Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Westward Bound with Momentum
In-Hand
Five class wins at historic street circuit for sport’s leading GT
program
All four Corvette Racing drivers have won at Long Beach
Garcia, Magnussen coming off Sebring GTLM victory
Gavin, Milner second
in last year’s Long Beach GTLM race
DETROIT (April 4, 2017) – Three weeks
after winning one of the longest races on its schedule for the 11th time,
Corvette Racing will attempt to score a sixth victory in the shortest event.
America’s leading GT sports car team heads to Long Beach, California, this
weekend for the third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship.
The Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix of Long Beach is a
100-minute street fight, which will air live on FOX starting at 1 p.m. PT. The
race is one that Corvette Racing has won five times in 10 appearances, which
shows the team’s capability in winning at any type of track or in event
duration.
Four familiar faces return to Long Beach in the pair of yellow
Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, in the No. 3 Mobil
1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R, arrive following a victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours
of Sebring. They won at Long Beach in 2014 – the first victory for the Corvette
C7.R. In the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner look
to right their season following misfortune in the opening two rounds of the
year.
The four Corvette Racing drivers have combined to win seven times
at Long Beach. It’s an impressive record on such an historic course. The
11-turn, 1.968-mile street circuit has played host to the Grand Prix of Long
Beach event weekend for 42 years, and its location along the Pacific Coast makes
it one of the most scenic and recognized in the world.
The Bubba Burger
Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PT on Saturday,
April 8 from the famed Long Beach Street Circuit. FOX will have live coverage
beginning at 4 p.m. ET with live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on
IMSA.com.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“The end of Sebring was pretty amazing. But it’s time for us to move on to Long
Beach. It is a circuit I enjoy very much as it demands you to be extremely
precise. That goes for not just the drivers but also the engineers and crew. The
short duration of the race means you will make one stop and have one chance on
the strategy. When you see how Corvette Racing performed in the pits at Daytona
and Sebring, it’s easy to see why I have so much confidence in our
team.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It
feels great to win a race like Sebring this early in the year. Anytime you’re in
the points race heading to a place like Long Beach is a good thing. Anything can
happen there as we have seen in the past. Antonio and I are usually very strong
there, and I personally really like Long Beach. There is such a small margin for
error that you have to find just the right limit of taking risks. One small
mistake in the wrong place can cost you significantly with little or no time to
make up ground. Fortunately for us, Corvette Racing has a lot of data and
experience to put us in the best position to take another win. It’s one I
definitely would like to achieve.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM
CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Admittedly we aren’t in the position we’d like to be
in after the first two races. Almost all that comes down to bad fortune for
myself, Tommy and our No. 4 Corvette team. The goal we have is to start
accumulating as many points as we can each weekend and not get too desperate for
a win. We have a great chance at Long Beach to make up some ground in the
championship. Our Corvette has been really solid so far this year. We just need
to put together a full race to have things go our way.”
TOMMY MILNER,
NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The kindest thing I can say
about last year’s race at Long Beach is that the finish was very unfortunate. So
this weekend is a race I’d very much like to win. It has been a rough start on
the No. 4 Corvette side – all chalked up to bad luck – and a good result at Long
Beach would help start our turnaround. Oliver and I have complete confidence in
the team at Corvette Racing get us headed in the right direction.”
DOUG
FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “After opening at Daytona and Sebring,
what a huge difference it is coming to Long Beach each year. This race is truly
one-of-a-kind for everyone at Corvette Racing. Long Beach rewards teams that
come in prepared and with a well-sorted racecar, strategy and crew. We have each
of those three elements at Corvette Racing. We’ve been up to the task many times
in the past at Long Beach. We expect to give the large crowds the same again
this year.”
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