PRESS RELEASE:
CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: Corvettes Near the Front

Udell second in GTD qualifying, Sims third in GTD PRO for Monterey round

 
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 10, 2025) – Corvettes flexed their muscle and will start on the first row of GTD and second row of GTD PRO on Sunday following qualifying for the Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Alec Udell qualified the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R second in the GTD class, and Alexander Sims was third in the GTD PRO class with the No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports during Saturday afternoon’s time-trial sessions.

Sims was the quickest Corvette GT3 driver in qualifying with a lap of 1:20.673 (99.869 mph) to take the inside spot on the second row of GTD PRO. He and Antonio Garcia will look for their second race victory together with Sims starting just ahead of teammate Nicky Catsburg – fifth in class with the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R at 1:20.883 (99.610 mph).

Catsburg and Tommy Milner started from pole a year ago in GTD PRO and finished third in the race – the first podium for the then-first-year Corvette.

Between Sims and Catsburg sat Udell in DXDT’s Corvette that is equipped with an electronic braking system for teammate Robert Wickens. Udell’s time of 1:20.819 (99.689 mph) was only nine-hundredths of a second off the class pole-winning time.

Wickens made his GTD and Corvette debut at Long Beach, and Udell is back in the DXDT Corvette for the first time since the Sebring 12 Hours. 

Elsewhere in GTD, Orey Fidani qualified AWA’s No. 13 Corvette 15th in class in the team’s final race before next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Monterey SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET / 12:10 p.m. PT on Sunday. The race will air live on NBC with full streaming coverage also on Peacock plus IMSA Radio’s coverage at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It's really tight. It's great to have such a competitive class. The Corvette was really nice, and we made some good improvements between final practice and qualifying. I couldn't have asked for much more from it. It really felt wonderful. We're slightly short on overall laptime but it was great to drive. We made a great step from qualifying so hopefully that carries over to the race. We're right in the thick of it. We need to do the normal things you need in IMSA... good strategy, keep out of trouble, be there at the end and see where we are."

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "A bit of a shame. I think we have the pace to be on the front row. The car was pretty good and I just didn't nail the lap. There was some pace left in me, and I went off twice which didn't help. But I feel like we are in a decent place. The Corvette's balance is good. We're in a better spot compared to last year. That's a positive but it would have been good to put the ultimate laptime on the board. It was there. Sometimes you nail a lap and sometimes you don't."

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "About nine-hundredths more would be what we would ask for! Obviously I'm really happy. I think car was really good. The guys did a fantastic job, and it was just a matter of putting the lap together. Kenton (Koch) did a great job, so hats off to him. But it's a two-hour, 40-minute race, and we're gonna take the DXT Corvette Z06 GT3.R up to the front. 

"It's been a steady progression for us. We've kept creeping up the order from Practice One to Practice Two. We've made good steps. The car unloaded here pretty strong and we've just been manipulating things just a little bit. I think here at WeatherTech Raceway, it's really about how you drive the car and so you've got to be very precise. Luckily the Z06 GT3.R allows you to do that, so it's been a matter of just tweaking on things. We made a small setup change from Practice Two to qualy and tried to adjust for track temps. I think we made it the best that we could. Of course you want that pole position, but I know it's coming."

Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick