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•All-American lineup in lone U.S. race for FIA WEC
•Entry sponsored by Konica Minolta and Michelin
DETROIT (Aug. 8, 2014) – Corvette Racing will field a Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in the Six Hours of Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, Sept. 20 in the only race for the FIA World Endurance Championship in the U.S. The Corvette C7.R entry will have a distinctive American flavor with Tommy Milner, Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor teaming in the GTE Pro class at the venue in Austin, Texas.
The All-American trio will also compete in the weekend’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship round, albeit on different teams – Milner with Corvette Racing in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R as part of that series’ GT Le Mans class and the Taylors in their Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype. The two-hour, 45-minute TUDOR Championship race will precede the six-hour WEC round that will offer the challenge of starting in the daylight to finish under the stars.
The TUDOR Championship, sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), is North America’s leading professional sports car series. The FIA WEC is a global championship that features the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sanctioned by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO).
Konica Minolta, full-time sponsor on the No. 10 Corvette DP driven by the Taylor brothers will co-sponsor the WEC effort along with long-time Corvette Racing technical partner Michelin.
“Chevrolet and Corvette Racing pride themselves on competing against the best sports car manufacturers and teams in the world,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Racing. “This is a great opportunity to race in both the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship at Circuit of The Americas. The event will shine a spotlight on Chevrolet and the Corvette brand domestically and internationally.
“Chevrolet is fully committed to help grow the stature of sports car racing in North America,” Kent continued. “It is important for us to support our partners in the TUDOR Championship as well as the FIA and ACO during one of the biggest weekend for sports car racing in North America. We greatly appreciate Konica Minolta and Michelin as without their support, this FIA WEC entry would not have been possible.”
CORVETTE RACING FIA WEC QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER
“Doing two races on the same weekend will be somewhat difficult. It will be made a little easier by going to and from essentially the same car. But I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. It will be fun to have Ricky and Jordan in the car with us. Jordan obviously has time in the Corvette C7.R from Le Mans, and Ricky has time from last year at Le Mans in the C6.R. For Jordan, I’m sure driving the car in a full downforce spec will be quite a bit different than what he experienced at Le Mans. We’ll be helping them get going early on with lots of bouncing back and forth. It’s a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s a great opportunity for the three of us to compete in this race for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing. I obviously know Jordan and Ricky pretty well. While the three of us will do everything we can do win in the WEC, our primary focus will be on the TUDOR Championship. We each are contending for championships in our respective classes, so doing what we can to score maximum points there is our primary focus.”
JORDAN TAYLOR
“This is an amazing opportunity. To be racing a Corvette in the FIA World Endurance Championship on American soil, with an all-American lineup… it couldn’t be any cooler. It will be my first time racing in the WEC, other than doing Le Mans the past few years, so it’s going to be a bit of a different feel racing in more of a sprint race format. We’ll be representing America on a world stage. I can’t wait.
“We’re obviously racing for the championship in the TUDOR race, so we’ll have to keep an eye on our main competitors to try and maximize our points. The WEC race is a one-off for us. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll be there with one goal – to win. It’s two different mentalities; both have their challenges.”
RICKY TAYLOR
“It is a very important weekend for us on many levels. For me it will be my first opportunity to drive for Corvette Racing and my first time in GTE Pro. I am really looking forward to getting to know the team and working with everyone on a race weekend. With three American drivers in an American marque, we have a really special opportunity here.
“We plan to sit in the car at Road America to figure out if we need to make a new seat. Jordan has been great; he keeps saying how much the car has improved and that I will be just fine in the car. Most of the learning will come after the first free practice when we are able to compare data and I have an idea of what the car does.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services. Our solutions help organizations improve their speed to market, manage technology costs, and facilitate the sharing of information to increase productivity. Clients trust Konica Minolta to help them envision how they can achieve their goals and deliver innovative solutions to give shape to their ideas. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition including being recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for seven consecutive years, and “A3 MFP Line of the Year” award winner from Buyers Laboratory LLC for an unprecedented four consecutive years. In 2012, Konica Minolta received “Document Imaging Solutions Line of the Year” recognition from BLI. Konica Minolta, Inc. has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for two years in a row. For more information, please visit www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
About Michelin
Michelin has served as the exclusive tire technical partner of Corvette Racing since 2004. Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,200 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations.
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CONTACTS:
Ryan Smith
678.316.1880
Ryan2uga@gmail.com
Judy Kouba Dominick
317.408.1049
jkdracer@aol.com
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