DETROIT (Sept. 22, 2020) – Corvette Racing takes the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to its first new track in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend as the series visits Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Acura Sports Car Challenge. It’s the seventh round of the championship for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class and sixth since racing returned from the COVID-19 break in July.
The Corvette Racing program came out hot following the restart with four wins in five races. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor have won three times in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and lead the GTLM Drivers Championship, as does Chevrolet in the Manufacturers standings.
A runner-up finish at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta earlier this month moved Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner to second in GTLM points in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. The teammates were victorious in class at Sebring and placed second at Road America to start their march up the championship order.
Unlike the previous seven IMSA events, Corvette Racing has not tested the new-generation Corvette at Mid-Ohio – a highly technical track with significant undulation and directional changes. As a result, the team and its drivers will rely on data analysis and correlations from sessions at Chevrolet’s Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator to arrive at effective baseline and aero setups for the first of a pair of one-hour practice sessions before Sunday’s qualifying and race.
Corvette Racing leads all IMSA entrants with eight class victories at Mid-Ohio dating back to 2001 in the American Le Mans Series. Gavin is tied for most victories by an active driver at the circuit with four and also shares the lead for career Mid-Ohio poles with four. Taylor has two career pole positions at the track – one each in the prototype and GT ranks.
Since making its return to Mid-Ohio in 2018, Corvette Racing has scored consecutive GTLM podiums with Garcia part of each – third in 2018 and runner-up last year.
The Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday with same-day coverage on NBCSN at 11 p.m. ET. Live streaming coverage begins at 2 p.m. via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It will be a challenge to figure out what will be the best baseline at Mid-Ohio in a very short amount of time. With this new schedule of running just a couple of practices, it makes things very challenging – not only for us to get up to speed in a very short time but also to put down a decent test program. It feels much too short compared to what we are used to. So far this year, it has been very difficult to get data and improve the car in two hours, but also for Jordan to learn these tracks in new car. He knows all the circuits but it may have been a long time since he’s run a GT car. He’s doing a great job so far but it is extra work for him. Cutting down practice by an hour isn’t making those things easy.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It will be difficult going to Mid-Ohio. It’s a track where we haven’t tested the new Corvette. It’s a situation where we can rely on the simulator, which has been a great tool for us. It’s shown great results where we can develop the car and then it shows up well on the track. Personally, every track we’ve gone to this year has been a learning curve. At Daytona and Sebring, we had test days. At Road America and VIR, just jumping in trying to figure it out has been tough. It’s great to have my teammates to rely on. They’re very open; I can ask any question and they’ll give me an honest answer. That really accelerates the learning curve.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Mid-Ohio is going to be a challenge. That track is always one where you’re always searching for grip. It’s a great track, one that I enjoy, and it seems to create good racing. I think by that point, we should have a reasonable data set with the C8.R and knowing what we can achieve with the car and the tires we have from Michelin. The simulator is a huge resource that Corvette Racing has been using. We know what we can get from that. I think we feel confident that we should be able to generate some pretty good data from that to make sure we are coming into Mid-Ohio as prepared as possible. I feel we will be strong and good but it is another new track for this car. We’re learning every weekend with this car, and that’s a good challenge.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Without having a ton of real-world data to go off of, you have to lean on your simulation tools – whether it’s the Driver-In-The-Loop resource or other tools the team has at the race shop. But we also are taking lessons learned from this year as well – setup things that have worked so far at some tracks and on certain surfaces. We’ll use all the tools we have in our toolbox to put us in a good spot heading into the weekend. These events have been compressed and shortened quite a bit. Trying to get all those little details figured out beforehand can make a huge difference ahead of race week.”
2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings
Driver Standings
1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 191
2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 177
3. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi – 174
4. Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 171
5. Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor – 171
Team Standings
1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 191
2. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 177
3. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 174
4. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 171
5. No. 912 Porsche GT Team – 171
Manufacturer Standings
1. Chevrolet – 202
2. BMW – 194
3. Porsche – 186
4. Ferrari – 28
Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
2001
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GT1
2002
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1 (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GT1
2004
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1 (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 5th in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)
2005
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)
2006
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1
2007
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1 (O’Connell pole, Magnussen fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1
2008
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Beretta fastest race lap)
2009
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 4th in GT
2010
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 13th in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT
2011
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 6th in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT
2012
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Gavin fastest race lap)
2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM
2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM
CORVETTE RACING AT MID-OHIO: By the Numbers
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for more than 20 years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.
• 3: Class victories at Mid-Ohio for Oliver Gavin, the most among active Corvette Racing drivers. He and Tommy Milner won there in 2012, and they led early in 2019.
• 5: Class victories at Mid-Ohio for former Corvette Racing pilot Johnny O’Connell, the most among team drivers.
• 7: Consecutive victories at Mid-Ohio for Corvette Racing between 2001 and 2008; the team didn’t race there in 2003 as it was not part of the American Le Mans Series schedule.
• 8: Class victories at Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio – more than any entrant in IMSA at the circuit.
• 8: As in Chevrolet’s small-block V8. More than 100 million units have been sold worldwide and is the most successful engine in American motorsports.
• 9: Number of drivers who have competed at Mid-Ohio for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta, Kelly Collins, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, Andy Pilgrim and Tommy Milner.
• 12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
• 20: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014.
• 24: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.
• 29: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 111: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 102 in North America and eight at Le Mans.
• 233: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 6,343.56: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 13 previous trips to Mid-Ohio. That represents 2,817 miles.
• 307,689.38: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is nearly halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – at 622,268 miles.
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