Big points day for Chevrolet, Corvette Racing, Corvette DPs

• Garcia, Magnussen advance to third place in GTLM

• Gavin, Milner increase GTLM Driver’s Championship lead

• Prototype win for Ricky, Jordan Taylor as Corvette DP scores podium sweep

• Chevrolet adds to lead in pair of Manufacturer races

AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 17, 2016) – Corvette Racing met its goal Saturday of a solid points haul to maximize its championship position heading into the final race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R placed third in a closely fought GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in the Lone Star Le Mans race at Circuit of The Americas.

The result was a key one for Chevrolet in the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship, as the Bowtie Brand earned second-place Manufacturer points and its nearest rival received fourth-place points. Chevrolet, going for its 11th Manufacturer’s title in IMSA competition, unofficially leads by 20 points heading into the season-ending, 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in two weeks.

GTLM Driver’s Championship leaders Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin placed fifth Saturday in GTLM and grew their points advantage from seven points to 11. The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R has won four times this season and has led in points from the start of the year.

The Prototype standings also favor Chevrolet and its Corvette Daytona Prototype teams after Saturday’s race. Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor won overall in their Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP as they led 70 of 75 laps for their third win of the season.

Chevrolet also leads in Prototype points for the Engine Manufacturer’s Championship – a title it has won four consecutive years since the program began in 2012.

Garcia and Magnussen drove from eighth place in class at the start to third in the span of two hours. Magnussen drove the opening 43 minutes and picked up three spots during that time. The other big development early on was the ability of both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette Racing crews leapfrog their closest championship challenger thanks to a quick first pit stop.

Gavin, who started sixth, pitted from that position at the same time as Magnussen before handing off to teammate Milner. The championship co-leader held firm against a tough challenge from his leading championship rival as the two cars came together as Milner defended his position just before the halfway point. He emerged unscathed while the competing car lost 12 laps due to damage.

In Prototype, Corvette DPs won for the sixth time this year and fifth in a row. Chevrolet-powered teams also swept the Prototype podium for the third consecutive race.

The Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype won by 1.421 seconds as Jordan Taylor finished ahead of Action Express Racing’s Dane Cameron and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP. The Taylor have won more than any other driver combination in the category and solidified their hold on third place in Driver points.

Cameron and Eric Curran used their fourth consecutive podium to vault into the lead of the Prototype Driver’s Championship for the first time this season. Unofficially, the Cameron/Curran combo are now one-point ahead over their Action Express Racing teammates Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, who placed third in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.

Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel in the Visit Florida Racing No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP placed seventh in class after losing time due to a loss of drive just past the 30-minute mark.

The final race of the IMSA season is the 10-hour Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort on Saturday, Oct. 1 from Road Atlanta. The race begins at 11 a.m. ET with live television coverage across FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING GTLM QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTLM: “The further we went into the weekend, the better the Corvette was. From the first practice through the warmup and race, we never stopped working on it. At points, we made some big swings on the setup side because we had nothing to lose. At some point we found our way a little bit. The first surprise was that in qualifying, we weren’t as far off the pace as we thought. The warmup was the same. It was very hard, especially with traffic. At the end, I think we had a Corvette that could have challenged the race winners. We’re looking forward to Road Atlanta now and wrapping up the Manufacturer’s Championship for Chevrolet. We have a really good chance, and I really want to win that race. I’ve come close a couple of times so that will be my focus.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTLM: “It was a pleasant little surprise. I think that it’s a good couple of spots better than I thought we were going to be. The car was quite good in my stint. We were able to kind of keep up with the guys in front, whereas I thought we would be out of it real fast looking at the practice times and qualifying. But the race car was pretty good I have to say… better than I thought it was going to be. I’m happy for the result. I’m happy for Corvette Racing and Chevrolet getting closer to that manufacturer championship.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “This could be a real turning point for us in the championship. I think we will have to go to Petit Le Mans and get a seventh or an eighth place if the No. 67 was to win. It’s not a super comfortable cushion, but we just need to execute at Petit. I think we just need to be smart. We weren’t the greatest today, we weren’t the fastest. We were battling with the car a little bit and we made a couple of changes during the race. One was the wrong way and the other one was, I think, back in the right direction. But we need to go back and look at the data to see where we were missing it. Ultimately, we came away with scoring good points. We have extended our lead in the championship and at this time of the year that is all you need to be doing. You just need to be executing, getting the points on the board and extending our points lead. Looking at all the practice sessions, all the qualifying and everything that we did, I really didn’t think we were going to be coming away with extending our points lead over the No. 67. But we have, and it’s positive. We move forward and we go to Petit very positive.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “Coming away with the points lead we have was best-case scenario. It’s not really how I would have liked to have gotten that points lead. We struggled all day today and really all weekend… just looking for pace and just sort of comfort driving the car. That part wasn’t so much fun, but yeah, we lucked out today for sure. We definitely had, as Olly (Gavin) said, we’ve had either all of the luck in the world or none of it. Today it looked like we had none and then we had all of it pretty quickly there. Part of me feels bad for the No. 67 guys, but that is kind of a bummer way to lose some points. But I can’t say I’m too unhappy about it. We’ve all fought really hard all year long and some races we’ve had some good races and so have they. Now it comes down to Petit Le Mans where the gap is fairly large, but we still need to execute for the whole race. We certainly can’t just jog across the finish line there; we still have to push hard. It will be a big challenge for sure, but we are in a good spot.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE-WINNER: “It was an awesome race. We had the best car today, and not often do you have the best car and everything goes your way and everything goes right. Today, we had a little hiccup with traction control cutting out for a couple of laps; it was a bit of a panic for the guys with about 40 minutes about how we were going to get it working again. With a one-second lead with no traction control, (40 minutes) would have been a long, long time. But they worked through it and Jordan controlled the race after that.”

(ON HIS STINT) The conditions were not that bad. The car was very comfortable inside. The car was great. We were able to build such a good gap and Jordan was able to bring it home from there.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE-WINNER: “It was obviously a good day, our third win of the year. We had a strong car so I knew we had a shot at it when Ricky won the pole. Then Ricky had a flawless run, pulled out a 10-second lead and I knew, basically with me finishing it, it was up to me to lose it. I think we pulled it out to 15 seconds and then something happened – either I made a mistake by spinning or we had a traction-control problem. I spun, and the next five laps we were fighting what turned out to be traction-control problems and I was probably freaking out on the radio a little bit. Thankfully, the guys got it sorted, we fixed it. By that time, we only had a two-second lead so the race was back on. It got a little close, but the only thing that made it close was traffic coming and going. It was a good race. We had a little battle, but obviously a great day for us. Konica Minolta and DLL had 70 people here, so it couldn’t have been a better weekend for us.

(MORE ON THE RACE): “Well the spin, I don’t know if it was my mistake or the problems we were having caused the mistake, but either way I knew with it being my stint I had to kind of bring it back to the guys because of the lead we had that Ricky (Taylor) built. I’m just happy. It’s our third win of the year. DLL is here and Konica Minolta… and thank you to Continental Tire.”

(THIRD STRAIGHT 1-2-3 for CORVETTE DP) “The Corvette DP has been great for years. This was the third race in a row we finished 1-2-3 just shows the dominance of the car. The car’s been developed a lot and we’ve learned a lot. It’s been good to me, it’s been a fun car to drive.”

Article by Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Photo by: Richard Smith

First class win of season for No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

•Winning duo leads 84 laps in GT-only event and solidify third in GTLM points

•Third straight win and fifth of season for Corvette Racing

•Chevrolet increases lead in GTLM Manufacturer Championship

•Gavin, Milner remain first in GTLM Driver Points

ALTON, Va. (Aug. 28, 2016) – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on Sunday, the second overall victory for Corvette Racing in its history and the first for the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of the season.

It was Win No. 102 for Corvette Racing, which has won five times in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class this year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The victory also was the second for the team at Virginia International Raceway.

Garcia and Magnussen combined to lead 84 of the 90 laps including the last two following a late-race caution period. The margin of victory was 0.802 seconds although Garcia’s lead before the yellow flag was a steady 3-4 seconds.

It capped a highly successful weekend for the No. 3 Corvette team. Garcia was quickest in Friday’s practice, and Magnussen claimed pole position. The duo won at VIR together for the first time after placing third in the 2013 American Le Mans Series GT class.

Magnussen set the tone from the outset by leading from pole position. He drove the first 49 minutes – most of the time with a lead of less than a second. Garcia drove a double-stint to close in what he described as qualifying conditions. The final stop with 53 minutes remaining proved to be key as the No. 3 crew performed one of its best fuel and tire stops of the season to solidify Garcia’s lead.

Class championship leaders Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner retained their GTLM points lead despite a ninth-place class finish for the 2012 ALMS GT race-winners at VIR. Gavin set the fastest lap of the race but had an unfortunate crash that brought out the race’s only caution. The incident came moments before reports of fluid down near that area of the track.

Milner qualified second behind Magnussen but fell back at the start in a frantic run through the first corner. He remained steady and moved back up through the field to fifth before a small off-track excursion just past the 40-minute mark. With two races to go, they still unofficially lead the GTLM Driver’s Championship by seven points with two events remaining.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Lone Star Le Mans on Saturday, Sept. 17 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – OVERALL AND GTLM RACE-WINNER: “We were all pretty equal all day in the class. The Corvette Racing team did a great job with the tire pressures. We had a plan where we would be better from the middle of the stint and not so much in the beginning. It wasn’t much fun early on with the tires but as things went on our Corvette got better and better. I’m super happy. It’s our first win in a long time. We have had plenty of opportunities, so I’m really pleased and hopefully this starts a streak for us now!”

WE TALKED EARLIER AND YOU THOUGHT THE FIRST STINT WAS SPECTACULAR, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ANTONIO’S STINT? “It was a fantastic drive by Antonio. He kept the gaps and opened them a little bit. I know it got a little scary at the end with one lap to go. It scared the hell out of me. But he did a fantastic drive and always does.”

WINNING FIRST RACE OF 2016: “Oh man! It’s about time! It was a great job by the whole team all week. Green with one lap to go… I don’t know what that was about; it scared the hell out of me. The No. 3 Corvette team has had a tough run this year and it’s great to be back in the Winner’s Circle.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – OVERALL AND GTLM RACE-WINNER: “It was really hot and super close. It was a very difficult, tricky race. The racing line was super narrow; I think that’s why we saw some mistakes at the end. I had a few up and downs in the race. Our pit stops were perfect. After the tire pressures went up and stabilized, the Corvette felt great. I was able to make a little bit of a gap in traffic but it went back and forth. It was just like qualifying except you are trying to save fuel. Luckily I was able to run a good pace and economy with our Chevy engine. I got a really good job on the restart and already had a good gap at the start-finish line. I’m happy for Jan and everyone at Corvette Racing. We have been so close so many times this year that I really think our No. 3 Corvette crew deserved it today.”

YOU HAD TO SAVE FUEL AT TIMES AND THEN YOU SAW THAT FULL COURSE CAUTION AT THE END. FUEL WAS NO LONGER A CONCERN, I THINK IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE CARS BEHIND YOU? “Yeah, it was a very hard race. My team got me a three- to four-second gap and then it was a classic green/white/checkered. Not even green then white, it was like white and checkered. It was an amazing race and the Corvette was brilliant. So I just need to thank the whole Corvette team and Chevy. Corvette Racing did a fantastic job today. It really paid off to be out testing on Monday and Tuesday (at Road Atlanta). I have to say, because the car was fantastic.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It’s obviously a disappointing way to end the day. We heard reports that there may have been oil or fluid down near the final turn so maybe that contributed to the incident. The Corvette C7.R is a very strong and well-built car, and we are always thankful for that. It seemed like today we got behind and never could catch up. That is how difficult it is in this championship. We are still thankful to maintain a points lead and will do whatever we can to protect that lead over the final two races.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It’s hard to pass and make up ground. I kind of got hung out at Turn One and didn’t have much grip. I had to play some avoidance also with a couple of the cars in there and had some junk on my tires. My first lap free from the pitlane was a case of me going too fast and got loose. The car would understeer behind everyone else, and I didn’t realize how loose it was. It was a mistake on my part.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “This race today was victorious today on two different levels. Obviously for the Corvette Racing team, Jan and Antonio to bring the No. 3 Corvette home first after battling all day against the best competition of the world speaks very highly of not only the crew work but the engineers that put together a setup that they could race for an entire day in this extreme heat. That should never be overlooked. On another level, I think this is one of the best races we have had since the sports car merger in 2014. The Balance of Performance was very, very tight. You only had to look at the practice times, qualifying or the race times to see that any of the cars that started the race today had the capacity to win. And that’s what makes great racing. So we were all winners today – everyone who participated today in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.”

Article by: Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Landmark achievement for sports car GT racing’s premier team

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 23, 2016) –Already sporting an unmatched collection of historic moments, Corvette Racing added another today by claiming its 100th race victory by winning Saturday’s Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park. Drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner piloted their No. 4 Mobil 1/Sirius XM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to the landmark triumph.

It is the third win of 2016 for Corvette Racing, which opened the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) season with back-to-back GT Le Mans (GTLM) victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Corvette Racing is the first team in IMSA history to score 100 event victories. The team’s first win came Sept. 2, 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway. Saturday’s victory also was the team’s 60th 1-2 class finish with Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen runners-up in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

“Achieving 100 victories is a tremendous accomplishment for Corvette Racing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It’s a testament to the dedication of all the crew members, engineers, drivers and our engine team members over the past 17 years. We certainly couldn’t have achieved this milestone without the support of our partners at Pratt Miller, Mobil 1 and Michelin. Everyone with Corvette Racing operates as one team and embodies the competitive spirit of Chevrolet. We’re happy to share this success with our passionate Corvette owners and supporters.”

The Corvette Racing team made its first start Jan. 31, 1999 at Daytona. Since that time, the program has claimed championships and victories on endurance racing’s most prominent stages:

• Ten manufacturer and team championships in the American Le Mans Series, plus nine driver titles

• Eight class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

• Three wins in the Rolex 24 including an overall victory in 2001

• Ten class wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

Corvette Racing also claimed endurance racing’s Triple Crown in 2015 with wins at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans. It was the first team in 15 years to accomplish the feat.

The tally of Corvette Racing victories spans a number of different series. In addition to its record at Le Mans, Corvette Racing has nine wins in the WeatherTech (formerly TUDOR) SportsCar Championship, 82 in the American Le Mans Series (a record for entrants) and one in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

No matter the series or continent, however, the aim of Corvette Racing has remained the same, according to Campbell. “Importantly, technical learnings gained from racing directly benefit our production Corvette and powertrains,” Campbell said.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Road America on Sunday, Aug. 7.

O’Connell suffers electrical glitch

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -Cadillac Racing driver Michael Cooper drove to a seventh place finish in the first of two Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship presented by Cadillac races today at Road America. O’Connell suffered an engine misfire believed to be from a throttle position sensor and was classified in 19th place.

O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and Cooper (Syosset, N.Y.) started today’s 50-minute race from the third row in fifth and sixth. At the drop of the green flag both Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe drivers looked to improve their positions. Cooper had a run on the outside of Turn 1 and was blocked going into Turn 3 sending him back to ninth. O’Connell was able to move up to fourth position, having an optimistic start. On lap four, O’Connell reported an engine misfire that proceeded to get worse, forcing him to drive around slowly to try and accumulate as many points as possible. The team believes the issue to be a malfunctioning throttle position sensor. Meanwhile Cooper was able to improve two positions to seventh when the checkered flag dropped.

“At the start the inside line got held up into Turn 1,” Cooper said. “I got a good run on the outside, up to about fourth. I was side-by-side with Pat Long going into Turn 3 and he didn’t give me any racing room that forced me back to ninth. The Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe was handling pretty good. I just didn’t have the big straight line power to keep in touch with the front runners.”

O’Connell’s quest for his fifth driver championship in as many years took a blow today.

“Even the best teams have days where things don’t go their way,” O’Connell said. “We picked up an engine misfire on lap four. Damn I had a good car. I was excited about the handling and I was feeling good about things early in the race. I was trying to keep it up there, but the misfire got worse and worse. The Cadillac Racing team will get it fixed and be ready for the 10:30 a.m. start tomorrow. I took a big hit in points toward the championship today, so we will just have to fight that much harder the rest of the season.”

The second race of the Pirelli World Challenge Road America Grand Prix presented by Cadillac weekend will take the green flag at 10:30 a.m. ET tomorrow and can be viewed via live stream at http://world-challenge.com/streamvideo/. The race will be televised on the CBS Sports Network on Sunday, July 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Third place for Cooper, O’Connell electrical issues

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -Cadillac Racing driver Michael Cooper drove to a podium position of third in today’s running of the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship presented by Cadillac race at Road America. O’Connell’s electrical issue resurfaced and he was classified in 20th place.

Based upon their fastest lap in yesterday’s race, O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and Cooper (Syosset, N.Y.) started sixth and ninth respectively for today’s 50-minute event. At the drop of the green it appeared that O’Connell’s electrical woes from yesterday were fixed. However, as a full caution flew on lap one he reported that the misfire was back. On the restart Cooper was in sixth and focused on getting to the front. On lap nine he passed the Porsche of Pat Long and soon after the Nissan of Bryan Heitkotter slowed on the track putting the New Yorker into fourth. Four laps later around the four-mile, 14-turn undulating road course he was able to pass local hero P.D. Cunningham’s Acura for the final podium position finishing in third.

“I got less than an ideal start,” Cooper said. “I got squeezed into the grass at the start and I didn’t want to push the issue. Pat and I had a good race down into Turn 5. I could tell I had a little more pace and I was able to set him up going into Turn 1. I chased down Cunningham and was able to get him into Canada Corner. The Bentley was very strong with their big downforce. Going through the Carrousel it would upset the front of my car. Finishing on the podium almost feels like a win today.”

O’Connell had his electrical Gremlins return.

“Clearly disappointed,” O’Connell said. “It is not an easy sport. We have a lot of technology in these cars. The Cadillac Racing guys replaced everything they could last night. It is tough. That is three races in a row that I felt like I had a podium car and something happened. I am happy for Michael to get his Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe up on the podium. For me, my championship hopes for five in a row are pretty much over. We will come back at Mid-Ohio in four weeks and go for wins.”

The race from Road America will be televised on the CBS Sports Network, Sunday, July 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The Pirelli World Challenge Series will travel to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course for rounds 14 and 15 to run July 29-30.

Mission accomplished for two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs ahead of 24 Hours

• Oliver Gavin fourth-quickest in class as No. 64 team goes for second straight Le Mans win

• Focus turns to race-week preparation for what will be hard-fought class battle

• Team going for ninth class win in 17th Le Mans appearance

• Corvette Racing with five straight Triple Crown event victories

LE MANS, France (June 5, 2016) – Corvette Racing ended the Le Mans Test Day with the fastest time in the GTE Pro class as Antonio Garcia set a lap of 3:55.122 (129.680 mph) in the No. 63 Konica Minolta/Mobil 1/Sirius XM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Garcia, who celebrated a birthday Sunday and will team with Jan Magnussen and Ricky Taylor, led a Corvette Racing effort that focused on race setup and strategy as the team works toward what it hopes will be a ninth victory at the French endurance classic.

Both Corvettes were among the four fastest cars in what should be a highly competitive fight in GTE Pro. Oliver Gavin in the No. 64 Corvette C7.R was fourth-fastest with a lap of 3:55.837 (129.245 mph). He, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor are the defending class winners at Le Mans, and Gavin and Milner won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to open the season.

Both Corvettes recorded significant mileage around the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. The No. 64 Corvette turned 81 laps while the No. 63 Corvette posted 73 laps. The entire day was run in warm, dry conditions which allowed the team to maximize its efforts to find the best race setup for the 2016-spec Corvette C7.Rs.

Sunday marked the first time at Le Mans for the cars, which feature a number of changes from 2015 including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTE Pro cars.

Corvette Racing engineers, crew and drivers will spend the days leading up to next week’s practice and qualifying sessions pouring over data to fine-tune the performance, reliability and efficiency of the two Corvettes. The task is monumental given the quality and quantity of the other manufacturer-based teams in GTE Pro.

The 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is set for 3 p.m. CET/9 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 18. Practice and qualifying sessions are scheduled for June 15-16.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s been a while since we’ve had such a clean test day with no worries. That helped us a lot in going through our test program. We’re happy with where we are, and we’re well prepared for the race. Now we have a ton of data to go through, but it looks like it will be a great race with a very competitive field in GTE Pro.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’m quite happy with what we’ve achieved today. We had a problem-free test and tried some different possibilities for the race. It’s always a bit of a guess to know how much grip the track will gain throughout the race week, but we’re in good shape.”

RICKY TAYLOR, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It was great to be in Le Mans with the Corvette Racing team for the first time! The balance of the car was very good, so I could take my time to get up to speed. It’s a pity about the red flag which cut short the last session while I was driving, but I’m sure the car will be very strong.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s been a productive day. It’s very close between all competitors in the GTE Pro class. I feel that we’ve learned a decent amount and that we’re in a good spot. The weather was quite stable throughout the day and we’ll have to see what the race week brings.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It was great to be back and get the Le Mans experience going again. It’s nice to come here with a car that’s a bit different from what we had here in last couple of years with the new aero package. We were trying to make sure we ticked all the boxes, and we did that. We also tried some different things and learned a lot from that. We were pretty quick and finished fourth in class which is a good place to be in. We’re all fairly comfortable with the car, so it’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ as far as the Test Day went.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It was good to be back. It always takes some ten laps to get back into the rhythm of things, but the car felt very good, so I’m happy. You do feel a little bit better aero. At Le Mans you’re completely trimmed out so any additional downforce you can get without the drag is important, and I think that’s what Corvette has done with this new C7.R – increased the level of downforce and reduced the drag.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We come to Le Mans each year with our list of items and settings to work through to put us in the best possible position for when we come back for the race. That is what we accomplished today with both our Corvette C7.Rs. Antonio going quickest in the class is a good indication of the quality of the effort our engineers and crew have put forward. Although we are pleased with today’s results, we realize we still have more work to do. Preparation, strategy and execution are what we have used to win eight times at Le Mans, and it’s what we will count on again this year.”

Article by: Ryan Smith

Media contact: Judy Kouba Dominick

Cooper 14th, O’Connell 17th

LAKEVILLE, Conn. -Cadillac Racing drivers Michael Cooper and Johnny O’Connell finished 14th and 17th respectively in race two of the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship race weekend at Lime Rock Park this afternoon.

Based upon their fast laps from yesterday’s race O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) started from the third grid position and Cooper (Syosset, N.Y.) took the green in from the seventh. On lap one, Cooper got hit by JD Davison in the No. 33 Nissan and was pushed off the track and back to 17th position. O’Connell was able to keep his inside second row starting position and come around in third place. On lap 18 O’Connell reported a “funny motion in the rear” of his No. 3 Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe. On lap 24 he was going into Turn One when the right rear tire went flat. He had to pit for a new Pirelli P-Zero tire and returned to the race a lap down in 17th.

“At the start we went into Turn 1 and Turn 2 racing two wide and running pretty clean,” said Cooper. “Going into Turn 3 I got tagged from behind by Davison and he sent me off the track spinning. It put us in a hole that we couldn’t recover from. It is tough to pass with where we are at with our performance. Tough for Cadillac Racing, but we will back at Road America.”

O’Connell had a good start going.

“At the start I was able to hold my third place starting position,” said O’Connell. “Alvaro (Parente, No. 9 McLaren and eventual winner) got a jump, Patrick Long in the Porsche followed and I was in third. Right around lap six or seven I started to feel something funny in the car. I was talking to the guys to see if they could find anything with the telemetry. I must have picked up something early in the race and it finally went flat. I am proud of everyone at Cadillac Racing. We were running third today. I had a good car. It’s a shame. There are nine races to go. We need some help to get us back where we are supposed to be with performance, especially heading into Road America at the end of next month.”

The Pirelli World Challenge series will travel to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for rounds 12 and 13, June 23-26.

The Pirelli World Challenge series races from Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut will be televised on CBS Sports Sunday, June 5 at 4 p.m. ET.

Article by: Kyle Chura

Photo Credit: Richard Prince

Cameron, R. Taylor fill up all-Corvette DP second row in Prototype

• Magnussen to line up behind teammate in No. 3 Corvette C7.R

• Three Monterey class wins in last four years for both Corvette Racing, Corvette DP

• Corvette Racing with 99 victories in program history

MONTEREY, Calif. (April 30, 2016) – Corvette Racing will challenge for its fourth class victory in five tries at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday from the second and third rows of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) grid for the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Monterey. Tommy Milner qualified the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R fourth in class Saturday with a lap of 1:23.385 (96.622 mph).

Meanwhile, Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototype teams will look to match Corvette Racing’s mark with another overall victory in the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Monterey. Dane Cameron in the Action Express Racing No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox entry led the four-car Corvette DP contingent by qualifying third at 1:19.072 (101.892 mph). He will team with Eric Curran.

Milner will have Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R behind him at the start. Magnussen qualified sixth in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R at 1:23.450 (96.546 mph). He and Antonio Garcia were class winners at Laguna Seca in 2013 and 2014.

Milner and Oliver Gavin won in 2012; the pairing came to Monterey with two victories and a runner-up finish in the first three races. They lead the GTLM championship as a result.

A victory Sunday would be Corvette Racing’s eighth at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit on the Monterey Peninsula and fourth in five seasons. This also is the team’s last race before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The second row of the Prototype grid will feature two Corvette DPs. Ricky Taylor in the Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP, last year’s Monterey pole-winner, qualified fourth Saturday with a lap of 1:19.119 (101.831 mph). He will drive with brother Jordan Taylor, and the two are coming off a victory in the most recent IMSA round at Long Beach.

Christian Fittipaldi in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP qualified fifth at 1:19.214 (101.709 mph). He and teammate Joao Barbosa are the Prototype points leaders entering Sunday.

In the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, Ryan Dalziel qualified seventh with a best lap of 1:19.652 (101.150 mph). He and Marc Goossens will share last year’s race-winning Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP.

The Continental Tire Grand Prix of Monterey for GTLM and Prototype entries is set for 11:15 a.m. PT on Sunday. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 with audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN GTLM: “It was better than we expected! We’ve been fifth or sixth all weekend, and we ended up fourth. So it’s not a huge gain but in this class, every position matters. In the end, I was really, really happy with that. In the last practice session we did a lot of work on long runs. It looks like that is going to be a challenge here tomorrow – managing tires, getting the car to last to the end and have it be driveable. It is going to be a long race tomorrow I feel like with how the tires are acting. We’re not really sure where everybody else is with tires and what they are doing as far as their long-run pace. I think we’re fairly happy here with the No. 4 car where it is; it’s as good as we’ve had it. And certainly getting a good qualifying effort will be massively helpful once we get to the race. Hopefully we will be able to keep this spot on the start or even gain a spot of two if we are lucky and just try to get it half way to hand it over to Oliver.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “Obviously I’m not so happy about qualifying sixth, but I think we probably got the most out of it. We improved the Corvette in certain areas but didn’t really make any headway in others. It is what it is. Maybe we can improve a little bit in the race tomorrow, but it starts to be a little bit of a gamble – we can make small changes, but that’s about it.

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: “I think we maximized the potential for what we have for our type of car. I’m pleased to be starting near the front and doing something a little bit different – shuffling the driver order a bit. We’ll see what shakes out tomorrow. We’ve made a ton of progress on our Whelen Engineering Corvette over this weekend and even compared to last year where we struggled a little bit. We’re a lot happier to be a lot further up the road than we were this time last year. We’re looking for a strong race and another podium and trying to jump in points on the rest of these guys and win this championship.”

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN PROTOTYPE:” It was good. I think it is interesting what the No. 31 is doing with drivers – qualifying with the fast guy. I think a good advantage for us is we have two good, strong drivers. It is a bit of a shame not being third because I had a lap going that would have probably put us there. I made a little mistake, but that is my fault. When we get to the race, anything can happen. The first two sequence of corners, Turn Two and Turn Three are always a bit messy. Your starting position hardly ever stays the same here after the first lap. I think we’ll have a good race tomorrow. We have a lot of confidence in that we have two strong drivers and the other teams are starting their fast guys. We aren’t really racing the Mazdas so I think we are in good shape. The Corvette DP has been solid. Reliability is a given for us because the guys always prepare such a good car.”

Gavin, Milner second in GTLM despite late-race contact while leading

• Gavin, Milner retain GTLM points lead with two wins and runner-up in 2016

• Dekra Green Award for No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• First Corvette DP podium sweep since Sebring 2015

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 16, 2016) – Wayne Taylor Racing won its second straight race at Long Beach to lead an overall sweep for the Corvette Daytona Prototype program, and Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner extended their GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship lead with a runner-up finish in their No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at Saturday’s Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix.

Jordan and Ricky Taylor won by 2.958 seconds in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP with Action Express Racing’s Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa second in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP. Eric Curran and Dane Cameron finished third in Action Express’ No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP. It’s the first 1-2-3 finish for Corvette DPs since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2015.

The GTLM race was a Corvette 1-2 for most of the race’s second half. Milner and Gavin appeared headed for their third straight victory to open the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) season until Milner was hit from behind by Fred Makowiecki’s Porsche entering the final turn with two minutes left in the race. Despite the contact, Milner recovered to finish second.

Corvette Racing was going for the 100th victory in program history. Starting fourth in class, Gavin had to pit 30 minutes into the race with a suspected left-front tire puncture. It changed the strategy of the race with Milner having to go 70 minutes on a tank of E20. He took the lead with 53 minutes remaining. The race’s only full-course caution erased an 11-second lead over teammate Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette, which Jan Magnussen qualified and started from fifth.

The restart saw the two Corvettes nearly nose-to-tail for the better part of 20 minutes. Unfortunately Garcia’s Corvette spun at Turn 4 with nine minutes left. He made it back to pit lane but the car couldn’t be repaired. He and Magnussen finished ninth.

The race stayed green until the finish despite the incident in the final corner that knocked Milner from the lead. The No. 4 Corvette did win the Dekra Green Award, which goes to the GTLM car that best combines performance with efficiency.

In the Prototype race, Ricky Taylor made an opening-lap, Turn 1 pass stick as he and brother Jordan led all but three of the race’s 75 laps. What’s more, the Wayne Taylor Racing and No. 5 Action Express Corvette DPs ran 1-2 for 57 laps including the final 36. Fittipaldi had qualified on pole position.

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marc Goossens placed sixth for Visit Florida Racing in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP.

The Taylors have now been either first or second the last three years at Long Beach. Cameron set the fastest lap of the race in the Action Express No. 31 Corvette DP for the second straight year. Unofficially, the Mustang Sampling Corvette DP has moved into first place in the IMSA Prototype Championship while the Whelen Engineering Corvette DP moves into second.

The next race for Corvette Racing and Corvette DPs is the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, May 1.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “It was fairly well under control until I had a wiggle apparently. But that wiggle was tiny. I just got wrecked basically. Two Porsches running nose to tail… it is pretty clear what happened there. It is pretty disappointing that this is the kind of racing we have here where we are better than that for sure. At the end of the day, it could have been worse for us for sure. Second place is obviously great points. Oliver was unlucky there with the puncture (tire) and it was looking pretty bleak for us for a little bit there. But with the yellow, and we were at the right spot there at the end. There were very difficult conditions there after the yellow flag I was locking fronts all over the place and then the tires came back and they were good. Then with three to go, just taken out. It’s disappointing but certainly could have been a lot worse. I don’t mind finishing second if it is clean and it happens the right way, but that wasn’t the right way. It hurts a little bit to be second in this case the way it happened, but again, end of the day second place is great points for us. We can hold our heads high that we raced as hard as we could today, the right way.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “When you look back on today at the end of the year, we would hope that this was one where we ended up getting a good result from it. Yes, we felt like we got robbed of the victory. But with the puncture we had early-on and the pit stop, Tommy having to save fuel, the tires only lasting for so long… for us to come away with second place is a very good result. If you had asked us after the pit stop or told us we were going to finish second, yes we would definitely taken that. It is a little hard to swallow right now. We felt like we were going to win and we were robbed of that.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It was not the outcome we expected. We played our strategy very smart. With the pace we had early, we showed that we had to do something. We didn’t have the fastest car but we were – up until the yellow – first and second. For sure the first yellow helped the 4 car stay in the lead. The Porsches were very fast. If I wanted to stay ahead of them, I needed to have the best drive of my career. There was a lot of pressure from them. Maybe there were some taps but nothing special. Then a mistake happened. I can’t say I felt contact. We probably need to view the replay but I was driving the whole race on the limit. That’s what happens on a street circuit sometimes. It can bite you at some point. I wasn’t going to be happy to finish second, so I was doing all I could to try to win the race.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “My stint itself was pretty uneventful. I wasn’t really in a position to attack anybody. We started getting messed up in traffic and lost a lot of ground to the guys in front. I tried to take care of things, but it was difficult. We did a bunch of laps in qualifying, so we were starting to lose a lot of performance in the tire. I was just taking care of things.”

CORVETTE DP QUOTES

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “I don’t know, ever since Konica Minolta has been with us starting at this race three races ago, we always perform really well. The guys give us an awesome car. It was a Corvette DP 1-2-3, which is very special. We couldn’t be happier. Jordan did and awesome job. Everybody was fantastic.

“I was devastated after qualifying. It’s nice to start on pole at Long Beach because track position is so important. I was thinking about that all night and, a 4 o’clock race start gave me all day to think about it. I had every situation planned in my head except for that one where (Fittipaldi) accelerated right out of (Turn) 11 and was a bit early, I thought. We were a bit trimmed out, so I was able to stay close, and it’s actually easier sometimes to be second because you’re not the first one feeling the new grip, so I had a little bit of an advantage just being able to attack. He didn’t give me a whole lot of room, but that’s racing. It’s good stuff.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “The 5 was on me pretty much from the get-go when I got in the car and was putting a lot of pressure on. And then when the yellow came, I really didn’t know what to expect on cold tires. Once we got going, I saw the 31 was behind the 5 and that kind of helped take his focus off me a little bit and he was probably having to look both front and rear. I was able to pull a little bit of a gap thanks to the 31 and kind of maintain that until the end of the race. Thankfully, we didn’t catch too much traffic in the last 10 to 15 laps and we were basically able to hold our pace and get to the end.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE: “We managed to get by the Mazda going into the hairpin. The No. 10 was about FOUR seconds ahead or something like that and we managed to close it down a little bit. It was a pretty solid race. Hats off the them (No. 10); they didn’t have any mistakes. They deserved to win today. We finished second. If you can’t win, finish second and collect the points. I’m pretty sure that these points are going to make a big difference at the end of the year and that is key. We will keep rocking and see what happens the next race.”

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE: “Once I got in the car, I could see the No. 10 car really close, but it is very hard on a tight street course. I was trying to judge the slower cars to see if I could get an advantage but sometimes it actually works against you. It’s racing. I think we did everything we could and it was good racing. The Mustang Sampling Corvette was good all race long. The Action Express guys did a great job and we got great points today.”

Article: Ryan Smith | Judy Kouba Dominick

Gavin, Milner, Fässler win again in No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• 10th class victory at Sebring for Corvette Racing

• Team claims fifth straight Triple Crown victory

• Action Express Racing Corvette DPs take two Prototype podium spots

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2016) – Corvette Racing’s Triple Crown streak continued Saturday with a 10th class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R won their second straight race to open the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) season to go along with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

It is the second straight victory at Sebring for Corvette Racing and the third in four years. Milner drove the final two hours and 50 minutes to win by 2.882 seconds. The team has won the last five of the world’s top endurance races – Daytona and Sebring in 2015 and 2016, plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015.

“Great driving, teamwork and execution in the pits were keys to today’s GTLM class victory for the No. 4 Corvette C7.R team in the 12 Hours of Sebring,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “To come from two laps down and win in a field as competitive as the IMSA GTLM class is a true reflection of the never-give-up attitude of the Corvette Racing team.

Campbell added, “This win is special because it Corvette Racing’s second consecutive win at Sebring and follows win at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. The IMSA season is off to an exciting start.”

Milner drove the first two hours, 50 minutes in Corvette Racing’s No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and was third at the time of a red flag for lightning and track conditions. Milner had led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class midway through the opening quarter thanks to a strong first pit stop by the Corvette Racing crew and being able to take on wet tires 90 minutes into the race just before the pit entry closed due to a crash on track.

Fässler got in the No. 4 Corvette not long after the two-hour, 15-minute stoppage and drove in some of the most challenging conditions. He switched from slick to wet and back to slick Michelin tires during his stint as the track surface and weather changed throughout with his pace improving as his stint wore on. Gavin then took over on a dry track with less than five hours to go. He drove two-plus hours and got the Corvette back on the GTLM lead lap before Milner drove to the end.

The No. 3 Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller also was a contender for a repeat victory at Sebring before the car suffered heavy damage when another GTLM competitor hit Magnussen at the entry to Turn One, which sent both cars hard into the outside tire barrier. Magnussen, part of the GTLM-winning effort with Garcia a year ago, had just taken the lead in class with less than a little less than five hours remaining in the race.

Magnussen was evaluated and released from the Sebring infield care center, but the car suffered significant damage to the driver’s side and rear internal components. The No. 3 Corvette Racing crew worked feverishly to repair the car, and it returned to the race less than 45 minutes after it arrived in the team’s paddock.

Despite the setback, the No. 3 Corvette completed enough laps for ninth-place points.

Action Express Racing Nets Two Podium Finishes

A year after claiming Chevrolet’s first overall victory at Sebring in 50 years, Action Express Racing again climbed the overall podium with both of its Corvette Daytona Prototypes. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP of Dane Cameron, Eric Curran and Scott Pruett placed second overall. The trio finished just 2.926 behind the race-winning Prototype.

“I am proud of how the Corvette DP teams and drivers raced at Sebring,” Campbell said. “They raced hard all day long and secured two podium positions at this challenging track.”

Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, last year’s winners in the Action Express No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, teamed with Felipe Albuquerque to finish third overall Saturday. Their Corvette DP led the most laps.

Marc Goossens, Ryan Dalziel and Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fifth in Visit Florida Racing’s No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP; Wayne Taylor Racing’s quartet of Jordan and Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli and Rubens Barrichello placed 12th in class in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP.

The next event for Corvette Racing and the Corvette DPs is the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 16 from the Long Beach (California) street circuit.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “The race started with us not knowing how much pace we were going to have compared to our competition. Then Tommy and Antonio were both marching up the order. Tommy got us into the lead with some great pit stops and some good strategy. Then of course the rain came and we had that big stoppage. It is hard to get yourself focused after that. But you do, you manage, you use your experience and you get going again. Then it was a case of us battling away with a few things – some bits and pieces – the weather; the track; the tires – generally the conditions. I got the car back onto the lead lap and got us into the top-three. Then I handed it over to Tommy and he did a great, great job. I knew we were in great position toward the end of my double-stint because I knew the car was good because it was underneath me. It had a little bit too much understeer hear and there, but the car was really strong. We got back on the lead lap and into the right spot. Tommy could then get it and run to the end. He had been on fire all day. I had to do exactly what he did at Daytona which was sit on the pit box and watch and fret and pace and stress about is there going to be another yellow. Or is this going to happen, or is that going to happen? Is the last pit stop going to go okay. The guys did a brilliant job with that. Once again the team had their stresses and strain through the day. Jan’s accident was huge and it just shows the quality of the car and the ability of the team to bounce back from that and get that car back out. It was just an exceptional day again. This is 60 hours of racing that we’ve won with the No. 4 with Le Mans, Daytona 24 Hours and now Sebring 12 Hours. That is just amazing that we have been able to do that in the last 12 months. I am very, very happy with the performance of the whole team.”

TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “What a race. We sort of had an up-and-down race. At the start of the race the car wasn’t super quick, but we weren’t bad by any means. We had a great pit stop there and got me to the lead. Then the rain came, and we weren’t super good in the wet for sure… third or fourth quick there for sure. But then when I got in at the end, I’ve NEVER had a race car that good. That Corvette was absolutely on rails and I could tell as soon as I left pit lane… I knew we had a fast race car. I just immediately knew – the car felt that good. We didn’t have the best car at the start; certainly not in the rain. But at the end we had THE best car – here we are P1. I’m super, super happy for these guys – for Oliver and Marcel. And for all the crew guys. They have worked super hard. Just fortunate to be in the car there at the end and get to have some fun like that.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It’s an amazing day. Two events with Corvette Racing and two wins. I’m really, really happy and proud to be a part of this winning team. Looking back at my race, it was quite tough after the red flag for me. I had never driven this track in the wet, especially not in a GT car. It was difficult to find the right racing line early but after that I felt OK. On my last stop, I think we went a little too early on slick tires, and it was really tricky for me to stay on track. Unfortunately I went off and hit one of the banners. We had to stop because the engine was getting warm. So yes it was a tricky situation. We lost some laps but we were able to catch up. Oliver and Tommy did a really good job out there. It was great to watch them, especially Tommy. I think he did half the race which was really impressive and an unbelievable job. The team made no mistakes and the car was a rocket.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “When the rain came, it was a bit of a disaster. It looked from the outside like it was hero time for everybody wanting to take a risk. I wasn’t that keen on doing that. I stayed safe but aggressive. I stayed in touch with the leaders. But it was very, very difficult with the conditions. I don’t know how the 25 BMW and I didn’t crash at the end of the straight. We were literally navigating for half a straight not controlling the car at all. I was able to come to a full stop before the tire barriers. Luckily some other GT cars avoided me spinning, and I had a couple of cars going by sideways and backward. I avoided the wall but unfortunately the pits were closed at that time so we had to go back around on slick tires.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It’s such a huge shame for everyone on the team really. The weather made it really difficult out there. The decision to go to slicks felt wrong, but we did it. After awhile I could see that times were coming down and I could build a little bit of temperature. I kept working at it. I don’t know how far back we were but we were a long way but caught everything up. We got into the lead there for a very short while and then it all went south. It’s a shame. (Kevin) Estre (911 driver) came and apologized. That’s nice enough but it doesn’t change the fact that we are in here building the car. I really, really feel bad for the crew because man we were fast.”

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “Congrats to the No. 4 team. They did a great job. Like Daytona, we had a chance to win the race but it didn’t work out. The result for me was quite frustrating, but overall it was great to be with this team and to be part of it. I tried to everything I could. Two races… unfortunately not the results I was hoping for. But in Sebring we had all the chances. We had a car that could win especially in the dry. That is a positive.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Just when you think you’ve seen it all – with the tremendous wins at Le Mans and Daytona – Corvette Racing comes back from one of our cars being taken out and the other two laps down with six hours to go and standing here in Victory Lane… it’s a great team, great drivers, tremendous strategy and engineering, flawless execution on pit stops. It takes an effort like this to win in this race and in this series. We’re racing against the world’s best. And today we demonstrated why Corvette Racing is the world’s best GT racing team.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

SCOTT PRUETT, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP: FINISHED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE: “It would have been awesome to win. We felt like we could win. We went to a knife fight with a gun. The guys did a great job! Dane did a really nice job there at the end. Realistically this is probably my last Prototype race so it would have been nice to be on the top of the podium, but I couldn’t be happier with second place and this great group of guys. Everybody at Action Express has been a real pleasure and welcomed me in as part of the family. I had so much fun today racing hard and taking the lead in my stints. It was a great day!”

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP: FINISHED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE: “The day ended up great. The No. 31 was good and the Action Express guys kicked butt all day long. We ended up with a top-notch finish. It would have been nice to pull out a win there. He was pedaling hard to keep the thing out front, but he didn’t have anything for the Patron car. Dane did all the heavy lifting today to be honest. He drove almost half the race. Scott did a great job and I did my best to try and screw it up for everybody. We got back on track and Dane had a good car for the end. Hats off. It was a good day for us. I look forward to going to Long Beach here in a month or so.”

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP: FINISHED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE: “It was a long day. I drove a lot and I am going to sleep very well. I am really proud of the effort we put forth today in the Whelen Action Express Corvette today. I really think that was an excellent effort for today. I think we can be quite proud all around for the effort – all the drivers, all the guys in the pits, spotters. Everybody was really really great today. We just didn’t quite have enough in the last couple of laps which is obviously very disappointing to come so close. It was a strong endurance race for us so we can push on toward the championship.”

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: “It was good to be back in race conditions. The team did a tremendous job today with our team being the only team fighting with the P2 cars to the end. We were definitely the class of the field as a team – no problems. The car ran flawlessly, no problems at all. The car ran great. We ran as fast as we could, as strong as we could without any mistakes but it wasn’t enough today. We definitely felt like we are in a gun fight with a knife, but we came up a little bit short. It is a little bit disappointing. A little bit frustrating. We did our best and still not up there even close enough to win. But we are looking ahead to the season and the championship. We have a strong team, even stronger than last year so the future looked really great.”

FELIPE ALBUQUERQUE, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: “It was a hell of a day. Crazy weather for everyone. We survived everything. We led a lot of the race. I think Joao and Christian and the team did a great job, but in the end it was just strategy and place. The P2 car was same story as Daytona. He went way too quick. I could expect him to brake so late into Turn Seven. I was at my limit. I couldn’t even brake later. It’s like that and it is so frustrating to see last seven laps with the win so close but at the same time so far because the guy was pulling so much. It is what it is. P3 was what we had.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: “It was an awesome day for the whole team for Action Express to finish two and three. We definitely managed to get into the mix with the other cars. The P2s were definitely very, very strong in the race. I am very proud of everything we did this week. So close but no cigar. And unfortunately that’s the way it went today. I’m happy to collect the points we did today. Now we’ll turn the page and prepare for Long Beach.”