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Press Release:
Eventful start to program’s 21st season of competition
CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Soggy Result in Rolex 24 for Corvette C7.Rs
Eventful start to program’s 21stseason of competition
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2019) – In more than two decades of
competition, Corvette Racing has faced its share of adversity and
challenging conditions. The championship-winning program experienced the
highs and lows of endurance racing Saturday and Sunday in a soggy start to
the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The two Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs finished the Rolex 24 At
Daytona despite some of the most treacherous conditions in the team’s
21-year history. Both Corvettes led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class on multiple
occasions in the opening half of the race before troubles beset Corvette
Racing entries.
The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike
Rockenfeller led the team’s effort with a sixth-place class finish.
Magnussen qualified second and led during his first 90 minutes in the
Corvette before the two C7.Rs made contact in pitlane.
Despite losing three laps in the incident, the No. 3 Corvette crew and
engineers took advantage of timely yellows and key strategic calls to move
Garcia back into the lead less than 10 hours. Unfortunately, the No. 3
Corvette suffered an electrical issue that impacted the digital dash around
the track. As a result, the car-to-pits telemetry was compromised including
fuel monitoring. That issue reared its head just before halfway as Garcia
ran out of fuel on the backstretch of the 3.56-mile circuit.
Once back in the pitlane Garcia handed over to Rockenfeller, who re-entered
eighth in class. Attrition and the weather allowed the No. 3 Corvette to
make up two positions before the race was stopped for the final two hours.
The No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler found
itself in contention from the get-go after starting ninth in class. Gavin
moved up to fourth before handing over to Milner near the two-hour mark, and
the No. 4 Corvette raced its way to the lead a little more than an hour
later. All three drivers spent time in the lead of the class.
The second half of the race held much of the same misfortune for the No. 4
C7.R as its sister car experienced. After having to stop for bodywork
repairs not long after the rain began in earnest, Milner hydroplaned under
braking going into the first corner and going into the tire barriers with
the left side of the Corvette.
Once it returned to the garage, crews from both team entries went to work
replacing a number of components on the No. 4 C7.R including left-side
exhaust, rocker and bodywork plus the wing and nose, among other items. The
stellar work took less than 30 minutes with Fässler returning to the circuit
inside eight hours to go.
The next event for Corvette Racing is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on
Saturday, March 16 from Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
SIXTH IN GTLM: “We fought the entire race even in bad conditions. There were
some issues with the electronics where we lost some telemetry. We couldn’t
even get information to the engineers… things like fuel. Nothing seemed to
be working. That made things a lot more complicated. Even with all that, we
made it back to the lead. That was a great feeling to be back up there and
fighting for it. But we got to a point where we were guessing where we were
on fuel. Maybe we could have gone a lap or two shorter but we come here to
win and go 100 percent. It’s a shame. Everyone at Corvette Racing gave the
maximum effort, which we as drivers appreciate. Things didn’t work out today
so we move on to Sebring to try and get the result we know we can achieve.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
SIXTH IN GTLM: “Obviously the result is a disappointment because we had a
fast Corvette when we were on track. Unfortunately we had a trip back to the
garage to fix some of the electronics; we lost telemetry and because of that
we ran out of fuel. That put us 10 laps back and ended our chance for a good
result. Before that we got to the lead at the beginning and then got back up
front after our problem in the pits. I’m sorry for the guys. I think we
deserved a lot more but that’s how these 24-hour races can go sometimes. It’s
also about not being unlucky and staying out of trouble. On to Sebring where
we’ll go for another good result.”
MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
SIXTH IN GTLM: "Our Corvette was really good, actually. We had good pace in
the race. We had some incidents obviously. The first one was with our
sister car, but we knew it was early in the race. It was no big issue.
Things can go wrong’ it’s normal under racing conditions. Then we were back
in the lead and another problem occurred. That took us eight laps down to
the leader and basically that was our race. So for myself I tried to not
damage the car, and the end of the day there was nothing I could do.
Unfortunately another year over for Daytona, but we are looking forward to
Sebring. We will focus on that. Thanks to the team. The Corvette was really
spot on-pace."
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
EIGHTH IN GTLM: “Right from the start, it was clear that we had a good
Corvette in dry conditions, and it looked like we were very good on the
medium tire compound. Normally the way things usually play out, you’re
looking forward to dry conditions on Sunday where you’ll be on the tire that
we thought would be quickest for our car. I think we certainly would have
been able to fight whoever to the end. But then the rain came, and it was a
lot. From then on, it was always going to be a lottery. Tommy’s incident was
unfortunate and there was nothing he could do. It shows the strength of our
Corvette that he walked away. The whole team did a great job getting us back
out where we didn’t lose so much time. After that, we were just looking at
what we could get from the race and score as many points as possible. There
were so many cars going off and crashing into each other. The officials and
the series made the right call to red flag the race and finish it when they
did. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone on the team
for their work the last few weeks. No one ever gave up and really dug in on
any problems we had. As drivers, we were given the best equipment all of the
time which is all you can ask for.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
EIGHTH IN GTLM: “This one will go down in history as one of the most
difficult Rolex 24s that teams have been part of with the weather
conditions. We had our own adversity with an unexpected extra engine change
Friday. But we have a strong Chevrolet engine and power for the first half
of the race. Things obviously unraveled for us later on but both Corvette
Racing teams fought back from all those things to get us back up front but
it wasn’t meant to be. That’s how it goes sometimes. It seems like today it
was against us. Congratulations to all the winners for surviving the
conditions out there. I tip my hat to them, as well as Olly and Marcel for
finishing up in some pretty difficult conditions.”
MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED
EIGHTH IN GTLM: “This was a super-crazy race if you look back. We had really
good speed overall in our Corvette and led many times. In the end, we were
for sure a little unlucky but that is racing. With the circumstances in the
rain, it was very tricky to drive. I’m really happy Tommy is OK because it
was a hard crash; the Corvette held up really well. When I went out in
similar conditions, it was very tricky to drive. It didn’t work out today
for us unfortunately. But Corvette Racing showed that we have potential to
always do great things. We should take positive things to Sebring and turn
everything around there.”
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