cor123
Well-known member
PRESS RELEASE:
Garcia, Taylor take second GTLM win of season; Gavin, Milner finish as
runners-up
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA:
Another Wild 1-2 Finish for Corvette C8.R
Garcia, Taylor take second GTLM win of season; Gavin, Milner finish as
runners-up
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 2, 2020) – Corvette Racing took its second
consecutive 1-2 finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT
Le Mans (GTLM class) following a chaotic finish Sunday at Road America.
Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor won for the second time in their No. 3
Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R following a late-race pass in
torrential rain.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed second in the sister No. 4 Corvette
C8.R. It was the eighth victory at Road America for Corvette Racing, and the
team’s first there since 2016. Garcia and Taylor both won for the first time
in their IMSA career at Road America and extended their points lead to 10 in
the class. Gavin and Milner unofficially moved to third in the standings.
Chevrolet also grew its lead in the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship to
eight points. Corvette Racing has now won three consecutive races in the
category.
Things weren’t looking positive for the first half of the race. Taylor, who
qualified second, led early but the expected tire degradation reduced the
pace for the GTLM cars. Adding to the problems for the team were electronics
issues on the No. 4 Corvette that left both Gavin and Milner without
traction control.
The predicted rain for the race came with just under an hour to go. Garcia,
who took over with two hours left in the race, was the first GTLM runner to
pit for rain tires and stopped from sixth place. Two other GTLM cars
followed suit but three others stayed out, including the then-leading
Porsche which skidded off-track during a downpour at Turn One.
Milner remained on slick tires during the first deluge as officials halted
the race with 43 minutes left. The rain let up initially before cars
returned to the track with about 25 minutes to go once the red flag was
lifted. Following the final pit stops for wet tires, racing resumed with
seven minutes left and Garcia in second place.
An even more intense rain began to fall with just minutes left in the
two-hour, 40-minute race. Garcia was locked in a back-and-forth duel with
Porsche’s Nick Tandy just before the GTLM leader and the third-place Porsche
went off-track late in the lap. Both Garcia and Milner, who did a masterful
job on a wet track with no traction control, were able to get through the
chaos and took the checkered flag under a race-ending, full-course caution
period.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the GT-only Michelin GT Challenge at
Virginia International Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 22.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R - GTLM
RACE-WINNER: "It was super tough. Because of the wave-by, we were at the
back of all the GTD cars. So the spray we had back there was amazing. It was
impossible to see anything. The first thing was to go by a couple of LMP2
cars while fighting (Nick) Tandy to catch up to the 24 BMW. It was a very
intense three laps. I knew from Sebring practice that the Corvette C8.R was
really good in the wet, even if today was beyond wet! I had Nick all over
me, and we had many times when we were together... almost just sailing
together instead of racing together. I knew the Carousel and the Kink were
going to be really bad, and the line I took on the previous lap seemed to
work. Luckily enough for me it was the same and I was one of the few cars to
make it through. It's another 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing, which is
amazing. It's finally my first victory at Road America, so it's been a very
good weekend."
WHAT DID YOU SEE OF THE BMW AHEAD OF YOU? DID HE SPIN ON HIS OWN?
"The Carousel and the Kink were almost impossible to go through that part of
the track. There is really nothing you can do there. It depends on the depth
of the water. The Corvette C8.R survived it better than the rest. I don't
know if it was due to the race line I took. I was following the car behind
me and saw the BMW lose control. The race still wasn't done because I had to
do another lap through there. It's a credit to how good the C8.R is in the
wet. Thanks to everyone at Team Chevy because this car seems to be working
in all conditions."
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS WIN TO EXTEND YOUR POINTS LEAD?
"We didn't know starting the season how the C8.R would be. With the fourth
at Daytona, we saw the potential of the car. Our team did a great job during
the shutdown with fixing things that needed to be corrected. We've had a
chance to win the last three races, and we've converted those. We need to
keep putting pressure on everyone and make the rest of the field make
mistakes. On our own, we need to be their in the end and maximize our points
opportunities. The next one is VIR, where we have tested with the new
Corvette. We will do what we can to keep this momentum and carrying on
winning."
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R - GTLM
RACE-WINNER: "It was a wild day...very unexpected. The race started off
strong for us. We took a different strategy to go with three stops from the
beginning. Thankfully it worked out well with the timing the rain and track
position. Antonio never gave up. It was a tough fight in tough conditions,
but he did a great job of surviving for our second win of the year and third
of the year for Corvette Racing."
THIS RACE WAS ON THE NATIONAL NBC NETWORK. WAS THIS THE KIND OF EXCITEMENT
THAT WAS GOOD FOR NETWORK TV?
"It had a bit of everything. The start for me was exciting, and the battles
were all good. I could see on the big screen across the frontstretch that
the prototype battle was often exciting and had a little bit of everything
with the strategies. The weather was a bit different for those who probably
turn into NBC for NASCAR where they wouldn't run in the rain. There were
probably too many crashes for everyone's liking, but the show was very
exciting with the battle for the win at the end. You like to see that
between the manufacturers."
TALK ABOUT WINNING ON THE SAME DAY AS YOUR BROTHER (RICKY TAYLOR):
"It's definitely cool. I think this is the first time we've won on the same
weekend. I know we've gotten a pole on the same weekend, but in all the
years a win has never gone both our ways. It was cool to watch their battle
at the end with the 10 car. I know my dad's team hasn't won here either, and
we tried hard for many years."
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTLM: “I take my hat off to the team every time for never giving
up. It didn’t look like we were going to be finishing that high up in the
dry. But as we all know, there was a chance of rain all around. In this part
of the world when the rain comes, it comes big. You just have to take you
chances and make the right calls at the right time. We got a little lucky
with a few things, and ultimately the No. 3 Corvette made the right choice
on the right tires at the right time. We didn’t quite get that break or make
that decision at that time. But then as all the pit stops cycled through for
that last restart, we knew we just had to flat-out race. Our car was
compromised a little as we didn’t have any traction control as part of an
electrical issue throughout the entire race that we couldn’t really get on
top of it. I fought it all during my stints. I honestly don’t know how Tommy
kept the car on the track when he driving around on slick tires behind the
safety car. I mean... water that was three or four inches deep on slick
tires with no TC was amazing. For us to come away, even with all the stuff
that happened, with a one-two finish is pretty spectacular. Hats off to the
team and the crew and also to the C8.R. It seems like it is a car that can
live through some crazy circumstances and conditions on track and deals with
it. It’s a very fine car.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTLM: “That was absolutely wild. We had kind of a tough day to
start with, but it came back pretty well for us there at the end. Credit to
the guys with their never-give-up attitude that Corvette Racing is famous
for definitely paid off today. The conditions were unbelievably difficult.
The call to stay out there on slicks just before the full-course yellow was
just as much mine as it was the engineers. I thought it was the right thing
to do to run one more lap to see how bad the rain was going to be. And it
ended up being almost biblical in the amount of rain that came. In all the
races I’ve done, this has been the most rain I’ve ever seen come down at one
time. It was hard enough just keeping it on the track under yellow with
slicks, and it was bad enough when it was still green just trying to
survive. Then it went red flag so we had the opportunity to come in and
change it to rain tires. That in itself was difficult. For me I knew I just
needed to get to pitlane and survive. That was the name of the game there
and see what happened at the end. Once we went green, it was the most
difficult conditions I have ever driven in my life with the amount of spray
and with traffic and having so many cars around. At times it felt like I was
driving blind. I could have closed my eyes and would have had the same
amount of visibility at that point. I just tried to use very bit of muscle
memory and track knowledge I could as to where the track goes at certain
points. In the end, luckily we just survived with a first and second for the
team. The day didn’t start out well, but it ended as well as it could."
(Not having traction control) "Because I didn't have it from the time I got
in the car, I had to manage it from the start. In the dry, it's definitely
difficult because you are trying to not use the rear tires too much. I felt
like I did a decent job in that first run but driving in the wet without it
makes it that much more difficult. To be honest, the Corvette felt really
good in the wet. Even though we don't have a lot of time in the wet, the
guys made the right call with tire pressure. When the Michelin wet tires are
new, they're really good. That gave me the confidence early on to really
push, get through traffic, and trust in the car and tire to find the fastest
way around."
Garcia, Taylor take second GTLM win of season; Gavin, Milner finish as
runners-up
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA:
Another Wild 1-2 Finish for Corvette C8.R
Garcia, Taylor take second GTLM win of season; Gavin, Milner finish as
runners-up
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 2, 2020) – Corvette Racing took its second
consecutive 1-2 finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT
Le Mans (GTLM class) following a chaotic finish Sunday at Road America.
Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor won for the second time in their No. 3
Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R following a late-race pass in
torrential rain.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed second in the sister No. 4 Corvette
C8.R. It was the eighth victory at Road America for Corvette Racing, and the
team’s first there since 2016. Garcia and Taylor both won for the first time
in their IMSA career at Road America and extended their points lead to 10 in
the class. Gavin and Milner unofficially moved to third in the standings.
Chevrolet also grew its lead in the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship to
eight points. Corvette Racing has now won three consecutive races in the
category.
Things weren’t looking positive for the first half of the race. Taylor, who
qualified second, led early but the expected tire degradation reduced the
pace for the GTLM cars. Adding to the problems for the team were electronics
issues on the No. 4 Corvette that left both Gavin and Milner without
traction control.
The predicted rain for the race came with just under an hour to go. Garcia,
who took over with two hours left in the race, was the first GTLM runner to
pit for rain tires and stopped from sixth place. Two other GTLM cars
followed suit but three others stayed out, including the then-leading
Porsche which skidded off-track during a downpour at Turn One.
Milner remained on slick tires during the first deluge as officials halted
the race with 43 minutes left. The rain let up initially before cars
returned to the track with about 25 minutes to go once the red flag was
lifted. Following the final pit stops for wet tires, racing resumed with
seven minutes left and Garcia in second place.
An even more intense rain began to fall with just minutes left in the
two-hour, 40-minute race. Garcia was locked in a back-and-forth duel with
Porsche’s Nick Tandy just before the GTLM leader and the third-place Porsche
went off-track late in the lap. Both Garcia and Milner, who did a masterful
job on a wet track with no traction control, were able to get through the
chaos and took the checkered flag under a race-ending, full-course caution
period.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the GT-only Michelin GT Challenge at
Virginia International Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 22.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R - GTLM
RACE-WINNER: "It was super tough. Because of the wave-by, we were at the
back of all the GTD cars. So the spray we had back there was amazing. It was
impossible to see anything. The first thing was to go by a couple of LMP2
cars while fighting (Nick) Tandy to catch up to the 24 BMW. It was a very
intense three laps. I knew from Sebring practice that the Corvette C8.R was
really good in the wet, even if today was beyond wet! I had Nick all over
me, and we had many times when we were together... almost just sailing
together instead of racing together. I knew the Carousel and the Kink were
going to be really bad, and the line I took on the previous lap seemed to
work. Luckily enough for me it was the same and I was one of the few cars to
make it through. It's another 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing, which is
amazing. It's finally my first victory at Road America, so it's been a very
good weekend."
WHAT DID YOU SEE OF THE BMW AHEAD OF YOU? DID HE SPIN ON HIS OWN?
"The Carousel and the Kink were almost impossible to go through that part of
the track. There is really nothing you can do there. It depends on the depth
of the water. The Corvette C8.R survived it better than the rest. I don't
know if it was due to the race line I took. I was following the car behind
me and saw the BMW lose control. The race still wasn't done because I had to
do another lap through there. It's a credit to how good the C8.R is in the
wet. Thanks to everyone at Team Chevy because this car seems to be working
in all conditions."
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS WIN TO EXTEND YOUR POINTS LEAD?
"We didn't know starting the season how the C8.R would be. With the fourth
at Daytona, we saw the potential of the car. Our team did a great job during
the shutdown with fixing things that needed to be corrected. We've had a
chance to win the last three races, and we've converted those. We need to
keep putting pressure on everyone and make the rest of the field make
mistakes. On our own, we need to be their in the end and maximize our points
opportunities. The next one is VIR, where we have tested with the new
Corvette. We will do what we can to keep this momentum and carrying on
winning."
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R - GTLM
RACE-WINNER: "It was a wild day...very unexpected. The race started off
strong for us. We took a different strategy to go with three stops from the
beginning. Thankfully it worked out well with the timing the rain and track
position. Antonio never gave up. It was a tough fight in tough conditions,
but he did a great job of surviving for our second win of the year and third
of the year for Corvette Racing."
THIS RACE WAS ON THE NATIONAL NBC NETWORK. WAS THIS THE KIND OF EXCITEMENT
THAT WAS GOOD FOR NETWORK TV?
"It had a bit of everything. The start for me was exciting, and the battles
were all good. I could see on the big screen across the frontstretch that
the prototype battle was often exciting and had a little bit of everything
with the strategies. The weather was a bit different for those who probably
turn into NBC for NASCAR where they wouldn't run in the rain. There were
probably too many crashes for everyone's liking, but the show was very
exciting with the battle for the win at the end. You like to see that
between the manufacturers."
TALK ABOUT WINNING ON THE SAME DAY AS YOUR BROTHER (RICKY TAYLOR):
"It's definitely cool. I think this is the first time we've won on the same
weekend. I know we've gotten a pole on the same weekend, but in all the
years a win has never gone both our ways. It was cool to watch their battle
at the end with the 10 car. I know my dad's team hasn't won here either, and
we tried hard for many years."
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTLM: “I take my hat off to the team every time for never giving
up. It didn’t look like we were going to be finishing that high up in the
dry. But as we all know, there was a chance of rain all around. In this part
of the world when the rain comes, it comes big. You just have to take you
chances and make the right calls at the right time. We got a little lucky
with a few things, and ultimately the No. 3 Corvette made the right choice
on the right tires at the right time. We didn’t quite get that break or make
that decision at that time. But then as all the pit stops cycled through for
that last restart, we knew we just had to flat-out race. Our car was
compromised a little as we didn’t have any traction control as part of an
electrical issue throughout the entire race that we couldn’t really get on
top of it. I fought it all during my stints. I honestly don’t know how Tommy
kept the car on the track when he driving around on slick tires behind the
safety car. I mean... water that was three or four inches deep on slick
tires with no TC was amazing. For us to come away, even with all the stuff
that happened, with a one-two finish is pretty spectacular. Hats off to the
team and the crew and also to the C8.R. It seems like it is a car that can
live through some crazy circumstances and conditions on track and deals with
it. It’s a very fine car.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
SECOND IN GTLM: “That was absolutely wild. We had kind of a tough day to
start with, but it came back pretty well for us there at the end. Credit to
the guys with their never-give-up attitude that Corvette Racing is famous
for definitely paid off today. The conditions were unbelievably difficult.
The call to stay out there on slicks just before the full-course yellow was
just as much mine as it was the engineers. I thought it was the right thing
to do to run one more lap to see how bad the rain was going to be. And it
ended up being almost biblical in the amount of rain that came. In all the
races I’ve done, this has been the most rain I’ve ever seen come down at one
time. It was hard enough just keeping it on the track under yellow with
slicks, and it was bad enough when it was still green just trying to
survive. Then it went red flag so we had the opportunity to come in and
change it to rain tires. That in itself was difficult. For me I knew I just
needed to get to pitlane and survive. That was the name of the game there
and see what happened at the end. Once we went green, it was the most
difficult conditions I have ever driven in my life with the amount of spray
and with traffic and having so many cars around. At times it felt like I was
driving blind. I could have closed my eyes and would have had the same
amount of visibility at that point. I just tried to use very bit of muscle
memory and track knowledge I could as to where the track goes at certain
points. In the end, luckily we just survived with a first and second for the
team. The day didn’t start out well, but it ended as well as it could."
(Not having traction control) "Because I didn't have it from the time I got
in the car, I had to manage it from the start. In the dry, it's definitely
difficult because you are trying to not use the rear tires too much. I felt
like I did a decent job in that first run but driving in the wet without it
makes it that much more difficult. To be honest, the Corvette felt really
good in the wet. Even though we don't have a lot of time in the wet, the
guys made the right call with tire pressure. When the Michelin wet tires are
new, they're really good. That gave me the confidence early on to really
push, get through traffic, and trust in the car and tire to find the fastest
way around."
