Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: Pole Position for Gavin, No. 4 Corvette
Magnussen qualifies third in GTLM championship-leading C7.R
MONTEREY, California (Sept. 8, 2018) – Oliver Gavin captured pole
position Saturday for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category ahead of the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s America’s Tire 250 at WeatherTech
Raceway Laguna Seca. It was the first pole position at the circuit for
Gavin, who will start just ahead of teammate Jan Magnussen on the GTLM
grid.
Gavin set a best lap of 1:22.700 (97.421 mph) in the No. 4 Mobil
1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R for his 22nd career pole position in
IMSA competition. He and Tommy Milner are fourth in the GTLM Driver
Championship standings with two events to go, and they won in class
together in 2012 at Monterey.
As a program, Corvette Racing has won seven times at Laguna Seca in 19
previous appearances. Sunday’s race will be its 20th start at the
2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit near the Monterey Peninsula.
Magnussen, in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R,
qualified third in the GTLM Championship-leading entry he shares with
Antonio Garcia. The defending GTLM co-champion set a best lap of
1:22.806 (97.297 mph) to slot in 0.106 seconds behind Gavin.
Magnussen and Garcia lead the GTLM Driver Championship by four points,
and they won together in Monterey in 2013 and 2014. The No. 3 Corvette
has finished on the podium in six consecutive races dating back to
Mid-Ohio in May.
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.
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM
POLE-WINNER: “It’s always great to get pole position here at Laguna
Seca. Thanks to everyone at Corvette Racing and the crew. It takes a
massive effort from everyone on the team to get back to P1. I’m
thrilled, but this is only a small step in trying to achieve what we
want to achieve tomorrow, and that’s a victory. Once the green flag
drops tomorrow, this is all kind of forgotten. We have a very good race
car; obviously it fell in nicely for qualifying. The Corvette C7.R has
been strong all year. We’ve had an amazing team, great strategy and pit
stops. We just need to execute tomorrow. The competition is at an
all-time high in GTLM, and to be able to beat those guys is pretty
satisfying. But the real work is ahead for tomorrow.
“It’s nice to have this moment for the guys on our team. It gives
everyone a nice little fill-up going into the race tomorrow. We’ll be
pushing like crazy at the start and we’ll work hard tonight to make sure
we have everything covered and we’re fully prepared for the race.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R –
QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTLM: “It was a good qualifying day for both cars and
a great job for the No. 4 Corvette to get pole. It is very close at the
front and a great way to start the race. I was half-expecting for it to
be a lot worse, but I think both our cars hit the peak of the tire and
got the best out of it. Let’s see if we can have a clean start and do
what we need to do in the championship.
“With it being this close, there’s no controlling anything in the race.
It’s about going and not making mistakes… running a good race and to the
plan we set out to do. Everything you do matters: when you pit, how you
conduct your pit stops… I’m not worried about that, though. That has
always been one of our strongest points as a team.”
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