Corvette Racing at Petit Le Mans:: No. 3 Corvette Runs Second After Four Hours

Garcia, Magnussen need seventh or better for GT title; No. 4 Corvette in 10th

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 19, 2013) – Corvette Racing’s No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R ran second in the GT class after four hours of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia traded stints in challenging conditions, which has seen the weather go back and forth between dry and wet. At the four-hour mark, a light but steady rain continued to fall and put strategy at a premium in the 1,000-mile/10-hour race.

Garcia and Magnussen, who are teaming with Jordan Taylor this weekend at Road Atlanta, need a seventh-place finish or better to claim the GT drivers’ championship. Magnussen led his nearest title challenger, Dirk Muller, shortly after a restart before the race’s fourth hour.

The No. 4 Compuware Corvette of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook ran in 10th place and six laps down after two lengthy stops to replace a pair of alternator belts. Gavin had moved from seventh to second in the first two laps before the telemetry showed the alternator was not charging the battery at the 30-minute mark. Gavin brought the car in for fuel, tires and driver change to Milner along with a belt replacement. That belt proved faulty, and Milner pitted again on the next lap for another replacement. This time, the belt functioned properly and the car continued with the battery fully charging.

The race continues with live TV coverage alternating between FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. ALMS.com also is streaming the full race broadcast.

EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“It is very difficult. It probably is not the situation you want to be in while fighting for a championship. You have to be patient but fast at the same time. In the end, the track was good when it was fully dry. The car was behaving very good before drops began coming down. It is very different from lap to lap. The gaps between the cars are more than 10 seconds, so it is difficult to see how the track is reacting. I was learning a little bit early with a Porsche and then with Tommy (Milner in the No. 4 car). We know we need to keep running and stay on the lead lap. For sure, we aren’t the ones that need to be taking risks. That is the 56. We need to keep following what they do.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“We’re quite aways down now. Getting eight laps back is going to be a tall order. It’s kind of fitting for our year. We had a good car and we have a small issue that puts us behind. We’re pretty bummed. (Helping the 3 car) has been the mindset all along. Anything we can do to help the 3 car is what we will do. We’ll be conscious of what they are doing and make sure our stops don’t mess them up. At this point, we will just run laps and see what we can do.”

Petit Le Mans: Watch It!

• • Race (TV): Now-6:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 2); 6:30-8 p.m. (FOX Sports 1); 8-9:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 2)
• • Race (Web): 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 19 (ALMS.com)

ALMS GT Championship Standings

Driver Standings

1. 1. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 125
2. 2. Dirk Muller – 109
3. 3. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 100
4. 4. Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens – 93
5. 5. Bill Auberlen – 82

Team Standings

1. 1. Corvette Racing – 161
2. 2. BMW Team RLL – 120
3. 3. SRT Motorsports – 109
4. 4. Risi Competizione – 56
5. 5. CORE autosport – 48

Manufacturer Standings

1. 1. Chevrolet – 164
2. 2. BMW – 134
3. 3. SRT – 123
4. 4. Ferrari – 109
5. 5. Porsche – 95

Corvette Racing History at Road Atlanta

Year Class Drivers Result Car Notes

1999 GTS Fellows/Kneifel/Paul Jr. 5th Corvette C5-R

Pilgrim/Collins/Sharp 4th Corvette C5-R

2000 GTS Fellows/Kneifel/Bell 3rd Corvette C5-R Fellows pole

Pilgrim/Collins/Freon 1st Corvette C5-R

2001 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 9th Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim/Freon 1st Corvette C5-R Pilgrim pole

2002 GTS Fellows/O’Connell/Gavin 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim/Freon 3rd Corvette C5-R Pilgrim fastest race lap

2003* GTS Fellows/O’Connell 3rd Corvette C5-R

Collins/Gavin 1st Corvette C5-R

2003 GTS Fellows/O’Connell/Freon 5th Corvette C5-R

Collins/Gavin/Pilgrim 3rd Corvette C5-R

2004 GTS Fellows/O’Connell/Papis 2nd Corvette C5-R

Beretta/Gavin/Magnussen 1st Corvette C5-R Gavin pole, fastest race lap

2005* GT1 Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R O’Connell pole, fastest race lap

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R

2005 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell/Papis 6th Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin/Magnussen 1st Corvette C6.R Beretta pole, Gavin fastest race lap

2006 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell/Papis 4th Corvette C6.R O’Connell pole

Beretta/Gavin/Magnussen 3rd Corvette C6.R Gavin fastest race lap

2007 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell/Fellows 3rd Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin/Papis 1st Corvette C6.R Gavin fastest race lap

2008 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell/Fellows 1st Corvette C6.R O’Connell pole, Magnussen fastest race lap

Beretta/Gavin/Papis 2nd Corvette C6.R

2009 GT2 Magnussen/O’Connell/Garcia 6th Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin/Fassler 4th Corvette C6.R

2010 GT Beretta/O’Connell/Garcia 6th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen/Collard 1st Corvette C6.R Magnussen fastest race lap

2011 GT Beretta/Milner/Garcia 17th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook 4th Corvette C6.R

2012 GT Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor 2nd Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Milner/Westbrook 12th Corvette C6.R

* Denotes two-hour, 45-minute race