CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Garcia Claims Pole Position
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Garcia Claims Pole Position
First pole at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for GTLM Championship co-leader
BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 16, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia captured pole position for Petit Le Mans on Friday – his first at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – with the fastest time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class during qualifying for Saturday’s 10-hour endurance race.
Garcia, in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, posted a record-setting lap of 1:15.163 (121.655 mph) to secure the top starting spot in another close fight among the GTLM. Garcia, GTLM Drivers Championship co-leader with teammate Jordan Taylor, was 0.271 seconds clear of Connor De Phillippi in second. Friday’s pole time was nearly a half-second faster than the previous mark set in September’s six-hour race.
Garcia gave Corvette Racing its first pole position at Road Atlanta since 2008, and the team is going for its first victory there since 2010. He and Taylor will drive in Saturday’s enduro with Nicky Catsburg.
Tommy Milner finished fifth in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R with a best lap of 1:15.856 (120.543 mph). He and Oliver Gavin were second in class at September’s TireRack.com Grand Prix at Road Atlanta. On Saturday, they’ll share driving chores with Marcel Fässler.
Garcia set the quickest time in GTLM practice Thursday in the No. 3 Corvette, boosting the team’s hopes entering Friday. Milner was the early pace-setter before two quick laps from Garcia, who was briefly demoted to second before putting together his final attempt, which was more than good enough.
Garcia and Taylor enter on a three-race win streak in GTLM, including last weekend at the Charlotte Roval. They lead Milner and Gavin by 24 points heading into Saturday, with the No. 4 Corvette duo looking for their second victory of the season. The efforts from both pairings have given Chevrolet the lead in GTLM Manufacturers’ points, as well.
Based on the strong foundation of the 2020 Corvette Stingray, the C8.R and its production counterpart were developed simultaneously. There is a deeper level of technology transfer between the race car and production Corvette than ever before, which helps contribute to many of its advancements. As a result, the C8.R shares the highest percentage of parts between the production and race car than any previous generation.
Initial design and development on the Corvette C8.R – with Corvette Racing engineers working alongside Corvette production personnel – began more than five years ago with track testing starting within the last 18 months. Heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation aided in the testing program.
Petit Le Mans is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. ET on Saturday with live television coverage on NBCSN from 12:30-6:30 p.m., and 9:30-11 p.m. ET. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will offer live streaming of the full race. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring. The race also will air on XM channel 202 and SiriusXM Online 972.
Source: Corvette Racing