SONOMA, Calif. – Cadillac Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished the first of a double race weekend in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Series at Sonoma Raceway in the fifth and sixth positions.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) finished in the same positions as they started. O’Connell was able to make-up a position on one of his championship contenders when he got by Oliver Beretta’s Ferrari at the start. On lap two Beretta came back with an aggressive move and made the position back.
“I may have a lost a gap to Olivier by six or seven points in the standings,” O’Connell said. “When he put his move on me I could have battled a little harder. But that early in the race you have to look at the war, not the battles. I had a good car in the early laps, I could have been a little more aggressive. I used to love coming to Sonoma. They’ve made a lot of changes to the circuit and it just doesn’t have the flow it used to have. All of the cars that finished in front of us were rear or mid-engine race cars, which have an advantage at tracks with really tight slow corners. I am proud of the team. To come home fifth and sixth that is a good result.”
Pilgrim is running in full team mode.
“I had a good start,” Pilgrim said. “As the race went on the Cadillac ATS-V.R got a little tail happy. Everyone at the end of the race was drifting their cars around. Johnny is in the championship hunt and I am here to support him as much as possible. I had a good car. The last couple of races have been really good for the No. 8 Cadillac guys after a tough first two-thirds of the season. Tomorrow is a standing start we will be looking for another good run.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series race from Sonoma Raceway will be televised on CBS Sports Network, Sunday, September 6 at 5 p.m. ET. Lives streaming can be viewed at world-challengetv.com.
The Pirelli World Challenge Series race from Miller Motorsport Park, last weekend, will be televised on CBS Sports Network Sunday, August 30, 4 p.m. ET.
Title is Fourth Consecutive for the Chevrolet IndyCar Program
DETROIT (August 30, 2015) – For the fourth consecutive season, Chevrolet is the Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Champion. The Chevrolet 2.2 liter turbocharged V6 IndyCar engine program combined with the new-for-2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit to produce16 poles and nine wins – including the Indianapolis 500 by Juan Pablo Montoya.
“Our fourth consecutive manufacturer championship is the result of consistent preparation, teamwork and execution by our Chevrolet teams, drivers and technical partners,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports for Chevrolet. “Together we focused on delivering strong engine and aero performance all season long.”
Chevrolet has won the manufacturer championship each year since returning to IndyCar in 2012.
“It is a proud moment for Chevrolet to win the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship,” said Mark Kent, Director, Chevrolet Racing. “This title is the result of a collaborative and cooperative effort by Chevrolet, Ilmor Engineering, Hitachi, Pratt Miller Engineering and all of our Chevy teams that worked tirelessly to make this fourth consecutive championship possible.”
The four Chevrolet IndyCar key partner teams contributing to the title include: Team Penske, with drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud; Chip Ganassi Racing, with drivers Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, Sage Karam and Sebastian Saavedra; CFH Racing, with drivers Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter, and Luca Filippi and KV Racing Technology (KVSH Racing and KV Racing), with drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Stefano Coletti;
Since 2012, in addition to the four consecutive manufacturer championships, Chevrolet won driver championships with Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012) and Power (2014), and the Indianapolis 500 with Kanaan (2013) and Montoya (2015). Previously, Chevrolet competed in Indy-style racing as an engine manufacturer of V8 engines from 1986-93 and 2002-05, powering seven Indianapolis 500 wins and six driver championships.
2015 Race Wins:
Streets of St. Petersburg, Juan Pablo Montoya
Streets of Long Beach, Scott Dixon
Barber Motorsports Park, Josef Newgarden
Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Will Power
Indianapolis 500, Juan Pablo Montoya (2)
Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Race No. 2, Sebastien Bourdais
Hard-fought, GT-only race in team’s eighth TUDOR Championship event
DANVILLE, Va. (Aug. 23, 2015) – Corvette Racing remains in the hunt for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship following the Oak Tree Grand Prix on Sunday at Virginia International Raceway.
With two races remaining in the season, the two Corvette C7.Rs are embroiled in a tough fight for the GTLM Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R stand second in Driver points after their sixth-place finish at VIR. The pairing won the first two races of the season at Daytona and Sebring. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed eighth in GTLM with their No. 4 Corvette C7.R after running as high as fourth mid-race on pace. The car had to stop on the final lap for a late splash of fuel.
Sunday’s results place Chevrolet third in the GTLM Manufacturer standings with 70 points remaining in the final two events.
Magnussen and Gavin were strong early. Magnussen picked up a spot at the start around Bill Auberlen with Gavin trying to follow through. He used a draft and strong braking from the No. 4 Corvette to gain a position as the three cars ran within a second for a handful of laps. Gavin took control of the position at the 35-minute mark when Auberlen spun trying to get inside of Magnussen at the first turn.
For the rest of the opening stint, the Corvette C7.Rs ran by themselves. Gavin and the No. 4 Corvette was the first of the team cars to pit at the 49-minute mark for fuel, four Michelin tires and a driver change to Milner. Magnussen followed two laps later and handed over to Garcia.
Trouble found Garcia just shy of the 65-minute mark with a brief power loss heading onto the long backstraight. A system reset brought the Corvette C7.R back to life and full power. Despite maximum effort by the team, Garcia and Magnussen finished their race in the same position they started.
Milner showed good pace while racing at his home track. In his double-stint, he climbed to fourth place after the No. 4 Corvette started seventh in class. He and Gavin were looking for their second victory at VIR with Corvette Racing.
The next race for Corvette Racing is the Lone Star Le Mans at 11:35 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 19 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. The race will air live on FOX Sports 2 at 12:30 p.m. ET with a replay on FOX Sports 1 scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 20.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH: “We needed a perfect race in order to score maximum points, and we were doing fairly well with that until the power loss. Jan did a great job at the start to gain a position. I’m not really sure what happened when I slowed, but fortunately I was able to reset the system. It put us in a difficult spot to try and recover. At this moment we simply do not have the performance of the other cars in our class to challenge for meaningful points. That is a very frustrating position for everyone on the Corvette Racing team, which is giving a great effort.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH: “It was a good run. I had a decent run and gained a spot. We were able to hold that spot but didn’t really have anything for the guys ahead of us. I had a little bit of oversteer but the crew and engineers made it better for Antonio. It was good to hold the 25 BMW behind us during that time.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED EIGHTH: “It was gentle start; no one was going too crazy. I had to fend Bryan (Sellers) off in the Falken car, and after that I caught up Bill (Auberlen) and Jan (Magnussen). We quickly realized it was going to be between the three of us for those positions. I got around Bill going into Turn 14 with a good draft and hard braking. He got around a few laps later at Turn 1 with a good run – we already had a little contact earlier. We were able to catch up before it looked like Bill tried to pass Jan at the same place but went around and I was able to avoid him. The important thing was that we try to help the No. 3 car guys out in the championship.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED EIGHTH: “The middle part of the race was quite good for us. We had a couple of good pit stop executions and were leading the second wave of GTLM cars for awhile. I had a small spin but nothing major. My only chance to catch the BMW was at the start of that second stint. I was driving as hard as I could but got caught out. With the current performance levels in our class, it was tough to make up any ground – much less a position. We’ll move on to Austin and give it our best shot.”
TOOELE, Utah – Cadillac Racing driver Johnny O’Connell did the double by winning both rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge Championship GT races this weekend at Miller Motorsport Park.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.), starting from pole position for the second race in a row, was able to get a good standing start in his No. 3 Cadillac ATS-V.R and lead the caution free 50-minute race from flag-to-flag. With his results this weekend, and some of his points protagonist not running as well, O’Connell leaves Salt Lake City second in the GT points battle, just 11 back. More intrigue will play out in one week at Sonoma Raceway, the GT points leader, Ryan Dalziel, is not scheduled to run.
“This was a great points weekend,” O’Connell said. “We had a good car yesterday, but the guys at Cadillac Racing improved it even more and just made it a little easier to drive today. James Davison was all over me in his Nissan. He even tried flashing his lights at me late in the race, I just ignore that stuff. He is a great young talent.
“We are a fourth quarter team. We are going away from this weekend second in the points. Two good wins and a lot of points going into Sonoma in one week.”
Teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) started fourth and posted his best weekend of the year behind the wheel of the No. 8 Cadillac ATS-V.R.
“I had a pretty good start, I got some slight wheel spin but was able to get to Turn One in third,” Pilgrim said. “The Porsche is a very good braking car. My Cadillac went loose pretty early in the race. I couldn’t do much about the Porsche and the Bentley. I was then able to find a good pace for the ATS-V.R and was able to run a good race finishing in fifth. The crew did a great job all weekend and we come away with two good finishes.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series race from Miller Motorsport Park will be televised on CBS Sports Network Sunday, August 30, 4 p.m. ET.
The series will travel to wine country for the Sonoma Grand Prix for a double race schedule in just one week, Aug. 28-30.
LEXINGTON, Ohio – Cadillac Racing driver Johnny O’Connell finished fourth and teammate Andy Pilgrim came to the checker in 11th in the second of a double race weekend at the Pirelli World Challenge StopTech Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course today.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) took the standing start lights from eighth with Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) going away from the start in 13th. Once again both Cadillac ATS-V.R drivers were able to get good starts only to be slowed soon after Turn One with a full course caution. On the restart O’Connell was able to move up one position to fifth and Pilgrim made his way to 11th where they both crossed the finish line under hot 88-degree temperatures 50-minutes later.
“I was able to get another good start,” O’Connell said. “I moved up a couple of spots until the yellow flew again right after Turn One. There are some missed opportunities when that happens like that right after the start, but I also understand and respect the reason for them. The series knows how to call those and I would rather be safe. This Cadillac Racing team doesn’t quit. Today was an example of that. I left everything out there today. It was a harder car for me to drive, it was unbelievably hot. We showed well this weekend with a pair of top six finishes so we are looking forward to Miller in a couple of weeks.”
Pilgrim will take the 11th place finish with a smile.
“It was nice see the checkered flag,” Pilgrim said. “The Cadillac Racing crew has been great. We have had a tough season so far. We got a nice finish today. It would have been nice to get a top ten, but I will take 11th. I had some wheel spin at the start and I got passed by Mike Skeen in his Audi. I ended up following him around all race. He had some issues, so we were evenly matched.”
The races from Mid-Ohio will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network Sunday, Aug. 9 at 4 p.m. ET.
The Pirelli World Challenge Series will travel to Miller Motorsport Park outside of Salt Lake City for a double race weekend Aug. 21-23.
Magnussen, Garcia keep GT Le Mans points lead with fourth-place finish
ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (Aug. 9, 2015) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, and Action Express Racing’s Dane Cameron and Eric Curran were the big winners for Chevrolet in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America on Sunday.
Cameron and Curran won their second race of the season in their No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette Daytona Prototype. In GT Le Mans (GTLM), Garcia and Magnussen used clever strategy late in the race to battle back to a fourth place class finish with their No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and increase their lead in the class’ Driver’s Championship.
With three GTLM races to go, Garcia and Magnussen have a four-point advantage heading into the next round at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks. The No. 3 Corvette C7.R crew made the call to make their final stop earlier than most of their competitors, which allowed Garcia to push hard on new Michelin tires while others’ tires were falling off. The move allowed the No. 3 Corvette to gain four positions over the final 42 minutes.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed seventh in their No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Milner drove two stints in the opening 82 minutes while the No. 3 Corvette changed drivers on their first three stops. Gavin was charging hard to pick up multiple positions late in the race before a fellow GTLM competitor forced him off track in the final minutes.
In the Prototype battle, Sunday’s results boosted Chevrolet’s lead in the class Engine Manufacturer standings. It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Corvette DP. Action Express Racing finished 1-2 for the first time since the 2012 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi placed second in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.
The No. 31 crew brought the Whelen Corvette DP in during the early yellow and changed drivers from Curran to Cameron. Cameron settled into podium position and took the lead for good with 37 minutes left during the final round of pit stops. Like Garcia and Magnussen, the No. 31 Corvette DP was the first of the leading Prototypes to pit, and the strategy proved sound.
The victory moved Cameron and Curran to within two points of the Prototype Driver’s Championship lead. VisitFlorida.com Racing’s Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook placed fifth in their No. 90 Corvette DP and retained their points lead. Barbosa and Fittipaldi are second and just one point back.
Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP of Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor suffered a mechanical issue midway through the race and placed eighth in class.
The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Oak Tree Grand Prix from Virginia International Raceway. The GT-only race is set for 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 23. Live TV coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.
CORVETTE RACING QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM
WHEN YOU GET TO THIS POINT OF THE SEASON, EVERY POINT COUNTS: “That is the point. I mean I was excited, and at some points angry (during a battle with the No. 25 BMW) but that is where it is. We are heading into the last few races of a championship. Everybody needs to run as hard as they can. I wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same thing, but probably; everybody tries to find the limit on protecting. At the end of the day, we didn’t touch, we didn’t have any major issues. He got caught on the only way – in traffic. At the end of the day I played my card. Traffic is part of the deal. I really used my opportunity to go by. It was difficult since I got back in the car again on our second stop. During the first stint I was saving my tires just in case, then I was just 100 percent the rest of the way because I needed to pass everybody out there. We went off sequence (on pit strategy) so we probably forced most everyone to follow us, and at the end of the day it paid off. They stayed out as much as they could. I was really aggressive when I needed to be and I passed all those cars when they were on their first two or three laps. To be fair looking at our pace, that was the best result we could achieve today, so I am happy with that.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM
WHAT DID YOU SEE AND FEEL DURING YOUR STINT? “To start out with, things were pretty good. I liked the balance of the Corvette. I lost some time at the end of my stint with pickup on the tires. It might be something I’m doing or something that we need to try and help the car with to not produce all the pickup. I’m not sure why I had it in the warmup and during my stint. It’s something we have to work at for the next race.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM
IT LOOKED LIKE A CLEAN RACE BUT THINGS JUST DIDN’T GO THE WAY YOU NEEDED: “I think we all drove really hard, and raced hard with the BMWs. It was a little frustrating at the end there. I thought I was racing Lucas (Luhr) pretty fair, but he put me in the grass coming out of (Turn) 13. I’m a little frustrated about that. I didn’t think that needed to happen, but sometimes that is just racing. I looked after the tires reasonably well throughout the stint, and really gained some time back on all the guys in front of me. But there were definitely two races in the (GTLM) race today. There was the Corvette/BMW race, and then there was the Porsche/Ferrari race. When it is like that it is just very demoralizing and very frustrating that you can’t have everybody in the class racing overall for all of the positions. We knew from the very start that we didn’t have a chance to finish on the podium unless either one of the Porsches or the Ferrari broke down. I hope the series is going to look at and do something about that before we go to VIR, otherwise the rest of the season is going to be very frustrating.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM
WAS THE TRACK MUCH DIFFERENT WITH A DAY OF SUN AND DRY WEATHER? “The track felt pretty good. The sun certainly helps the grip level. We fought really hard with the cars around us. There was some tight and good racing. We really have nothing for the factory Porsches. They’re in a different class. We’ve really done nothing wrong today.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Today, I think we did the best with what we had to work with. It was a very interesting race between our Corvettes, the BMWs and the Falken Porsche. I know the fans got a kick out of it. We would have liked to have a higher finish but with the way the cars are situated right now, that wasn’t going to be. We advanced ourselves in Driver and Team championship points and gathered points in the Manufacturer Championship. We’ll move on to Virginia where we’re hoping for a better result. We’re going to work hard to achieve that.”
CORVETTE DP QUOTES
DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – RACE WINNER
HOW SATISFYING IS TODAY’S RESULT? “The competition in the prototype category is unbelievable. We were all three nose-to-tail and were all in it. It would just come and go in traffic, and it was hard to get it done on the track when everyone is that close together. So we took a different strategy and Simon (Dawson, engineer) got us a lot of clean air and we were able to get some good laps out. These races, you have to be perfect to win, you’re flat out for every single lap. Every morning before, when we have our pre-race meetings, the goal is to finish 1-2. It might have taken a few races to get there, but it’s always to goal for each race.”
ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – RACE WINNER
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS FINISH? “No question, this is a big deal. It’s our second win of the year. Action Express did an incredible job. We finished one-two in a race. I couldn’t be happier – moving our whole Corvette DP program over to Action Express and the Whelen Engineering team. We’re only 1 or 2 points out of the championship going into the last few races. This isn’t one of my favorite race tracks, but we always seem to do well, so it’s becoming one of my favorite race tracks. We charged forward and had a good race for a while. The combination of the pit strategy and timing was unbelievably spot on. The team was, I think, the fastest of the race. And Dane did what he does best. It’s unbelievable, the 1-2, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
THINGS ARE REALLY CLOSE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. “I don’t think you can get much closer than three points. It’s a great championship. Action Express gives great Corvette DP cars. We were very fast today. We had great teamwork. One and two was right what we wanted for points. The No. 90 had issues, so we were able to make up points on them. It’s going to go down to the last lap of the last race to see who is going to win the championship. It’s going to make it very exciting. It’s going to be very intense.”
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE OUTSIDE FRONT ROW? “It was excellent for the team to get a podium today. It was exciting, the beginning of the race. For the start, I thought we had agreed on going on the throttle on the bridge and not the bottom of the hill. The 01 started pretty strong and I fell from second to almost fifth after getting caught up. After that stint I struggled a bit with the car, but when I got my second stint the car was a lot better. Then the No. 10 and the No. 31 were running really close to each other. I knew if we didn’t have any mechanical problems, at the end, the race would be between us. Hats off to the No. 31 team. I’m really happy to go on to the next couple of races. The championship is really close. I’m excited to be part of this Action Express family getting a one-two today.”
RICHARD WESTBROOK, VISITFLORIDA.COM RACING NO. 90 CORVETTE DP – FINISHED FIFTH
“The car was good, but we got taken out by a competitor. It is really, really disappointing at that stage of the race for the No. 31 to make that sort of move after the restart. He was completely out of control. It was a terrible move. And as I was trying to avoid his mistake, it means I get knocked out for checking up. It is really, really disappointing. The team deserved better. The car was decent. We were having a bit of inconsistency with the tires. Some stints we were good. Some stints we were not so good. We shouldn’t have been that far back. At that stage of the race it should be cleaner. It is a shame that Race Control didn’t have a clear view of it, but in my opinion it was amateur driving.”
TROY FLIS, OWNER, VISITFLORIDA.COM NO. 90 CORVETTE DP: “Today wasn’t a great day for us by any means. We lost some points we didn’t want to lose. But the car performed well. I think we had pace with the leaders. We could run the same pace with the leaders in traffic. We were trying to points protect on our driver’s side and weren’t taking the risks that we should have. We have to look at a couple of balls, but now we are going to have to swing at them. We have a good product to go to the last two. To put a great championship together it is going to be exciting for the last two.”
JIM LUTZ, CHEVROLET PROGRAM MANAGER, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPES: “It was another good day for our Corvette Daytona Prototypes at Road America. While we may not have been the fastest cars over one lap, the consistency and reliability of our Chevrolet power, along with solid strategy by the Action Express Racing teams, proved to be the difference. With two races left, we need to keep our work ethic and preparations at high levels.”
Wayne Taylor Racing, No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DPs 1-2 in Prototype
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 12, 2015) – Corvette Racing and the Corvette Daytona Prototype program each had days to remember Sunday in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia regained the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans Driver points lead while Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor led a 1-2 overall finish for the Corvette DP at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Garcia and Magnussen drove their No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to a third-place finish – a result that seemed unlikely in the race’s opening half. The duo moved from seventh at the one-hour mark to the podium for the first time since the third race of the season at Long Beach. Doubly important is that they broke a first-place tie for driver points as Garcia took advantage of a mistake with two laps to go by the No. 25 BMW, whose drivers were tied with the No. 3 for the championship lead entering the race.
Garcia and Magnussen now lead by two points heading to Road America in August.
The No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished fifth in class but gained three spots from the start in a solid late-race push. Both Corvettes were part of an opening-hour battle between five GTLM cars that ran one behind the other for a considerable stretch. With passing at a premium, each of the Corvette Racing pit crews gained their cars multiple positions on the final round of stops with 55 minutes remaining.
Of note, Garcia stopped between one and three laps later than some of the front-runners, which allowed him to go all-out over the final 53 minutes. He also set the fastest GTLM lap of the race.
Pit stops and strategy also determined the outcome in the Prototype category as Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP won for the second time this year. Jordan Taylor won by 0.477 seconds over Dane Cameron in Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette DP. Cameron – who drove with Eric Curran – stopped from the lead with 10 minutes left for a late splash of fuel and left-rear tire, which was just enough time for Taylor to drive by as Cameron left the pits.
The 1-2 finish allowed Chevrolet to increase its championship lead in the Prototype Engine Manufacturer standings. Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante were fourth in VisitFlorida.com Racing’s No. 90 Corvette DP to keep their lead in the Prototype Driver’s standings. Next up was Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in fifth. The duo appeared poised for their first win since March before having to pit from second place with 12 minutes left for a left-rear tire. They still stand second in points albeit just ahead of Curran and Cameron.
The next race for Corvette Racing and the Corvette Daytona Prototypes is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Road America on Sunday, Aug. 9.
CORVETTE RACING QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD: “When you have that kind of spread of only three or four tenths from first to eighth at this track, you can’t really pass. It was like a train of GTs all around and nobody could slipstream because everyone was pulled by each other. I couldn’t really go much faster and I decided to start saving fuel at the end of my first stint. So I think that saved us a lot which enabled us to run four or five laps at the end by myself, and that combined with a good last pit stop gave us an opportunity. If I might have been a second ahead I might have been able to go on to get second place. But third position with what wasn’t the best pace we’ve had this year is a positive result. We just need to focus a little bit more with track position with our Corvette. For sure qualifying is definitely important, especially on this kind of track. If the championship comes down to tracks like Road Atlanta, even if it’s a nine-hour race, we definitely need to be up front because then things are much easier.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD: “For sure. I think the BMW ran out of tires at the end there. Antonio did a good job taking care of his. So with two laps to go, Antonio had a chance and he took it. It was fantastic. It puts us back in the points lead. We’re very, very happy. It didn’t look like that was going to happen at the beginning of the race. It was so difficult pass here. Track position was so important. I felt like in most areas we had an advantage over the other cars. But when you’re in traffic and in the draft and you don’t have the downforce when you’re stuck behind the guys in front of you, it makes it really difficult. To come away here in third place is a fantastic result. It was really a great job by the whole Corvette Racing team.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH: “There was always traffic in front of us, around us and passing us. It was a matter of managing the car and staying out of trouble. Our Corvette was pretty loose. It wasn’t that comfortable to drive and we had a bit of downshift problem. There was some kind of emergency mode the car went into, but we figured that out with Tommy in the car. I was able to sneak by one of the Porsches after he was hit by the DeltaWing, but he was able to get by me when I had one of the issues downshifting. It’s a tough day. We didn’t have the ultimate pace to race the guys up front. So it was all about maximizing the points we could get today.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH: “We’ve seen here in the past where it’s hard to pass. You can get stuck behind some guys who aren’t that much slower than you are, but every tenth counts in our class. In the end, I’m happy with how the race went. I would have loved to have gotten another podium, but I’m proud of how we kept fighting and got our Corvette better for the end. Antonio and I were kind of pushing our way trying to get those BMWs. It’s tough here. Passing is not easy for anybody and it’s frustrating. I certainly can see that toward the end, I lost quite a bit of time. All in all, our Corvette was good. It was fast. It’s just one of those races that now you can look back and go, ‘man if we had run a little bit better, we would have been ahead of some of those guys.’ So we’ll just use that for more motivation going forward and try to qualify as high as we possibly can.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “It was a very interesting race today. Into the program, we simply didn’t have the speed to compete at the front. What we did was make up for it with great fuel strategy, tremendous pit stops and at the end had adjusted tire pressures so we could run faster laps. You race till the end, and today Jan and Antonio were beneficiaries of the Corvette Racing mantra, ‘Never give up.’”
CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES
RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – RACE WINNER: “Today was a weird day. We started on the pole and everything was going smoothly. And then I started having some serious power steering issues. But the guys never gave up and, somehow, the power steering fixed itself. Jordan just kept his head and picked people off as they started having issues of their own. And, somehow we ended up leading the race with five minutes to go. I don’t know how it happened, but we’ll take it with all the Konica Minolta and DLL guests we have here this weekend. It was a good day. We’re still pretty far back in the points but who knows, with these kind of performances, what can happen by season’s end.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – RACE WINNER: “It was a perfect team effort. Ricky had issues with power steering at the beginning, so he had a tough stint. Once I got in the car, I was basically just running laps for three stints, not really battling with anyone but listening to what the guys wanted to do, strategy-wise. They called it perfectly with what tires to take, when to pit, and we came out just ahead of the 31 at the end. Like I said, it was a perfect team effort. And it was great to have all of our partners from Konica Minolta and DLL here at this event. I saw them out in Turn Three during the cooldown lap and they were all cheering. So, it was a great memory for everyone.”
ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND: “David Leach (engineer) on the pit box did a great job pulling it together for us. It was tough. We were way off sequence; we pitted early and did the driver change early. Dane ran a long time in the car today and did most of the work. The Whelen Engineering Corvette was fast as always. We had a tire going down in my run and another little issue. I think the big load of this place and all the sharp, worn out curbs around the track were hard on the tires. But the Continental tires held up well. We kept putting them on and kept going fast. Dane was great at the end but couldn’t quite get (the No. 10 Corvette). We were so close but will take second place. It’s a great points day for us, so we’re happy.”
DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND: “It was pretty flat out today and was a really tough race. We were kind of on our own a little bit, but unfortunately I was dropping the wheels off-track on the front straightaway so we were having some soft leaks on the tires. We were always having to pit early and that’s what made us do that last pitstop. We had it timed perfectly but sometimes it’s not your day and things don’t go to plan.”
JIM LUTZ, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE PROGRAM MANAGER: “This was a thrilling race for the fans at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Congratulations go to Jordan, Ricky and Wayne Taylor Racing as well as Dane, Eric and the Action Express Racing/Whelen Engineering effort. The different strategies employed by each team on one of the toughest tracks we race on made for a fantastic finish. It’s great to score our first victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and build our lead in Prototype Engine Manufacturer points.”
Gavin, Milner, Taylor Give Chevrolet, Corvette Racing an eighth class win at Le Mans
LE MANS, France (June 13, 2015) – Corvette Racing stood atop the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday as Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor wrote the final chapter of a storybook comeback that ended with the team winning the GTE Pro category in their No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
The trio in their No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R completed 337 laps for 2,864.50 miles in a frantic battle that eventually saw the Corvette win in class by five laps. Sunday’s victory goes along with Corvette Racing’s wins earlier this year in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
It also marked a significant turn in the fortunes for Corvette Racing in the span of four days. The No. 63 Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Ryan Briscoe was withdrawn from the race following a hard crash with Magnussen driving. A small piece of debris inside the pedal box caused a throttle malfunction and the Corvette to skid and spin out of control. Magnussen – part of the winning lineup at both Daytona and Sebring with Garcia and Briscoe – was uninjured.
Instead of folding, Corvette Racing marshaled all its effort around the remaining Corvette C7.R. In addition to the eighth victory for the Corvette brand and Corvette Racing in France, Gavin won at Le Mans for the fifth time, Milner the second, and Taylor for the first time.
“I am proud of how the No. 63 and No. 64 drivers, engineers and crew came together to rally around a single Corvette C7.R entry for the race after Thursday’s unfortunate incident,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “They prepared thoroughly and had each others’ back all race long. Perseverance, teamwork and execution were keys to the winning effort.
“It was very emotional to be in the garage with the entire team when the checkered flag dropped,” he added. “The Corvette Racing team simply never gave up.”
Gavin set the tone early in the race Saturday by move up three spots from seventh on the GTE Pro grid to as high as fourth in his first two stints. Milner followed with a triple stint on his Michelin tires that saw he and the Corvette move from sixth – where he slotted into the field after the leaving pit lane on his first laps – to the class lead.
From that point, the three Corvette Racing drivers figured prominently in a lead battle that saw the Corvette go up against multiple competitors in the race’s top production-based class.
The climatic moment came with less than two hours remaining. Running second at the time, Gavin caught and then quickly passed Toni Vilander, who eventually lost five laps in the garage with a mechanical issue. Victory in sight, Gavin drove a smooth final stint with no issues – a fitting end to drama-filled four days.
“This victory adds to what already has been a terrific year for Corvette Racing and the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R,” said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing. “Today’s win at Le Mans goes alongside our successes in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. It shows the depth of our strengths and determination of everyone at Corvette Racing, GM Powertrain Performance and Racing team, and Pratt Miller. I’d like to commend all of our partners who contributed to our eighth Le Mans victory.”
Said Campbell: “The enthusiasm of the Corvette and Chevrolet owners was overwhelming, and we received messages of support from around the world. The team even did multiple Skype sessions with National Corvette Museum members that were watching the race at the NCM theater. It was also great to see a full Corvette Corral here at Le Mans.
“Racing enables us to transfer learnings from the track to design, engineer and build the best and safest Corvettes for the showroom.”
The next event for Corvette Racing’s two Corvette C7.Rs is Sahlen’s Six Hours At The Glen from Watkins Glen International on Sunday, June 28. It is the seventh round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and will air on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 starting at 10 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio also will have live flag-to-flag coverage.
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:
“Winning Le Mans is always a fairy tale story. The way everything turned out over the week, with the No. 63 Corvette having its issues and not being able to start the race… the way the team all came together and led us into the race and enabled us to have this fantastic result today, it’s just amazing. It’s just been one of those days where you’re waiting for something to spring up, like another hurdle to come in your way to stop you from taking a victory. It was a spectacular race for Tommy and Jordan and myself – one of those events where you’re having great races with Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche but in the end we were the strongest car and we ended up coming away with victory. This is my fifth victory here at Le Mans, and I’m absolutely thrilled to come back here with Corvette Racing. I’m a very happy man.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Where do you start? It’s unbelievable to be here with Corvette Racing and to represent the U.S., Chevrolet and Corvette at the biggest race in the world. It’s one thing to race but it’s another thing to actually achieve that. It is something that has happened twice now, but you don’t expect that for one thing. It is just an amazing feeling… a sense of accomplishment. All the hard work that goes into coming here, and I only see part of it. The guys at the shop… when you look at all the people here to make this happen, to achieve victory is incredible. I’m just super happy to be here and be a part of it.
“Then you look at the storyline for us for the week. You have the one car that goes out in qualifying. Typically after many accidents you can fix it, but that one was big enough that there was nothing we could do here. To have the whole team band together and work together throughout the weekend and throughout the race to do exactly this and get a win… I know all the No. 3 guys are disappointed a little bit with what happened after qualifying. But this was definitely a team victory. It’s very cool to be a part of it. I can’t thank those guys enough to be here in what is a difficult scenario. I’ve been there. It is difficult to be at a track and not racing. But for them to do whatever they can to help us, help the team, help Chevy and help Corvette achieve victory, this was a team win for sure.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’m obviously a little speechless about the whole thing. The goal in sports car racing and almost any kind of in motorsports in general is to win Le Mans. To win with Chevrolet and Corvette Racing as an American driver doesn’t get any better than that. Being with the team for four years now, and the last two years only being able to do Le Mans with the team is tough. I have to thank them and Chevrolet for still believing in me and just to come and do this one-off race with them. So in one way I am happy for the team, but in another way it is a good way to say thank you to them.”
DETROIT – Cadillac Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim had a rough first of two Pirelli World Challenge Series Cadillac V-Series Challenge races today on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, May 29-31.
In qualifying this morning, Johnny O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and Andy Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) were poised for top starting positions when an on track incident would not allow the complete GT field to log a lap time. As a result, the series officials lined up the 26 car field by points. O’Connell started third and Pilgrim started from the seventh row.
Taking the rolling start O’Connell slotted into the third position. Teammate Pilgrim found himself going through Turn One three abreast and received front right damage to his Cadillac ATS-V.R. On lap four, Pilgrim pitted his No. 8 ATS-V.R with the engine overheating.
O’Connell was bidding his time in third when the aggression of Nick Catsburg, in his Lamborghini, played out on the rear bumper of O’Connell’s Cadillac forcing him wide and back to sixth position. O’Connell was able to race his No. 3 ATS-V.R to fourth position at the checker and will take the standing start tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. from the second row in third position.
“I had a good start,” O’Connell said. “I slipped into third and I expected a lot of action between the McLaren and the Ferrari ahead me. The McLaren made a good move and the Ferrari squeezed him down. I was studying them and waiting for an opportunity to move-up. Unfortunately the Lamborghini got into the back of me twice. Saving the car, I hit the traction control off and then I spent a lap or two gathering it back up. Later in the race, I had another issue that I am sure was a result of the earlier contact.”
Pilgrim’s race lasted just four laps.
“I had a reasonable start,” Pilgrim said. “When you go through Turn One three wide, which is not impossible to do it can get frantic. I got squeezed real hard and pretty much had my left front taken off. I lost quite a few positions. It was still ok to continue then a few laps later the steam came up from the engine and I had to pit.”
Sunday’s Pirelli World Challenge Series Cadillac V-Series Challenge race will be televised live on CBS Sports Network Sunday, May 31 starting at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Magnussen, Garcia back on GTLM podium at Long Beach with third-place finish
•Second straight win for Corvette DP in TUDOR Championship
•Westbrook, Valiante third overall in VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP
•Chevrolet leads in Prototype, GTLM Manufacturer points after three rounds
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2015) – It was a good day Saturday at Long Beach for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing programs. Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor were overall winners in the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase in the third round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette Daytona Prototype won for the first time this season and moved Chevrolet into the lead of the TUDOR Championship’s Prototype Engine Manufacturer standings.
“The Wayne Taylor Racing team had a strong performance at Long Beach,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President – Truck Strategy, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Ricky Taylor clinched the pole on Friday with a quick lap after cooling his tires. Then Jordan, Ricky and the No. 10 Corvette DP crew combined two great stints and quick pit stops to win the race.”
Campbell added: “The Corvette Corral at Long Beach was full. It’s great to see so many Corvette owners at the race track. We appreciate their support of Corvette Racing.”
It was a solid points day in both classes for Chevy and Corvette. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen raced their way to a third-place GT Le Mans (GTLM) finish in Corvette Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. The 2014 Long Beach class winners added Saturday’s podium result to their victories at Daytona and Sebring to open the season.
Ricky Taylor started from pole position and led the first 37 laps before he pitted 48 minutes in for the team’s only stop. Jordan Taylor rejoined in fifth but put in two strong laps while the rest of the Prototype field cycled through their stops to move up to second place. Another lap later, Taylor dove to the inside of Joey Hand’s prototype – on its second lap out of the pitlane – and made the move stick.
Taylor used late-race GTLM traffic to build a comfortable gap in the closing moments and won by 3.3 seconds. It was the first victory for the Konica Minolta Corvette DP since Petit Le Mans to close the 2014 season.
VisitFlorida.com Racing gave Team Chevy two spots on the overall podium with a third-place finish for Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook in their No. 90 Corvette DP. It marked the pairing’s third consecutive podium on the season.
Garcia and Magnussen maintained the GTLM championship lead with their showing Saturday. Magnussen held steady in fourth during his stint, and a quick stop plus driver change to Garcia at the 44-minute mark allowed the Corvette C7.R to leapfrog the third-place car. Garcia dropped back to fourth in the first part of his stint before taking advantage of a miscue by the second-place car to move into podium position.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished seventh in GTLM with the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. An opening-lap incident with a fellow GTLM competitor shuffled Gavin back from fifth to eighth at the start. An early stop for a punctured tire didn’t help matters for the 2012 Long Beach GT class winners.
Corvette Racing and the Corvette Daytona Prototypes move on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix. The fourth round of the TUDOR Championship is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 3.
