Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Home Away From Home
One of most
successful venues for Corvette Racing in its 20
seasons
Championship-contending program going for 12th victory at
CTMP
All four Corvette Racing drivers with past victories in Canada
Second
race of back-to-back events for team
DETROIT (July 3, 2018) – If there is
a home venue for Corvette Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,
then Canadian Tire Motorsport Park would be it. So it’s understandable that
there is great excitement within the perennial championship-winning program as
it heads north of the U.S. border again to race in front of the Canadian
fans.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit
is an event which Corvette Racing has won 11 times since its first visit to the
track formerly known as Mosport International Raceway. Starting in 2000, the
program has built a strong connection with the track and its fans that continues
into Corvette Racing’s 20th season of competition.
All four Corvette
Racing drivers – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette
C7.R – have scored victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in their careers
with the program. In fact, at least one Corvette Racing entry has climbed the
class podium six times in the last seven seasons at the track.
This is
the second of back-to-back event weekends with Corvette Racing finishing second
and fifth in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class after six
hours at Watkins Glen. Garcia and Magnussen were runners-up with Gavin and
Milner in the top-five as well. Both Corvettes led in class for significant
chunks of time on a sweltering day at The Glen.
Temperatures should be
much more manageable this weekend, but the challenge will be just as difficult.
CTMP is a notoriously high-speed track with significant elevation changes and
some of the fastest corners that Corvette Racing faces each year.
A clean
race will go a long way in helping Corvette Racing defend its GTLM championships
from a year ago. This year’s title race is extremely close with the first six
teams separated by just 10 points. Garcia and Magnussen sit third and only four
points from first place while Gavin and Milner are 10 points back in sixth
place. The Manufacturer Championship is just as close with Chevrolet only five
points out of the lead.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix begins at 2:05
p.m. ET. Same-day television coverage will air at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 with
the FOX Sports Go app showing 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: “It’s a shorter race than the last two we have done – Le Mans and
Watkins Glen. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is pretty similar to Watkins Glen.
They are both fun circuits with a lot of speed. As a racing driver, I enjoy
those a lot. I’m sure the setups will carry on somewhat from last weekend. We’ll
see how the temperatures are. It should be quite bit cooler than Watkins Glen,
which will make it more bearable for us and the team. We all are looking forward
to going back there as we have a lot of history and a lot of wins there.
Hopefully we can have one more this weekend.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL
1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I think with the way that we are working
with our Corvette, you can carry some things over from Watkins Glen to Canadian
Tire Motorsport Park. But CTMP is really unique. Like The Glen, Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park is one of my favorite places. It’s super old-school; the lap is
so intense and so fast. Thankfully it’s a shorter race! Six hours around there
would be tough! Going back there is always a fantastic experience. We’ve had a
lot of really good races there in the past. We’re looking forward to carrying on
what we began at Watkins Glen and get more points for the
championship.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE
C7.R: “Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a great, high-speed circuit and one of
the fastest tracks we go to all year. It’s a place where we have had a lot of
success as a team. Everyone at Corvette Racing enjoys going there, and it
doesn’t hurt that it’s run by our ex-teammate and Corvette Racing legend Ron
Fellows. It’s a well-run circuit and a great facility. In a lot of ways it feels
like home for us. This is a track we always look forward to, and hopefully we
can carry some momentum from Watkins Glen and have a little bit better end to
the race than we had in the Six Hours. We’re hopeful and looking forward to
it.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “There
are definitely some corners and sections of Watkins Glen that are similar to
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. There is a little bit of a flow to CTMP than The
Glen; there are a lot of high-speed corners in a row in Canada. Both are a lot
of fun to drive and they have great rhythms. They’re just a little different.
Getting back on the U.S. Michelin tire and getting familiar with that again
after having been on a different Michelin tire for Le Mans was nice. It takes a
little bit of time getting accustomed to each set. Having run our normal one
here will put us in a better spot for CTMP.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING
PROGRAM MANAGER: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport to
those of us who have done this for more than five decades, is considered a
second home for Corvette Racing. Through the years, Canadian fans have displayed
a level of knowledge and appreciation of sports car competition that is second
to none. Not to mention, the drivers love the track layout. The combination of
speed and risk/reward is the absolute true measure of driving skill, and CTMP is
the absolute best test in North America. Every member of Corvette Racing is
looking forward to our return this weekend.
2018 WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship – GTLM Standings (After Five of 11 Events)
Driver
StandingsTeam StandingsManufacturer Standings
1. Dirk Mueller/Joey Hand –
147
2. Richard Westbrook/Ryan Briscoe – 146
3. Antonio Garcia/Jan
Magnussen – 143
4. Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor – 142
5. Nick
Tandy/Patrick Pilet – 138
6. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1371. No. 66 Ford
Chip Ganassi Racing – 147
2. No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – 146
3. No.
3 Corvette Racing – 143
4. No. 912 Porsche GT Team – 142
5. No. 911
Porsche GT Team – 138
6. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 1371. Ford – 160
2.
Porsche – 156
3. Chevrolet – 155
4. BMW – 148
5. Ferrari –
58
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