cor123
Well-known member
PRESS RELEASE:
Third win for No. 3 Corvette C8.R, team’s fourth straight since return to
racing
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Another Win for Garcia, Taylor
Third win for No. 3 Corvette C8.R, team’s fourth straight since return to
racing
ALTON, Va. (Aug. 22, 2020) – Corvette Racing won again in the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday as Antonio Garcia and Jordan
Taylor drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to victory
in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.
It’s the second win in a row for the Garcia/Taylor combo, their third of the
season and the fourth consecutive win for Corvette Racing – the first time
that’s happened for the team since 2014. Garcia and Taylor extended their
lead in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s Championship, as did Chevrolet in the
Manufacturer’s standings.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed fourth in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM
Corvette C8.R, just missing making the podium again with their teammates.
The result was enough to keep Gavin and Milner third in GTLM points heading
to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in two weeks.
Garcia, Taylor and the No. 3 Corvette will enter on one of the team’s
hottest streaks in almost five years. For the second race in a row, they
were the beneficiaries of late-race misfortune for the race leader but this
time had to survive their own drama inside the final 20 minutes.
Taylor started the race fifth but worked his way up to second in the first
30 minutes before making his first stop at the 30-minute mark. An error in
the pitlane sent the No. 3 Corvette back to fifth, but an inspired drive and
bad luck for his fellow competitors meant he pitted from the lead with less
than 55 minutes to make the hand-off to Garcia.
One of those unlucky cars was the No. 4 Corvette, which went off-track
shortly after a restart when Gavin picked up debris on his tires prior to
the race’s third and final restart after full-course caution just an hour
into the race. Try as he might to clean off the pick-up and easing his way
through VIR’s final corner, the Corvette still went wide and onto the grass
across from pit entry.
Gavin recovered nicely and carved his way back through the slower GT Daytona
cars and was behind the No. 3 Corvette in only seven laps. He stopped for
fuel, tires and driver change to Virginia native Milner with 65 minutes to
go with hopes of another yellow to tighten the field back up.
Meanwhile, Garcia had settled into second place but faced a 13-second gap to
race leader Nick Tandy once the final GTLM pit cycle completed. The No. 3
Corvette got the break it needed with 17 minutes left when Tandy was forced
to pit with a tire issue, sending Garcia to the lead.
In a race filled with uncertainty, there was still a little left for the No.
3 Corvette. Garcia reported a vibration at the rear of the car from a
damaged diffuser, just as Tandy went into the pitlane. It impacted the
balance and handling of the Corvette, but Garcia held on to take a
3.521-second margin of victory.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin
Raceway Road Atlanta on Sept. 4-5.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE
WINNER: "Things are definitely going our way. We can't complain about that!
To do this, you need a fast car and a team to perform the whole time. We
have that. We had our issues like the other teams did, but the main thing is
that the ones we had were early so we could recover right away. Jordan did a
really good job in his middle stint to drive back and maintain the gap
behind the leaders. When I jumped in, the race was pretty much done. All I
could do was keep some pressure on the 911 and not let him get away and have
an easy race to the end. But we had our issues at the same time. They lost
another tire and we had an issue with our diffuser. At first I thought it
was terminal because it felt really bad. Once I got used to it, I could tell
it wasn't really interfering with the performance. I had enough of a gap to
the 25 by about 12 or 13 seconds. With that, I could manage that in a way.
It was very stressful to keep going but not knowing what would happen if the
diffuser came off. Thankfully the C8.R is very strong all around! I'm very
grateful for everyone at Team Chevy and Corvette Racing again. We just need
to keep this momentum."
DID YOU HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH ANYONE OR DID THE DIFFUSER COME LOOSE BY
ITSELF?
"It just went. It was literally when I was watching the 911 go into the
pitlane. At the same time, I had a massive vibration and I thought I had a
tire blowing up. It was scary because it would have been a full lap back to
the pits. Then I realized it was speed-related and wasn't bad all the time.
It took me three or four laps to be kind of cautious. Once I realized it was
hanging on, I stepped up my pace a little bit more to make it difficult for
the cars behind me to catch up. I was happy that traffic wasn't too bad at
that time and I could manage to stay ahead. "
WHAT WERE YOU FEELING SPECIFICALLY BEHIND THE WHEEL, AND DID YOU KNOW WHAT
IT WAS?
"It took me a little bit, but the whole car was shaking a lot. At about 200
kph, the entire car was shaking. I knew it was coming from the back, but
even the front end and front grip were moving around. The rear grip
definitely was the same so maybe we were a little bit faster down the
straights after that! Who knows. It was challenging to drive. Once I figured
out what lines to use and not hit the curbs to keep both tires on the
ground, it went my way a little bit."
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER:
"My time in the car was good. The Corvette C8.R has a pretty good cooling
system, so it was nicer in there than it was watching! Heading into the
race, our main objective was points. Seeing how strong the Porsches were on
pace, we knew they were going to be hard to beat. We focused on our own
race, and it came to us in the end with attrition and not making mistakes.
We made one little hiccup in the pits but we were able to recover from that
pretty quickly. At the end, Antonio was able to maintain a gap to second
when he needed to, even with the vibration at the end. He did a great job of
overcoming that. It's an amazing day for Corvette Racing - the fourth win
for the C8.R and third win for us. I'm definitely happy with this part of
the season."
WOULD YOU AGREE THAT THIS WAS A RACE OF SURVIVAL? ALMOST EVERY CAR HAD A
PROBLEM AT ONE POINT.
"It felt like an endurance race with all the issues everyone was having. A
lot of guys were making mistakes... going off-track, pit stop issues and
tires. For us, it was about damage control and minimizing mistakes. Today
was out-of-character in IMSA to see this many issues happen. I think we had
the least amount of mistakes, and that's why we won."
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
FOURTH IN GTLM: "For us, it came down to the wave-around after the last
caution where one of the Lamborghini GTDs had to pass me to get back on his
lead lap. I had to move off-line and run through a whole lot of pick up and
I got my left side tires in it. Apparently I didn't get them completely
clean. Then on the restart it wasn't completely clean, then I got into the
Oak Tree corner and the car began to slide wide again. Maybe the tire wasn't
completely clean... there are just such fine margins here between having
grip and no grip. Jordan (Taylor, No. 3 Corvette) nearly got by me as we
came out but I stayed in front of him. On the brakes into the next corner,
things were pretty messy. As I got into the final corner, I just lost the
front of the car, got out on the curb and then was into the grass. Once you
are in the grass there, you are a just passenger. It's frustrating for sure.
All I could do is apologize to the guys on the team because we had a great
car today. We were fast, we were competitive. Looking at where we were and
how things ended up, you could say the win was in the cards for us. But it
wasn't to be. A lot of people had troubles and made mistakes. The only ones
that ran trouble-free was the No. 3 Corvette. It's amazing that we now have
four wins in a row and that sets them at the top of the championship as
leaders. Hats off to those guys. They have been fast and haven't made
mistakes. That is the name of the game. Others made mistakes and were
punished for it. It is so competitive and there is no margin for error in
this class."
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
FOURTH IN GTLM: "Today was certainly a very weird race. I would say it's
very uncharacteristic in our class for everyone to have some sort of a
problem. This is one that I think every team and driver pairing will look
back on this one and wonder, 'What if'. Obviously we're super happy for the
No. 3 guys. Antonio and Jordan drove a great race. They didn't make any
mistakes except for one little hiccup on one pit stop, but ultimately it
didn't have a huge bearing on their race. Congrats to those guys for keeping
the Corvette win streak going and keeping Corvette on top. Our competitors
are probably sick of seeing Corvette there but we aren't. We went a very
long time - more than two years - without a win, so we are just catching
back up. I feel bad for Olly, and obviously he is bummed. We've all been
there... one little mistake and that can end your chances for the day. I've
made my share before, and we will both make them again. He was just unlucky
today. His situation happened at a part of the track where then terrain
makes it difficult to get back on the circuit. We win or lose as a team. We
always help each other and support each other through things like this. We
will be better for it and for the rest of the year."
Third win for No. 3 Corvette C8.R, team’s fourth straight since return to
racing
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Another Win for Garcia, Taylor
Third win for No. 3 Corvette C8.R, team’s fourth straight since return to
racing
ALTON, Va. (Aug. 22, 2020) – Corvette Racing won again in the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday as Antonio Garcia and Jordan
Taylor drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to victory
in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.
It’s the second win in a row for the Garcia/Taylor combo, their third of the
season and the fourth consecutive win for Corvette Racing – the first time
that’s happened for the team since 2014. Garcia and Taylor extended their
lead in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s Championship, as did Chevrolet in the
Manufacturer’s standings.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed fourth in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM
Corvette C8.R, just missing making the podium again with their teammates.
The result was enough to keep Gavin and Milner third in GTLM points heading
to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in two weeks.
Garcia, Taylor and the No. 3 Corvette will enter on one of the team’s
hottest streaks in almost five years. For the second race in a row, they
were the beneficiaries of late-race misfortune for the race leader but this
time had to survive their own drama inside the final 20 minutes.
Taylor started the race fifth but worked his way up to second in the first
30 minutes before making his first stop at the 30-minute mark. An error in
the pitlane sent the No. 3 Corvette back to fifth, but an inspired drive and
bad luck for his fellow competitors meant he pitted from the lead with less
than 55 minutes to make the hand-off to Garcia.
One of those unlucky cars was the No. 4 Corvette, which went off-track
shortly after a restart when Gavin picked up debris on his tires prior to
the race’s third and final restart after full-course caution just an hour
into the race. Try as he might to clean off the pick-up and easing his way
through VIR’s final corner, the Corvette still went wide and onto the grass
across from pit entry.
Gavin recovered nicely and carved his way back through the slower GT Daytona
cars and was behind the No. 3 Corvette in only seven laps. He stopped for
fuel, tires and driver change to Virginia native Milner with 65 minutes to
go with hopes of another yellow to tighten the field back up.
Meanwhile, Garcia had settled into second place but faced a 13-second gap to
race leader Nick Tandy once the final GTLM pit cycle completed. The No. 3
Corvette got the break it needed with 17 minutes left when Tandy was forced
to pit with a tire issue, sending Garcia to the lead.
In a race filled with uncertainty, there was still a little left for the No.
3 Corvette. Garcia reported a vibration at the rear of the car from a
damaged diffuser, just as Tandy went into the pitlane. It impacted the
balance and handling of the Corvette, but Garcia held on to take a
3.521-second margin of victory.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin
Raceway Road Atlanta on Sept. 4-5.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE
WINNER: "Things are definitely going our way. We can't complain about that!
To do this, you need a fast car and a team to perform the whole time. We
have that. We had our issues like the other teams did, but the main thing is
that the ones we had were early so we could recover right away. Jordan did a
really good job in his middle stint to drive back and maintain the gap
behind the leaders. When I jumped in, the race was pretty much done. All I
could do was keep some pressure on the 911 and not let him get away and have
an easy race to the end. But we had our issues at the same time. They lost
another tire and we had an issue with our diffuser. At first I thought it
was terminal because it felt really bad. Once I got used to it, I could tell
it wasn't really interfering with the performance. I had enough of a gap to
the 25 by about 12 or 13 seconds. With that, I could manage that in a way.
It was very stressful to keep going but not knowing what would happen if the
diffuser came off. Thankfully the C8.R is very strong all around! I'm very
grateful for everyone at Team Chevy and Corvette Racing again. We just need
to keep this momentum."
DID YOU HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH ANYONE OR DID THE DIFFUSER COME LOOSE BY
ITSELF?
"It just went. It was literally when I was watching the 911 go into the
pitlane. At the same time, I had a massive vibration and I thought I had a
tire blowing up. It was scary because it would have been a full lap back to
the pits. Then I realized it was speed-related and wasn't bad all the time.
It took me three or four laps to be kind of cautious. Once I realized it was
hanging on, I stepped up my pace a little bit more to make it difficult for
the cars behind me to catch up. I was happy that traffic wasn't too bad at
that time and I could manage to stay ahead. "
WHAT WERE YOU FEELING SPECIFICALLY BEHIND THE WHEEL, AND DID YOU KNOW WHAT
IT WAS?
"It took me a little bit, but the whole car was shaking a lot. At about 200
kph, the entire car was shaking. I knew it was coming from the back, but
even the front end and front grip were moving around. The rear grip
definitely was the same so maybe we were a little bit faster down the
straights after that! Who knows. It was challenging to drive. Once I figured
out what lines to use and not hit the curbs to keep both tires on the
ground, it went my way a little bit."
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER:
"My time in the car was good. The Corvette C8.R has a pretty good cooling
system, so it was nicer in there than it was watching! Heading into the
race, our main objective was points. Seeing how strong the Porsches were on
pace, we knew they were going to be hard to beat. We focused on our own
race, and it came to us in the end with attrition and not making mistakes.
We made one little hiccup in the pits but we were able to recover from that
pretty quickly. At the end, Antonio was able to maintain a gap to second
when he needed to, even with the vibration at the end. He did a great job of
overcoming that. It's an amazing day for Corvette Racing - the fourth win
for the C8.R and third win for us. I'm definitely happy with this part of
the season."
WOULD YOU AGREE THAT THIS WAS A RACE OF SURVIVAL? ALMOST EVERY CAR HAD A
PROBLEM AT ONE POINT.
"It felt like an endurance race with all the issues everyone was having. A
lot of guys were making mistakes... going off-track, pit stop issues and
tires. For us, it was about damage control and minimizing mistakes. Today
was out-of-character in IMSA to see this many issues happen. I think we had
the least amount of mistakes, and that's why we won."
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
FOURTH IN GTLM: "For us, it came down to the wave-around after the last
caution where one of the Lamborghini GTDs had to pass me to get back on his
lead lap. I had to move off-line and run through a whole lot of pick up and
I got my left side tires in it. Apparently I didn't get them completely
clean. Then on the restart it wasn't completely clean, then I got into the
Oak Tree corner and the car began to slide wide again. Maybe the tire wasn't
completely clean... there are just such fine margins here between having
grip and no grip. Jordan (Taylor, No. 3 Corvette) nearly got by me as we
came out but I stayed in front of him. On the brakes into the next corner,
things were pretty messy. As I got into the final corner, I just lost the
front of the car, got out on the curb and then was into the grass. Once you
are in the grass there, you are a just passenger. It's frustrating for sure.
All I could do is apologize to the guys on the team because we had a great
car today. We were fast, we were competitive. Looking at where we were and
how things ended up, you could say the win was in the cards for us. But it
wasn't to be. A lot of people had troubles and made mistakes. The only ones
that ran trouble-free was the No. 3 Corvette. It's amazing that we now have
four wins in a row and that sets them at the top of the championship as
leaders. Hats off to those guys. They have been fast and haven't made
mistakes. That is the name of the game. Others made mistakes and were
punished for it. It is so competitive and there is no margin for error in
this class."
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED
FOURTH IN GTLM: "Today was certainly a very weird race. I would say it's
very uncharacteristic in our class for everyone to have some sort of a
problem. This is one that I think every team and driver pairing will look
back on this one and wonder, 'What if'. Obviously we're super happy for the
No. 3 guys. Antonio and Jordan drove a great race. They didn't make any
mistakes except for one little hiccup on one pit stop, but ultimately it
didn't have a huge bearing on their race. Congrats to those guys for keeping
the Corvette win streak going and keeping Corvette on top. Our competitors
are probably sick of seeing Corvette there but we aren't. We went a very
long time - more than two years - without a win, so we are just catching
back up. I feel bad for Olly, and obviously he is bummed. We've all been
there... one little mistake and that can end your chances for the day. I've
made my share before, and we will both make them again. He was just unlucky
today. His situation happened at a part of the track where then terrain
makes it difficult to get back on the circuit. We win or lose as a team. We
always help each other and support each other through things like this. We
will be better for it and for the rest of the year."
