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One of most successful venues for Corvette Racing in its 20 seasons
DETROIT (July 3, 2018) – If there is a home venue for Corvette Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, then Canadian Tire Motorsport Park would be it. So it’s understandable that there is great excitement within the perennial championship-winning program as it heads north of the U.S. border again to race in front of the Canadian fans.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit is an event which Corvette Racing has won 11 times since its first visit to the track formerly known as Mosport International Raceway. Starting in 2000, the program has built a strong connection with the track and its fans that continues into Corvette Racing’s 20th season of competition.
All four Corvette Racing drivers – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R – have scored victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in their careers with the program. In fact, at least one Corvette Racing entry has climbed the class podium six times in the last seven seasons at the track.
This is the second of back-to-back event weekends with Corvette Racing finishing second and fifth in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class after six hours at Watkins Glen. Garcia and Magnussen were runners-up with Gavin and Milner in the top-five as well. Both Corvettes led in class for significant chunks of time on a sweltering day at The Glen.
Temperatures should be much more manageable this weekend, but the challenge will be just as difficult. CTMP is a notoriously high-speed track with significant elevation changes and some of the fastest corners that Corvette Racing faces each year.
A clean race will go a long way in helping Corvette Racing defend its GTLM championships from a year ago. This year’s title race is extremely close with the first six teams separated by just 10 points. Garcia and Magnussen sit third and only four points from first place while Gavin and Milner are 10 points back in sixth place. The Manufacturer Championship is just as close with Chevrolet only five points out of the lead.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix begins at 2:05 p.m. ET. Same-day television coverage will air at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 with the FOX Sports Go app showing the race live. Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“It’s a shorter race than the last two we have done – Le Mans and Watkins Glen. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is pretty similar to Watkins Glen. They are both fun circuits with a lot of speed. As a racing driver, I enjoy those a lot. I’m sure the setups will carry on somewhat from last weekend. We’ll see how the temperatures are. It should be quite bit cooler than Watkins Glen, which will make it more bearable for us and the team. We all are looking forward to going back there as we have a lot of history and a lot of wins there. Hopefully we can have one more this weekend.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“I think with the way that we are working with our Corvette, you can carry some things over from Watkins Glen to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. But CTMP is really unique. Like The Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is one of my favorite places. It’s super old-school; the lap is so intense and so fast. Thankfully it’s a shorter race! Six hours around there would be tough! Going back there is always a fantastic experience. We’ve had a lot of really good races there in the past. We’re looking forward to carrying on what we began at Watkins Glen and get more points for the championship.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a great, high-speed circuit and one of the fastest tracks we go to all year. It’s a place where we have had a lot of success as a team. Everyone at Corvette Racing enjoys going there, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s run by our ex-teammate and Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows. It’s a well-run circuit and a great facility. In a lot of ways it feels like home for us. This is a track we always look forward to, and hopefully we can carry some momentum from Watkins Glen and have a little bit better end to the race than we had in the Six Hours. We’re hopeful and looking forward to it.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“There are definitely some corners and sections of Watkins Glen that are similar to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. There is a little bit of a flow to CTMP than The Glen; there are a lot of high-speed corners in a row in Canada. Both are a lot of fun to drive and they have great rhythms. They’re just a little different. Getting back on the U.S. Michelin tire and getting familiar with that again after having been on a different Michelin tire for Le Mans was nice. It takes a little bit of time getting accustomed to each set. Having run our normal one here will put us in a better spot for CTMP.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport to those of us who have done this for more than five decades, is considered a second home for Corvette Racing. Through the years, Canadian fans have displayed a level of knowledge and appreciation of sports car competition that is second to none. Not to mention, the drivers love the track layout. The combination of speed and risk/reward is the absolute true measure of driving skill, and CTMP is the absolute best test in North America. Every member of Corvette Racing is looking forward to our return this weekend.
2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings
(After Five of 11 Events)
Driver Standings
1. Dirk Mueller/Joey Hand – 147
2. Richard Westbrook/Ryan Briscoe – 146
3. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 143
4. Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor – 142
5. Nick Tandy/Patrick Pilet – 138
6. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 137
Team Standings
1. No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – 147
2. No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – 146
3. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 143
4. No. 912 Porsche GT Team – 142
5. No. 911 Porsche GT Team – 138
6. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 137
Manufacturer Standings
1. Ford – 160
2. Porsche – 156
3. Chevrolet – 155
4. BMW – 148
5. Ferrari – 58
