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Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: Championship Fight Heads West
Program in contention for third straight IMSA GTLM title with two races to
go
Garcia, Magnussen arrive in California with Driver Championship lead
All four Corvette Racing drivers with multiple Laguna Seca victories
Chevrolet still in race for GTLM Manufacturer’s title
One of three tracks to play host to Corvette Racing in each of its previous
19 seasons
DETROIT (Sept. 4, 2018) – Corvette Racing begins its final push this weekend
to what it hopes is another title-winning campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship. The defending GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship-winning
program heads west to the Monterey Peninsula and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna
Seca for Sunday’s America’s Tire 250.
It’s the 10th of 11 IMSA events for Corvette Racing, which for the first
time this year enters a race leading the Driver and Team championships.
Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen head the Driver standings in the No. 3
Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, with the No. 3 crew first in Team
points. Garcia, Magnussen and the No. 3 Corvette team are the defending GTLM
champions.
Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Mobil
1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R are fourth in the Driver Championship and have the
team’s lone victory of the year. In the Manufacturer standings, Chevrolet
stands second and 12 points out of the lead.
Corvette Racing will close its season at two tracks where it boasts
tremendous success – Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. The former has witnessed
seven victories for Corvette Racing since 2004 and is one of three tracks at
which the team has competed in each of its previous 19 seasons.
Garcia and Magnussen are on a run of six consecutive podium finishes dating
back to Mid-Ohio in early May. They were runners-up at Watkins Glen,
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock Park and VIR; they placed third at
Mid-Ohio and Road America. The duo is eager for their first victory of the
season, and Monterey would be an appropriate spot. They scored back-to-back
wins in 2013 and 2014.
Before those consecutive victories, Gavin and Milner won together at Laguna
Seca in 2012. In fact, Gavin and Magnussen are tied for second for most
victories at Laguna Seca with four each.
The America’s Tire 250 is set for 2:05 p.m. PT on Sunday with live
television coverage on FOX Sports 1. 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: “Laguna Seca
is always a nice race to go to. Jan and I have been fortunate to win a few
times there. Let’s see if this year is the same. We didn’t win last year but
did pretty much lock up the championship. It’s a lot tighter this year. A
good result for us would make things easier at Petit Le Mans. For us
Europeans, we feel a little bit closer to home out there. We always like it,
and the Monterey area is always very nice. We always have a good crowd and a
great Corvette Corral there. For sure we know we have a lot of supporters
there.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’ve been
fortunate to race at Laguna Seca many times. It’s always a good trip and a
good event. It can be a very tough track to read with the fluctuation in
temperatures and amount of sand that comes on the surface. But it’s like
many other circuits in our championship where you are punished if you make a
mistake. Antonio and I continue to be on a great run of races since Mid-Ohio
but we aren’t satisfied with podiums. We can’t win this championship without
winning a race as well. That continues to be our goal.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “This is a
fantastic race track and one we always enjoy going to each year. It has a
great series of corners – a tight and twisty track but a great challenge. We
at Corvette Racing has had a lot of success there as a program and one we
always look forward to this race on the calendar because of the event and
the Monterey area. This is the business end of the season. Championship
points are critical so all the teams will look to strategize and look to do
what we can to do to get the best possible result for the championship. We
always go there to win, so this will be a vital part of how the championship
plays out.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Our schedule
is full of classic circuits, and Laguna Seca certainly qualifies. It’s a
great track and one of the best areas for sports car racing anywhere in the
country. For a couple of reasons, the track can be pretty tricky when it
comes to finding grip. That makes the practice sessions important to make
sure we understand what makes the car work under braking and power-down on
corner exit. The team that can do that quickest stands to have a big
advantage come the race. Oliver and I have been quick the last few events,
but we need to put it all together in the race.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “As a steamy summer draws to a
close, there is no place better to race than the Monterey Peninsula and
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s the perfect track for a race with a
lot at stake in the GTLM championship. We have a great history here - seven
wins in 19 appearances. While we may not have the fastest car, we’ve shown
throughout the last couple of years that our vehicle engineering, our
on-track strategic decisions and our driver lineup is more than capable
overcoming most challenges we have faced. It’s a big reason why we have
Antonio and Jan leading the Driver’s Championship with two races left and
Oliver and Tommy always running toward the front. We hope that continues in
Monterey.”
Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: By the Numbers
DETROIT (Sept. 5, 2018) – There are only three tracks at which Corvette
Racing has competed in each of its 20 seasons. One of those is WeatherTech
Raceway Laguna Seca, site of this weekend’s America’s Tire 250 for the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. During the last 19 years, the team has
amassed an impressive record of victories and miles on the California coast,
as you can see below…
1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 years:
Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.
2: Double-podium finishes this season for Corvette Racing: Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park and Road America.
3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Laguna Seca since 1999 –
Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013) and Corvette C7.R
(2014-current).
3: Consecutive wins for Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca from 2012-14.
3: Pole positions and fastest race laps at Laguna Seca by Jan Magnussen in
Corvette Racing entries.
4: Career victories at Laguna Seca for Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen. All
four of Gavin’s have come with Corvette Racing.
6: Consecutive GTLM podium finishes for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in
the No. 3 Corvette – Mid-Ohio (third), Watkins Glen (second), Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park (second), Lime Rock Park (second), Road America (third) and
VIR (second).
7: Number of Laguna Seca victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2004.
8: As in Chevrolet’s small-block V8. More than 100 million units have been
sold worldwide and is the most successful engine in American motorsports.
9: Laguna Seca victories for Corvette Racing from the current driving
lineup – Oliver Gavin (four), Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia (two) and
Tommy Milner (one).
11: Drivers who have competed for Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca. Of those,
seven went on to win at Monterey.
11: Victories at Laguna Seca for Chevrolet in IMSA competition.
12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
16: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. That’s the most of any
manufacturer and team in GTLM.
24: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, COTA,
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna
Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road
America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois
Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.
28: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999.
107: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 99 in North America and eight
at Le Mans.
210: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999 following the most recent
race at VIR.
11334.24: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 19
previous trips to Laguna Seca. That represents 5,147 laps or nearly 667
trips along historic 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula.
279,324.46: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since
its inception. To put that in perspective Apollo 13 – the longest manned
spaceflight in history – covered “just” 248,655 miles.
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