Corvette Racing at VIR: Ready for a (GT) Challenge

Aug 18, 2026

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Corvette Racing at VIR: Ready for a (GT) Challenge

Photo Credit: Richard Prince for Corvette Racing

Five Z06 GT3.R teams look to write next chapter of VIR successes for Corvette program

DETROIT (August 18, 2026) – Championship hopes and more for Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams take center stage this week with three rounds left in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The first of those three is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) – the season’s lone GT-only race.

The five Corvette GT teams each have their own goals heading to the 3.27-mile, 17-turn VIR road course. Some are in title contention and others are hoping to enter the final two races of the season with strong momentum:

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims (No. 3 Corvette) – 2025 race-winners and sixth in GTD PRO championship defense
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette) – second in GTD PRO Drivers Championship
13 Autosport – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani (Corvette) – Leading Bob Akin Award standings
DXDT Racing – GTD: Robert Wickens, Mason Filippi (No. 36 Corvette) – Penultimate scheduled race for Robert Wickens
DragonSpeed – GTD: Giacomo Altoé, Casper Stevenson (No. 81 Corvette) – Fourth in GTD at Road America

In addition, Chevrolet increased its lead in the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship at the end of six hours at Road America earlier this month. Three more solid results would give Team Chevy a second straight title.

It should come as no surprise that a GT-only event is steeped in Corvette Racing success. Since the program’s first VIR race in 2012, Corvette teams have won nine races at the track – seven in IMSA competition – including a first- and third-place finish last year in GTD PRO for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.

The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 23. It will air live on NBC starting at noon ET as does streaming coverage on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA’s YouTube channel internationally. IMSA Radio will air on-track sessions at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Now we need to win races and qualify up front if we want to have a chance to race for the championship at the end of the season. VIR is a good place for us to start. This is a track where the team has been strong and it’s one I like since I first came to race in the U.S. VIR is a lot like Mosport in that it’s really fast and very hard to pass, so track position is going to be really important. Hopefully we can start out front and stay there.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Having had some strong races at VIR in the past, it’s always a circuit that I look forward to going back to. It’s a brilliant lap all the way around. It’s a track where our Corvettes are usually strong. I feel like a good result is fairly important this year if we are to challenge for the championship at all in the 3 car side of things. Nevertheless, we’ll work through our normal program and optimize everything possible and see how the weekend unfolds.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I don’t remember a championship being as close as this. I’m sure it has happened before in the past, but it seems like for whatever reason every year in GTD PRO there’s one car that just kind of has a year where nothing kind of goes wrong. Now it seems like that’s not going to be the case this year for us. We’ve had a couple of bad ones. Obviously the BMW didn’t have the best one there in the last round, either. It’s so easy to go up the order and down the order right with so many cars being competitive. If you have a bad day, there are six, seven, eight other cars that are all having decent days, and they’re going to beat you. It’s those days when things don’t go your way and when you’re trying to salvage whatever you can is important. No matter how you get there at the end, you want to have that chance to race for a championship in that last race.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The championship is super-tight going into VIR. It’s back to whoever finishes in front this weekend is going to have the lead going into Indianapolis. It’s super-tight with the BMW and Porsche. Unfortunately the 3 car took a big hit at Road America, but we’re a two-car team so hopefully we can use that to our advantage, especially in the Manufacturers Championship. VIR is another classic, old-school American track that is great fun and really competitive. It’s always a close fight when you are trying to gain or defend your position because of the nature of the track. But that is what makes it enjoyable and one of the reasons I enjoy racing in IMSA. Hopefully this is a good step toward our championship.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We are heading into the VIR weekend with the goal of extending our Akin points lead. It’s a little close for comfort at the moment! VIR is always a tough circuit, always hot with high tire degradation, but I enjoy the challenge the circuit brings every year.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m looking forward to VIR. Coming off a Bob Akin Award win at Road America gives the team some good momentum, and VIR is a place where we had success last year as well. We currently lead the Bob Akin championship, but only by a small margin, so the goal is to increase the advantage this weekend. At Road America, we felt like an overall top-five result was left on the table. The pace was there, so now it’s about putting everything together, fighting for another Bob Akin win and hopefully securing the overall result we know is within reach.”

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“VIR is a drivers track with great flow and rhythm. It really challenges both the driver and the car with demanding curbs and a good mix of low- and-high speed corners. Then on top of all, add in the heat of Virginia in August and it becomes even more of a demanding race. Another interesting change is there are no prototypes here so we just have to focus forward and not look in our mirrors all the time. Hopefully this is the weekend where we can score the result the team deserves.”

GIACOMO ALTOÉ, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“After a short break, we are fully ready for the VIR weekend. I have some great memories from last year with the pole position in qualifying and then very tight race battles with both Pratt Miller Corvettes in the race. As a team, we are getting stronger and stronger every weekend so I feel we can keep showing our great performance and hopefully bring home something big at the end of the weekend.”

2026 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points

GTD PRO Drivers Standings
1. Connor De Phillippi/Neil Verhagen – 2142
2. Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 2127
3. Harry King/Nick Tandy – 2111
4. Christopher Mies/Frederic Vervisch – 2043
5. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2029
6. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 2005

GTD PRO Teams Standings
1. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 2142
2. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2127
3. No. 77 AO Racing – 2111
4. No. 65 Ford Racing – 2043
5. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 2029
6. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2005

GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings
1. Chevrolet – 2356
2. BMW – 2251
3. Porsche – 2247
4. Ford – 2205
5. Lexus – 2130

GTD Drivers Standings
1. Dudu Barrichello – 2017
2. Philip Ellis/Russel Ward – 1993
3. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 1991
4. Aaron Telitz/Benjamin Pedersen – 1972
5. Albert Costa – 1687
8. Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 1617
10. Giacomo Altoé – 1493
17. Mason Filippi – 1298

GTD Teams Standings
1. No. 27 Heart of Racing – 2017
2. No. 57 Winward Racing – 1993
3. No. 96 Turner Motorsports – 1991
4. No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 1972
5. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 1687
8. No. 13 13 Autosport – 1617
10. No. 81 DragonSpeed – 1493
13. No. 36 DXDT Racing – 1298

GTD Manufacturers Standings
1. Ferrari – 2282
2. Aston Martin – 2257
3. Mercedes-AMG – 2254
4. Lexus – 2104
5. BMW – 2044
7. Chevrolet – 1981