Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Race to 200
Starts Now
Historic venue again welcomes GT Le Mans
championship contenders
Corvette Racing captured win No. 100 two weeks ago
Gavin, Milner with three class wins in 2016
Garcia, Magnussen now up to
third in GTLM Driver’s Championship
Chevrolet out front in GT Le Mans
Manufacturer points
DETROIT (Aug. 3, 2016) – Less than two weeks after
adding another chapter to its already impressive record book, Corvette Racing
rolls into familiar territory in pursuit of strengthening its GT Le Mans (GTLM)
championship lead and resume as sports car racing’s premier GT
team.
Road America is the site of this weekend’s
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – the eighth round of this year’s
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for GTLM teams. It’s a venue Corvette Racing
knows well with thousands of miles in testing, development and competition over
the years.
On the competition side, Corvette Racing has won
at Road America six times since 2002. This weekend’s race will mark the second
time in three months that the team and its four drivers have visited the
picturesque 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit an hour north of Milwaukee. Jan
Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette
C7.R, and teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, tested at Road America in May ahead of the 24 Hours of
Le Mans.
Gavin and Milner are the GTLM Driver’s
Championship leaders after seven races with three victories. Their most recent
(two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park) was the 100th for the Corvette Racing program
and made it the first team in IMSA (International Motor Sports Association)
history to accomplish the feat.
Like their teammates, Garcia and Magnussen have
reeled off two consecutive podium finishes to move up to third in Driver’s
points. Corvette Racing’s efforts also have put Chevrolet out front in the GTLM
Manufacturer’s Championship.
For the better part of 60 years Chevrolet has used
Road America to showcase the Corvette as both a production showcase vehicle and
top-line racecar. That dates back to the 1960s when Chevrolet leadership would
traditionally test at and use the circuit to unveil high-performance production
models including the original Stingray racer as well as the 1961 Mako Shark
concept.
The Corvette Grand Sport, a legendary name within
the Corvette community, found numerous successes at Road America; coincidentally
the newest production Grand Sport – the 2017 model that blends the best of the
Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06 – will be
The Corvette brand also has been well represented
at Road America with the famed Corvette Bridge, which first appeared in 1963 and
then returned in 2011. It served to reaffirm the relationship between Road
America and the Cross Flags.
The Corvette Racing program made its first racing
appearance in 2002 as the American Le Mans Series made its Road America debut.
Not surprisingly, a Corvette visited Victory Lane… and has five times
since.
The 2016-spec Corvette C7.R is an updated racecar
due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars
that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes
including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the
Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable
changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM
cars.
Corvette Racing Display on Location at Road
America
This weekend’s IMSA action will see plenty of
Chevrolet and Chevy-powered vehicles on and off the track. A Chevrolet Corvette
Z06 will pace the two headline events during the Continental Road Race Showcase
weekend – the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar
Challenge.
In addition, the Corvette Racing Display will be
open for fans starting Friday morning. Guests can learn all they need to know
about Chevrolet and see a number of Chevy attractions:
• Award-winning Chevrolet 2016 production vehicles
such as the Camaro – the 2016 Motor Trend Car of the Year
• A glimpse at two of Chevrolet’s newest
offerings: the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport and 2017 Cruze
Hatchback
• Additional Chevrolet vehicles including
Silverado HD, Malibu and Equinox
• A Corvette C7.R show car
• Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts
and accessories available to fans for purchase from their local Chevrolet
dealer
• A variety of Chevrolet and racing related
activities for adults and kids
• Commemorative t-shirts for fans who sign up with
Corvette Racing.
The Corvette Racing display opens at 9 a.m.,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The two-hour, 40-minute Continental Tire Road Race
Showcase from Road America is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 7 It
will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 4:05 p.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage
and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: “The whole layout at Road America is very unique. You have every
single corner you could imagine. It’s very demanding. Setup-wise you have to
find a compromise between downforce and straight-line speed. It’s a classic race
track – a little like Le Mans. If the car is good, then the track is fantastic.
If it’s not, then you still enjoy it but not quite as
much.
(On aero setup) “It’s almost a wash. You’re not as
fast with full downforce as you are if you trim it out. There is definitely a
lot of compromise. It depends on how the tire works and how the wear is. If it’s
good, you might can gamble a little bit more on aero.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: “Elkhart Lake is another great track on our schedule and maybe
the best one we go to. It has everything you could want in a track - high
speeds, tough corners and elevation changes. The area is great, the history of
Road America is great. We have had a lot of successes there and a lot of time
around the track. We’ve raced there and tested there for Le Mans so we have a
lot of data at our disposal. There are different ways you can approach the setup
at Road America because of the high speed and track layout. With more downforce
and aero than we’ve had in the past, we’ll have a lot to discuss with the
engineers to give us the best chance of going fast and having
success.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: I and the other drivers really enjoy going there. It’s always a
good, fun track and one of the best in the country. It seems to be one where you
can really open the car up and let it run. There are some good, challenging
high-speed corners. Turn One is fast and an aggressive corner with a big brake
zone. You can really attack the racetrack. And it’s a fun circuit to drive. Over
the years it has seemed to suit the Corvettes and we’ve had a large amount of
success there and good results. We test there nearly every year for Le Mans,
including earlier this year. We all enjoy going there. The racing is good and
very hard-fought. It’s just a good trip all-around for
us.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: “As drivers we have a pretty good grasp of Road America. It’s one
of the best tracks we go to, and it lends itself well to sports car racing. The
length of the track helps but the long straights followed by some big braking
zones and slow corners that allow the strengths and weaknesses of every class to
separate themselves. That makes it super enjoyable and you end up having some
great races there.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “If
we look at all the racetracks on which we compete and the history that Corvette
Racing has enjoyed at each of them, you could make the claim that none are more
important that Road America. Elkhart Lake was the site of the very first
Corvette Corral. You have the iconic Corvette Bridge, the Kettle Moraine, the
food the people… all those things and more combine to make it our favorite venue
in North America. Everyone on the team looks forward to coming here. The drivers
love driving here. The fans are some of the most knowledgeable and dedicate that
we have.”
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