Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT
CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK: Drive for a Dozen
Lone stop north of the U.S.
border is one of team’s most successful venues
Eleven class victories at
CTMP in 16 appearances
Heading to Canada with GTLM Driver’s, Manufacturer’s
and Team championship leads
Both Corvette C7.Rs with GTLM victories in 2017
Combined 12 victories for Corvette Racing drivers at CTMP
DETROIT
(July 5, 2017) – Winning sports car races around the world is nothing new for
Corvette Racing. With 105 victories, it is the most successful team in
International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) history. This weekend, the world’s
premier GT racing team looks to add another to that tally at one of its most
successful venues: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand
Prix.
The team’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs will return to Canada with
the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship seeking its 12th victory
at the historic 2.459-mile, 10-turn venue that has played host to practically
every form of major international motorsports. It also ranks as one of the
fastest tracks on Corvette Racing’s schedule in terms of highest average
speed.
Corvette Racing has scored 11 class victories in 16 appearances at
the track formerly known as Mosport International Raceway including a pair of
victories in the last four seasons.
All four current Corvette Racing
drivers – Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner – have
scored at least one class victory at CTMP and have combined for 12 wins there.
Magnussen leads the quartet with six (five in Corvette Racing entries). The
Dane, who teams with Garcia in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette
C7.R, won overall in 1999 before reeling off five wins in eight years with the
team: 2007-2009, 2011 and 2014… that one with Garcia.
The pairing arrives
in Canada with the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s Championship, as does Chevrolet in
the class’s Manufacturer standings and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R squad in Team
points. Garcia and Magnussen are coming off a third-place class finish this past
weekend at Watkins Glen International in a six-hour fightback following an early
spin. They finished third in class last year at CTMP.
Gavin and Milner,
defending GTLM Driver’s Champions in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R,
finished just ahead of their teammates in second place a year ago in Canada.
They won together in the American Le Mans Series’ GT category during the 2013
season and teamed for a victory earlier this year at Long Beach.
Corvette
Racing is proud of its rich history in Canada along with its American heritage.
It is the only program in the WeatherTech Championship with an American car
(Corvette) from an American manufacturer (Chevrolet) fielded by an American
team.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at CTMP is Corvette Racing’s
second event as part of a back-to-back race weekends for the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship. The race is set for 12:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. FOX
Sports 1 will air the race live starting at noon with live audio coverage from
IMSA Radio and a Corvette Racing In-Car feed available on
IMSA.com.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has always been good to us. We all like it, and
that obviously helps. We may not have had the best car on pace, but we also seem
to perform well there on strategy and execution. I’m looking forward to getting
back there and having another chance at victory. If we don’t make mistakes, then
we should do very well. Even though it may be a long lap at almost 2.5 miles,
we’re going so fast that things get very intense. It’s hard on us, hard on the
cars and hard on the tires. can’t wait to get back there. This track presents a
big challenge with a lot of risk. All of us drivers can’t wait to get back
there.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“This is a fantastic track and so much fun to drive. The challenge there is
huge. Most drivers rank Canadian Tire Motorsport Park very high on their lists.
For Corvette Racing, we have had a lot of success there. I like it, Antonio
likes it and the team historically does a great job. When you put that all
together, you usually get great results. We always go there with a good feeling
because of our past success.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM
CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “As a European driver, I absolutely love this stretch
of tracks in the IMSA championship. For me, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park ranks
high on the list. It is such a phenomenal circuit with everything a driver could
want – tons of speed, fast corners with hard braking and elevation changes. I’ve
been fortunate to win there four times, and each has been an incredible
challenge. In a lot of ways, this is a place where you race the track as well as
the competition. We will need to have a clean run and a good-handling Corvette
to contend, and that will be our focus leading into Sunday.”
TOMMY
MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “This team has had such
a long history of success at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s definitely a
place where you want a car that’s good! In my eyes, it’s almost a perfect race
track. It’s got great rhythm, it’s fast and always one of my favorites to go to.
There’s a big thrill there when you’re out there by yourself. When you add in
traffic and racing within our own class, that makes it that much more
enjoyable.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Everyone at
Corvette Racing looks forward to our annual trip to Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park, and it’s easy to see why. The track has tremendous history, and it
presents a stern test to the drivers, engineers and crew. It offers a demanding
challenge in terms of load on the car with some of the highest forces we see
from the extremely fast corners and dramatic elevation changes. On the spectator
side, we are honored by the tremendous support and passion from our Canadian
fans, which started with our friend Ron Fellows. We have had great success in
Canada over the years, and we expect to deliver more again this weekend.”
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