competitors, The final contact from the No. 9 Lamborghini resulted in heavy front damage and a water leak that caused Catsburg to pull the No. 4 off-track with 15 minutes to go.
In GTD, AWA’s No. 13 Corvette of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani placed seventh and won the Bob Akin round to move back into the lead of the season-long championship. Fidani drove the first 45 minutes – much of it under full-course yellow – and Bell ran as high as third late before another unfortunate yellow forced him to drive back from 11th following the race’s final restart with 40 minutes left.
DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Z06 GT3.R of Robert Wickens and Alec Udell, on the other hand, benefitted from that yellow after a pit stop just before the caution flew to take the class lead. Wickens qualified and started from fourth place, and the duo kept the DXDT Corvette toward the front until Udell assumed the lead going into the homestretch. Much like Catsburg in GTD PRO, Udell lost multiple positions due to contact and close-quarters racing and finished eighth in class.
The next IMSA event for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams is the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway on August 24.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It’s a shame. It’s the second year in a row that we have to finish this race with a damaged car. Last year it was a crash on Lap One and now because another car crashed into us at Turn One. It was very difficult to drive because I had no performance. The alignment seemed to be OK but there was definitely something on the aero side. It was difficult to hang on. I have to say that I tried to be fair to people and they were fair to me. So there was no chaos or no big contact between us or people trying to make bad moves. So I’m happy with that. I was super slow because I couldn’t go any faster. I tried to defend and used my experience to place the car wherever I needed to do. In the end I think we have a points advantage that is way better than it could have been. The way the car drove, it wasn’t even fast. So I’m happy we managed to save some good points. Eventually it will come our way and we’ll have a good race toward the end of the championship. That’s the way it is this year but I’m happy with the finish we had.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It’s IMSA racing. If nothing else, it’s exciting. There was a lot going on in the race. There were so many situations with so many yellows and pit stops… all the chess games going on. I haven’t seen a replay of the incident between the 48 BMW and us but I felt like I was giving enough racing room to them. It’s a shame that we got shoved off and sustained damage that frankly hindered the rest of our race. Our Corvette was really good before that. We seemed to lose rear downforce and it became a handful to drive. Without that I think we could have been in a situation to be at the front most of the time in a controlled state. Antonio did a great job to keep the field behind him for so long. It wasn’t easy to drive after the hit. It’s bizarre to say but fourth is actually reasonable considering what happened. But we came into this race with a fast Corvette and expected more than that.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Ultimately it was a day to forget for the team, for us on the No. 4 Corvette and for many other people, as well. The driving standards were questionable at times, and the product on the racetrack reflected that. It’s unfortunate for us and for the fans with all the yellows. Aside from that, the good takeaways from this event for us is that we had a very fast Corvette. We worked really hard to improve our race pace and balance of the car, and we were able to do that. Those are good positives we can take away from the weekend.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I’m never shy with a little argy-bargy. But today especially the 65 Ford… he was over the limit with driving standards. The Porsche moved under braking everywhere and then the 9 Lambo, they just shove you off like you’re not there. I do feel like it needs to be addressed otherwise racing is not fair anymore. We also need to look at ourselves and improve. I feel like we really nailed the setup on the Corvette this weekend. The car in the race was really mega. It was nice to drive and nice to be on the attacking side and having some fun there. It is what it is. Unfortunately I feel like this was our race and we didn’t capitalize.”
AWA POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It was a positive race, to be honest. I feel sorry for the No. 70 guys. We want to go toe-to-toe with them out there, but their trouble gave us the Akin win which is great for the team and our mission to get back to Le Mans. From that point, we could attack and for awhile it looked really good for our Corvette to the end of the race. But IMSA racing gives and it takes away; the last yellow came just at the wrong time for us and cycled us back to the rear through no fault of our own. Getting from 11th to seventh is about all I could do today. It’s still a very positive day for the AWA team with the Akin award. I’m really proud of Orey’s drive so we’ll move on to the next one at VIR.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I’m happy with where we ended up. The last little bit of the race was a little unfortunate because I think we had a shot at the podium but that’s sometimes how it goes. But onward and upward to VIR.”
DXDT RACING POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“The racing here in IMSA is a dogfight at the end. I was giving a little more courtesy than I should have, and that’s on me. I’m not going to point any fingers besides at myself and say that’s how it’s played here. It seems like it’s good on the Race Control side so there’s nothing else besides muscle up and do the same. I think everyone was just on the limit, which is why there were no calls. Ultimately that’s how it is. You just gotta put yourself in the right positions consistently, and that’s what we’ve been doing. I’m really proud of the strategy calls from the team. I think it was perfect from that side. Everyone on the pitbox did a fantastic job so I’m frustrated to not capitalize on that. We’ve been so hungry for that first win and podium. Frustrated that I let it slip away.”
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Not the end result we wanted but so much hard work went into this weekend. Everyone at DXDT Racing along with Alec and myself should be proud of what we’re doing. It’s not the first time this year that the team has been in a strong podium position in the dying laps. It’s only a matter of time before one comes our way.”
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Related:
Corvette Racing at Road America: Up Front in Qualifying
Corvette Racing at Road America: Time for a Breakthrough?
Corvette Racing at CTMP: Runner-Up for No. 4 PMM Corvette
Subscribe Now:
Four plus mile long road course and full-course yellows. At Le Mans, same only the course is 8-1/2 miles long!
That’s BS! Race officials are just controlling the outcome of the race and trying to put on more of a show for the race fans.
Montana Bob
Race Control screwed this race up for a lot of people. If it goes to 6 hours next season then half the cars won’t finish the race. It was time to start throwing penalties at people. I couldn’t believe the Lambo didn’t get a drive through for the contact with Garcia literally right after they penalized someone else for doing the same thing. Udell got the same shaft at almost the same time when he was run off the road.
With all these other drivers, crashing into the Corvettes, maybe we need some NASCAR boys to be allowed to race in IMSA races, and show these demolition drivers what happens to them if they start wrecking the other drivers.
I am glad to see that I’m not the only one that see all ‘the argy-bargy’ that happens particularly in Imsa demolition derby!!! The only problem is that lately mostly against corvette!!! Wth??? Drivers should be advised prior to racing of the rules of physics, reaching another driver because ‘misjudged’ the corner???, you can’t push into a corner when someone is already there!!! Or another car is passing on the outside being pushed into a wall or off road should never be allowed!!! The speeds this vehicles are producing are very perilous and idiotic to think is ok not to lift…fortunately no one has perish yet… side by side racing is not only how reckless you are but how councious you are of the right thing to do!!! There are a few drivers that still abide with that but ignoramus like a few teams are continuing reckless attitudes should never be allowed or celebrated…not only is dangerous but also affecting teams monetarily… it happens in nascar and most racing venues but sports car racing is or should be a at higher levels.
Comments are closed.