CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: A Favorite Stop for All
Strong position for
team in defense of IMSA GTLM championships
Team going for eighth class
victory at historic Wisconsin track
Gavin, Milner GTLM winners at Road
America in 2016
Garcia, Magnussen one point out of GTLM points
lead
DETROIT (July 31, 2018) – Throughout its 20 seasons of competition,
Corvette Racing has filled its résumé with some of the best racetracks in the
world – 26 to be exact. None may be more liked than Road America, the
picturesque four-mile track in the Kettle Moraine region of
Wisconsin.
The long straights and high speeds of Road America make it a
favorite among fans and drivers. That includes, of course, those within the
Corvette Racing program. As the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rolls
into the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Corvette Racing is eager for its eighth class
victory at the circuit – which would be No. 100 in IMSA competition – and a
chance to close its gap in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) championships.
Road
America has been part of Corvette Racing’s annual program since 2002, and the
team’s record there is impressive to say the least. In addition to seven
previous class wins, Corvette Racing drivers have claimed pole positions seven
times and set the fastest race lap in its class eight times. The team is just
shy of 10,000 racing miles completed, which doesn’t include thousands of more
miles in testing and practice.
If momentum means anything, then Corvette
Racing is in good shape entering the weekend. The duo of Antonio Garcia and Jan
Magnussen, in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, has runner-up
finishes in each of the last three races to move into second place in the GTLM
Driver’s Championship and just one point out of first.
Oliver Gavin and
Tommy Milner, teammates in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette, will attempt for
their second Road America victory in three years. In 2016, the pairing won there
as Milner went from fifth to first in the final 15 minutes to send he and Gavin
to the GTLM title. This year, they stand fifth in points and only 13 from the
lead.
Chevrolet remains second in Manufacturer points – 11 back with four
races remaining.
Corvette Racing on Display at Road America
Corvette
Racing’s return to Road America also means a return of the Corvette Racing
Display to the historic Wisconsin track. From Friday through Sunday, fans
on-hand can view and learn about a variety of Chevrolet vehicles, accessories
and attractions including:
• The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
• The
Chevrolet Camaro 2SS Coupe, Silverado HD High Country, Equinox Premier, Malibu
Premier and Colorado ZR2
• 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. on
Friday at Saturday, and 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The Continental Tire Road Race
Showcase is set for 1:35 p.m. CT with FOX Sports 1 airing the race live.
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: “I remember it was very tricky
at first to get up to speed at Road America because it’s such a long lap. It’s
very difficult and very old-school. I loved it the first time I went there. One
of the good things about racing in America is that we have these types of tracks
– ones where you need to have bravery but you also are punished if you make a
mistake. So it’s for sure very cool and very fun to race on these kinds of
tracks like Road America. There are many corners like the Kink where you need to
take a really deep breath every time you go by. For me, the entire track is
interesting like that.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: “Road America is up there with places like Spa of everyone’s
favorite tracks. Most European drivers usually pick Spa as their favorites, but
the ones that have gone to Road America will see the similarities. For sure it’s
one of my favorite tracks. It pays to be committed at Road America. You have to
go for it there. There is much time to be gained in places like the Carousel and
the Kink. If you do put it all on the line at those places and make it, there is
often time gained there. It’s a long track with a lot of stuff happening… tight
corners, medium-speed corners and then big corners like the Carousel and the
Kink. You get so much satisfaction going around a place like
this.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“It’s a fantastic racetrack with high speeds and great corners. It’s everything
you want. There is a challenge there for every driver. Corvette Racing has had
tremendous success there over the years so we are looking to build on that.
There is a risk at Road America, but that’s what makes tracks in North America
fantastic. At corners like the Carousel and the Kink, you really have to be on
your game there. Any mistake is severely punished. We have a huge amount of fans
there every year, and the fans there are particularly passionate. You see a wide
variety of cars in the Corvette Corral there – all different ages going back to
C1. It’s great to see the enthusiasts come along and share their passion for
such a great car.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET
CORVETTE C7.R: “All of the guys from Europe talk about how great tracks are in
the U.S., and Road America is a perfect example of that. You feel like you are
going somewhere throughout the lap. It’s such a great track for multi-class
racing; we can have our own race in GTLM and still let the prototype cars go by.
The track has really grown with sports car racing over the years. Back in the
day, it was one of the best tracks around. And now today with cars that have
lots of power and downforce, it’s still one of the best we go to every year. It
challenges the driver in every aspect: setup, overtaking and everything that
sports car racing is about.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
“Of all the tracks Corvette Racing has visited in 20 years, Road America ranks
among the finest. It is one of the best examples of a traditional, old-school
road course anywhere in North America. It’s universally praised by fans and
teams alike, and for good reason. It’s four miles of high speeds, extreme
elevation change and fantastic corners of all kinds. What makes it more
gratifying for us is the number of supporters we have each year in the Corvette
Corral - the same place where our corral began. Our goal here is to gain as many
points as we can as we work our way toward another
championship.”
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: By the
Numbers
DETROIT (August 1, 2018) –Corvette Racing’s next stop in 20th
season campaign is a track that is universally praised by not just everyone on
the team, but in sports car racing in general. Here are a few fun facts and
trivia as Corvette Racing returns to Road America for the 17th time…
1:
As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 years: Corvette
Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.
3: Generations of Corvette
Racing entries at Road America since 2004 – Corvette C5-R (2002-2004), Corvette
C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2016-current).
3: Consecutive GTLM
runner-up finishes for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen coming into Road
America.
4: Number of cars Tommy Milner passed in the final 15 minutes of
the 2016 race. He and Oliver Gavin went on to win in class and capture the GTLM
title.
4: Road America wins for Oliver Gavin, tied for second-most among
IMSA drivers.
7: Number of victories at Road America for Corvette Racing,
the most of any entrant in IMSA.
7: Pole positions at Road America for
Corvette Racing by four different drivers.
8: Fastest race laps for Corvette
Racing drivers at Road America, including four by Gavin and one by Magnussen.
8: Number of drivers who have won races at Road America for Corvette Racing
– Gavin (four); Olivier Beretta (three); Johnny O’Connell (two); and Kelly
Collins, Ron Fellows, Magnussen, Milner and Andy Pilgrim (one each).
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.
12:
Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
16:
Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for
Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. That’s the most of any manufacturer and
team in GTLM.
24: 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, Utah, VIR,
Washington DC and Watkins Glen.
28: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing
since 1999.
107: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 99 in North
America and eight at Le Mans.
208: Event starts by Corvette Racing since
1999.
9,921.69: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its
16 previous trips to Road America. That represents 2,453 laps or 150 trips from
Gen. Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee to the track.
278,214.60:
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.
______________