Corvette Racing gets its second shot at overall glory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend with an annual visit to Virginia International Raceway. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is one of two GT-only weekends in the IMSA championship and is one Corvette Racing has captured twice.
The 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course is a favorite of all four Corvette Racing drivers, and it’s easy to see why. A successful weekend for the program will add to Corvette Racing’s tally of three victories and five podium finishes since 2012. In addition, Chevrolet is the most successful IMSA manufacturer at VIR in the field with seven total victories.
Each member of the Corvette quartet is a past race-winner. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen were overall winners in 2016 and 2017 – their most recent victory – and finished second a year ago. Co-drivers in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, Garcia and Magnussen remain in contention for their third straight GT Le Mans (GTLM) title with three rounds remaining. They stand fourth in points and 19 out of first place.
The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R duo of Oliver Gavin and Virginia’s own Tommy Milner won on Corvette Racing’s VIR debut in 2012, a victory that netted them and Chevrolet the American Le Mans Series GT Championship. The Gavin/Milner pairing showed strong form in the most recent race at Road America with Gavin claiming the GTLM pole position.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “VIR is one of our favorite tracks as a team. We’ve won quite a few times there and came up a little short last year. So Corvette Racing really likes the track, and Jan and I have had a lot of success. Traffic won’t be as much of an issue as at other venues with Prototype cars. There are sections at VIR – like the Esses – where if you get caught in traffic can play into the result. If you do it right, you can make up a lot of time. But if you get stuck behind slower cars, you’ll also lose a lot. So it’s important to be smart around there and avoid any contact. We always look forward to going back there. Hopefully we can win there again.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “VIR has been good to us. We need it to be good to us again. We really need a win for this season and the championship. There are some places where the result comes a little easier than at others, and for some reason VIR is that for us. A lap around there is super enjoyable and a big challenge. There are consequences if you mess up, but that doesn’t away from it being such a fantastic circuit. These are the kind I really enjoy. GTLM is so close that you have to go for whatever gap presents itself. For sure, you try to be safe and try not to damage the car so you have something to fight with at the end. But the level of competition is so high that you have to take every shot you can.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “VIR is fantastic and one of the best ones we go to. A GT-only race makes it more intense. It’s a track that’s technical, fast-paced and with a lot of grip. Strategy always plays a role… if you run long in a stint or short, what tire you run and the fuel loads. It’s an intense race that you can never take your eye off. The track is technical and really tough to get it right around a lap. When you do nail it, it’s terrific. It can be difficult to pass in spots around there, but that’s just how the racing goes at VIR. We’re hoping to be able to rekindle some of our past success and get that 100th IMSA win.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s always a fun weekend at VIR for a couple reasons. First off, it’s close to home and I enjoy having family and friends at the track. The circuit is a great one, especially for sports cars. There are great places for overtaking throughout the lap, but a lot of those have a high level of risk. You have to quickly decide whether to chance an overtake or be patient and lose some time. That’s a great recipe for good sports car racing. Corvettes have been strong around VIR in the past and the expectation is to be again this year.”
Source. Corvette Racing
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