Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT MID-OHIO: Back
to Another Famed Circuit
Team’s first event at Mid-Ohio since
2012
Corvette Racing with eight class victories at Mid-Ohio
Gavin,
Milner winners at Corvette Racing’s last Mid-Ohio visit
Corvette Racing
coming off victory No. 107 in program history
DETROIT (May 1, 2018) –
Corvette Racing returns to one of its most successful venues this weekend when
it visits Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the fourth round of the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It’s the first time at the historic track
for the program since 2012 with Corvette Racing looking for victory No. 108 –
and 100th in North American competition.
Mid-Ohio, site of Sunday’s Acura
Sports Car Challenge, has seen years of Corvette Racing dominance since the
team’s first trip there in 2001. With eight class victories – including seven
straight from 2001 and 2008 (the team didn’t race there in 2003) – no team in
the IMSA paddock can match Corvette Racing’s level of success at the
circuit.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were victorious in the 2012
Mid-Ohio race for the American Le Mans Series, and the duo is coming off a
second straight Long Beach victory three weeks ago in their No. 4 Mobil
1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. The result vaulted them to second in the GT
Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s Championship, the same spot where Chevrolet sits in
Manufacturer points.
Three Mid-Ohio victories are part of Gavin’s
collection of 50 victories with Corvette Racing to lead the program all-time.
Third in that group is Jan Magnussen, who partners with Antonio Garcia in the
No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Magnussen has 35 victories with
Corvette Racing and was the 2008 ALMS GT1 Mid-Ohio winner with the
team.
Corvette Racing is in the midst of its 20th season of global
competition. Mid-Ohio is one of 21 tracks where the team has claimed at least
one victory.
The Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio will air live at
1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 and the FOX Sports Go app. 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: “Mid-Ohio is completely different racetrack than we
have competed on so far this year. I’ve had good races there, but who knows how
things will go now that it is a different time of the year. In the past we’ve
had very hot races there and some thunderstorms. But this time of year will be
very different. I do like the venue, and the last time I was there was my first
year as a full-time Corvette Racing driver. As a team, we won the last time we
were there. Experience is a good point for us, and have more than most at
Mid-Ohio. Let’s see what how we can use that.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL
1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’m really looking forward to getting back
to Mid-Ohio. For a long time I was upset that we didn’t race there. It’s a
great, historical track with some great experiences – old-school with a great
layout. The flow is really great but it’s a challenge in other places where if
you really go for it. When you’re putting everything on the line, it can make a
huge difference how you run around there. The trick is to not go over the line.
It has great flow and some decent undulation. Where you place the car suddenly
matters a lot because it will go light eventually as you go over the crests and
ridges. It’ll be great going back there.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL
1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The last time Tommy and I were at Mid-Ohio,
we won there. So we’re looking forward to going back. I’ve always enjoyed the
circuit. There are spots on it that are frustrating because there isn’t a lot of
grip. You feel like you’re aiming from the grippy patches to the grippy patches
on certain parts of the track. It lends itself pretty well to multi-class
racing, and they’ve been exciting in the past. Mid-Ohio has generally been quite
a good place for me. I’ve got good memories there and are pleased we’re going
back there as a series. Hopefully we can have a good weekend
there.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“I’m excited to go back to Mid-Ohio. It’s sort of like experiencing a new track
for the first time. We’ve had a long history of success there. The last time we
were there, Oliver and I won in ALMS GT so we’re eager to replicate that. It’ll
be good for the fans to have this level of sports car racing back at the track.
Certainly our cars have moved on a bit since we were last there six years ago.
It will be interesting to see how our GTLM cars will attack the circuit. It’s
always been a track for high levels of downforce. There’s a lot of flow to the
racetrack, so based on the improvements we’ve seen in the cars and our Michelin
tires, it’ll be fun to see how fast the track is for us. It seems that it can be
difficult to pass in some places with a close succession of corners. Finding
some place to go a bit quicker than our competitors and getting around is going
to be difficult. It’s an incredibly rewarding track when you have a good car and
everything is working right.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM
MANAGER: “Our return to Mid-Ohio couldn’t come soon enough. This is a great,
classic American track that really fits really well with the natural topography.
It also is the closest track on our schedule to Detroit, and it felt like home
for us with eight Corvette Racing wins in the ALMS era. We’ve won here with the
C5-R and the C6.R – where we also debuted the GT2 version in 2009 – and we’d
like nothing more than to put the C7.R in Victory Circle in its first race here.
It won’t be easy as it never is in our category, but we like our combination of
handling, braking ability and performance – along with a dose of good fortune –
to put us in good position to contend come Sunday.”
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CORVETTE RACING AT MID-OHIO: By the
Numbers
DETROIT (April 30, 2018) – It’s been awhile, but Corvette Racing
is finally heading back to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The return is a
fitting one for the team in the midst of its 20th season of competition. No team
in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has the level of history and
success at Mid-Ohio than the Corvette Racing program. With the Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Showdown looming, here are a couple of facts and tidbits to
peruse…
1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20
years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.
3: Class
victories at Mid-Ohio for Oliver Gavin, the most among Corvette Racing drivers.
He and Tommy Milner won in 2012 – the team’s last visit to the track.
5:
Class victories at Mid-Ohio for former Corvette Racing pilot Johnny O’Connell,
the most among team drivers.
6: Years between Mid-Ohio events for Corvette
Racing.
7: Consecutive victories at Mid-Ohio for Corvette Racing between
2001 and 2008; the team didn’t race there in 2003 as it was not part of the
American Le Mans Series schedule.
8: Class victories at Corvette Racing at
Mid-Ohio – more than any entrant in IMSA at the circuit.
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: Number of
drivers who have competed at Mid-Ohio for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta,
Kelly Collins, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell,
Andy Pilgrim and Tommy Milner.
12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet
and Corvette Racing since 2001.
16: Number of GTLM wins for Corvette Racing
since the start of 2014. That is the most of any manufacturer and team in the
category.
16: Number of victories for Corvette Racing drivers at Mid-Ohio.
21: 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 and Utah.
107: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 99 in North America and eight
at Le Mans.
201: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
5,282.31
Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 11 previous
appearances at Mid-Ohio. That represents 2,347 laps.
274,113.88: 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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