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ALTON, Va. (Oct. 4, 2013) – Corvette Racing faces a tall mountain to climb for Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway. The two Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs qualified eighth and ninth Friday in the American Le Mans Series’ ultra-competitive GT class.
Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette set the team’s best time in the 15-minute session at 1:46.923 (110.098 mph). Tommy Milner, driving the No. 4 Corvette, was next in the order at 1:47.038 (109.980 mph) but the defending race and ALMS GT co-champion spun on another car’s oil and fluid at VIR’s famed Oak Tree turn with four minutes left in the session. The damage was confined to the front-left portion of the Corvette.
Corvette Racing seeks its 10th ALMS GT team championship, which it can achieve with a sixth-place class finish or better. Chevrolet will wrap up the manufacturer title with a victory in Saturday’s race, set for 2:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage on ESPN3 begins at 2 p.m.; ESPN2’s coverage airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Magnussen and Antonio Garcia are on a two-race winning streak, and their three victories are the most in the GT class this season. The pair leads the drivers’ championship by 13 points – 44 remain over the final two rounds.
Milner and Oliver Gavin won last year’s race at VIR to take the drivers’ title. It also delivered the manufacturer championship for Chevrolet and team title to Corvette Racing. Entering the weekend, they stand third in the GT standings and are 18 points back of their teammates in the No. 3 Corvette.
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“That was a tough session for both Corvettes. The car was actually pretty balanced.
The only strategy we can look at now is that we need to react to what everyone else does. We need to try to stay clean and get as many points we can. The chance of getting 20 points is slim. But if we’re good for 10 points, we’d better get 10 points.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“Looking at the track now, you can see a pretty big wet spot on the track. I had just wound up for another quick lap and wound some front brake bias into the car. My first indication of it was when I went for the brakes and locked the front. The first reaction was that I went too far on the front brake bias and just went off. I started apologizing to the crew over the radio. When I finished, Chuck (Houghton, No. 4 engineer) said, ‘I don’t think it was your fault. It looks like there was something on the race track.’
(The session) “It’s not the best qualifying all the way around. We have struggled all weekend but I think everyone has with grip levels and other areas. Maybe we are having the worst of it. We’re not miles off the pace but would like to be farther up the grid than where we are now. The good thing is that our pit crews have been phenomenal all year long. We are making the most of things because we have the right strategy calls, not making mistakes and the pit work has been great. They’ll always be up to the task and will gain us a couple spots if we need.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“Today was a difficult and frustrating day. Weather conditions compounded by a tricky and dirty race track proved to be a difficult challenge to overcome. But those out there at follow Corvette Racing know that we never give up. COTA was a perfect example of coming home victorious and not necessarily having the fastest car.”
Oak Tree Grand Prix (all times ET)
VIR: Watch It!
Saturday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 6 (all times ET)
Corvette Racing at VIR
Year: 2012
Class: GT
Drivers: Garcia/Magnussen; Gavin/Milner
Result: 8th; 1st
Car: Corvette C6.R
Notes: Garcia fastest race lap; Gavin/Milner clinch ALMS GT title
ALMS GT Championship Standings
Driver Standings
Team Standings
Manufacturer Standings
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