C8.R goes racing in Italy & Stomps Ferrari !

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With the heartbreaking memory of Le Mans in the rearview mirror, C8.R Corvette Racing is looking to regroup as it heads to Italy for the first time ahead of the Six Hours of Monza in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

As they have for the previous three WEC races, Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy will share the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which is on its maiden globe-trotting tour in 2022. It’s the first “new” event for the Corvette WEC program, having previously been to Sebring, Spa and of course Le Mans.

The 3.60-mile, 11-turn circuit is one of the fastest in the world with multiple long straights and huge braking zones for the four WEC categories.
Even without having set foot inside Monza Park where Autodromo Nazionale Monza sits there already is data from the long straights and slow corners at Le Mans that Corvette Racing engineers can refer to when establishing a baseline for this weekend.

Input will also come from Tandy, one of the few Corvette Racing team members who have previous experience at the circuit.
This will be the case for Fuji and Bahrain to close the WEC season, although Milner has accumulated several hours of simulator work ahead of his first race at the Italian circuit.

The No. 64 Corvette opened the WEC season with a strong second-place showing at the rain-shortened 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
Things were trending the right way for the Tandy/Milner pairing at the Six Hours of Spa before a red flag just past the one-hour mark wiped out the team’s first planned pit stop and effectively put the Corvette a lap down before finishing fourth.

Le Mans was the cruelest blow with the No. 64 C8.R eliminated while effectively leading just shy of the 18-hour mark.
The Six Hours of Monza for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for noon CET/6 a.m. CET on Sunday, July 10 from Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy.

Qualifying is set for 5:30 p.m. CET/11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, July 9.
The race will air live on MotorTrend with live-streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend Plus app. Radio Le Mans will broadcast qualifying and the race.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“It’s another classic track that we’ve never had a chance to compete at before, and it’s one I’m looking forward to. Based on what Nick has said about the area and especially the history of the track makes it something special to compete there.
So I’m excited about that opportunity. I’ve had a chance to do some laps in the simulator.

Looking at the track layout, it seems fairly simple in some ways, but driving it has its own unique challenges. It’s fun to drive, too. The corners are quite different where you have some very slow chicanes and some pretty quick third- and fourth-gear corners.
There is a wide variety of track sections. The slowest part of the track is preceded by a very long straightaway, which will be great for racing. It’s exciting. I enjoy the historic part of the sport so the chance to see the old Monza banking is something I can’t wait to see.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“Monza is another classic place. When anyone speaks of Monza, it’s one of those iconic names and venues.
The word just strikes passion into motorsport. Any series that races there is a top event, and it’s a privilege to race at the circuit and in Monza Park.

It’s not a normal setting for a racetrack near a city but in an actual park. Even from driving into the circuit, it’s a different experience.
When you get to the track, it’s unlike any other circuit. It’s short but it’s so defined by the fast straightaways. It’s a bit like Daytona in that sense. Furthermore, it’s fun.”

More Monza:

“It’s a normal lap time, but there are effectively six corners three corners and three chicanes. From that point of view, it’s not the most technical circuit for a driver. On the other hand, for the car and engineering crew, trying to get a window where your car operates is critical.
Of course, you have to be fast in a straight line, but the car has to be excellent under braking. This is a huge thing about Monza.

It’s a real tricky one to kind of figure out for what is best for ultimately making laptime out of your car.
Of course, we are new as it will be the first time that Corvette Racing has been to Monza. I’ll be relaying my experience from previous years to the team and try to help out. Past that, we’ve already started our prep and started running on the sim before Le Mans.

We’ve figured out a few options we can take with us to find what’s best. But I’m also looking forward to seeing everyone’s faces and the people who have never been and have a chance to go to Italy and have a look around this amazing facility and amazing town.”

 

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End of first practice

The No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R competing at Monza is the same one that did the 1000 Miles of Sebring and the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa.
The car that dramatically crashed out of the GTE-Pro battle at Le Mans has been returned to the team’s base in Detroit, as originally planned.

Corvette’s Tommy Milner reported a constructive first practice session at Monza for the American GTE-Pro squad:
“It seems like to get a good lap time here, the car balance needs to be a little free, which is a lot of fun to drive on this circuit,” he said.

 

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Second practice C8.R last place

 

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Third practice completed, C8.R goes to first place
Qualify is coming up

 

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Qualify completed and how they will line up for the 6-hour race tomorrow

Ferrari claimed its first pole position of the season after bringing up the rear of the GTE Pro field at each of the WEC qualifying sessions so far this year.
Alessandro Pier Guidi leapfrogged AF Corse teammate Antonio Fuoco on his final lap to take qualifying honors in the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
The Italian driver’s 1m45.270s gave him the top spot by just under a tenth, after Corvette man Nick Tandy managed to split the Ferraris right at the end with 1m45.324s.

The Briton had earlier set a time good enough for pole, a 1m45.238s that was cancelled by race control for a track limits violation.

 

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Nick Tandy put Corvette Racing on the front row of the GTE Pro class in qualifying Saturday ahead of the Six Hours of Monza for the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Tandy qualified the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R second in class around the 3.6-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Naztionale Monza circuit. His time of 1:45.324 (123.031 mph) was only 0.054 seconds off the pole-winning time of the No. 51 Ferrari.

Tandy will start Sunday’s race and team with Tommy Milner in Corvette Racing’s first appearance at Monza.

Tandy set the fastest lap in the class during Saturday’s final practice and was the only driver under the 1:46.000 mark ahead of qualifying.
The competitiveness of the Corvette is a testament to the prep work on Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator and the efforts of the engineering team and crew to get the C8.R in an optimal spot for qualifying at a new circuit.

The team hopes to get back on the WEC podium, having started the season with a runner-up finish at the 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
Misfortune while leading at both Spa and Le Mans dashed promising chances for victories at each.

The Six Hours of Monza for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for noon CET/6 a.m. CET on Sunday, July 10 from Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy.
The race will air live on MotorTrend with live-streaming coverage of the race on the MotorTrend Plus app. Radio Le Mans will also stream live audio coverage of the race.

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTE PRO:

“That was very close, but I’m obviously really happy with a front-row start.
The Ferrari looks very quick. It’s nice for them to be on pole for their home race. Qualifying is always a situation whereas a driver, you push the limits.

We had a fast lap, but unfortunately I ran out of bounds of the track, and we had the lap deleted.

Luckily, the car was still strong for the next two laps, which is a good omen for the race; it’s not one lap of qualifying but an endurance race.

So yeah, I’m glad we could get back in it and get this Corvette back on the front row.
The first corner and first chicane at Monza who knows whether it’s better to start on the inside or the outside!
But this was a good session, and it’s overall been a good day and good weekend so far for Corvette Racing.”

 

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At the halfway mark of 6 hour race

 

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Corvette took their first victory in the WEC in GTE-Pro.
Does it with one less pit stop
Great to see an American Corvette beat the best of Europe's best

In a season that has seen the AF Corse GTE PRO Ferraris outpaced in qualifying elsewhere, the red cars found their feet on home ground with Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Fuoco holding the top two into the final seconds of the session.
The No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo2 topped the times with a 1m45.270s, the sister car just 0.0058s back.

That was until Nick Tandy finally banged in two flying laps in the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R after losing times to track limits earlier in the session.
His effort was good enough to split the Ferraris, just 0.004s better than Fuoco’s best.

 

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C8.R Corvette took a surprise victory in GTE Pro after Antonio Fuoco was forced to bring the #52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo to the pits with just 2m30s to go for a splash and dash.

It marked Corvette’s first victory in the WEC since the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours and the first since it joined the series full-time at the start of the current season.

Fuoco and Miguel Molina had inherited the lead from the pole-sitting sister car of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, which was hit with a five-second stop/go penalty in the penultimate car for failing to transfer data from their car after a pitstop.

Ferrari was seemingly on its way to a victory on its home turf, having led the race from the beginning until both its car had to pit late with just minutes to go, allowing Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy to score a popular victory in the #64 C8.R.

Calado and Pier Guidi eventually secured the final spot on the rostrum in third after Pier Guidi emerged on top in a long battle with the #92 Porsche of Kevin Estre for which Estre was hit with a drive-through penalty.

That dropped Estre and Michael Christensen to fourth, ahead of the sister #93 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki.

 

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Ferrari looked as if they would take a brilliant home victory as No.52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco were set to claim their first win of the season
But Corvette C8.R Racing pulled off a cute energy strategy to save enough not to need to splash and dash at the end of the race and Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner execute a memorable victory

Molina and Fuoco capitalized on a penalty for a technical infringement for the sister No.51 AF Corse Ferrari driven by James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi but had to settle for second when Fuoco had to make penultimate lap pitstop

No.51 AF Corse recovered to take third position after a fraught battle with the No.92 Porsche driven by Kevin Estre

The pair engage in several contacts during the fight, which eventually resolves itself at the Variante Roggia when Pier Guidi emerges in front

Estre is handed a drive-through penalty for multiple contacts with Pier Guidi and also No.28 JOTA and finishes fourth in class

No.91 Porsche GT Team duo of Gimmi Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki finish in fifth position after uneventful race

 

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Corvette C8.R Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy scored an incredible fuel-saving victory in the Six Hours of Monza on Sunday in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevy Corvette C8.R.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTE PRO WINNER:

“I can’t believe it. The Ferraris seemed to be a lap better than us on fuel than what we could do.
The team gave Nick a fuel number that seemed impossible to me, but he was just barely making it.
At some point, I guess they thought they couldn’t go, and we were sitting here thinking they had it in the bag.
Obviously that wasn’t the case!”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTE PRO WINNER:

“With two laps to go, I saw a red car coming in and didn’t know which one.
I asked if it was the 52 and the team said it was.
Like Tommy said, we basically gave up with about 30 minutes to go because we had to hit a stupid fuel number to make it. But we did!”

GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“This was a long time coming, but this team performed and executed so well today.
Tommy and Nick drove their hearts out in this Corvette.
Even if they had a couple of setbacks, we found our way around them.

They did what Corvette Racing always does:
Never gave up!”

 

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Tommy Milner & Nick Tandy drove the No. 64 Chevy Corvette C8.R to a thrilling win in the Six Hours of Monza.
It was the program’s first victory of the season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the maiden win in the series for the mid-engine Corvette.

Tandy crossed the finish line first in GTE Pro after the leading Ferrari had to stop for a late-race splash of fuel with two laps to go.
The No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette was close on fuel as well, but engineering strategy and Tandy’s fuel-saving made all the difference in the end.
The result was a welcomed one following a crushing retirement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a month ago.

“This was a long time coming, but this team performed and executed so well today,” said GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. “Tommy and Nick drove their hearts out in this Corvette. Even if we had a couple of setbacks, we found our way around them. We did what Corvette Racing always does: we never gave up!”



The victory was Corvette Racing’s first in the WEC since the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans and its first as a full-time entrant in the series. Milner and Tandy came close with a runner-up finish to open the year at the 1,000 Miles of Sebring.

Tandy started from second but ceded the position in the tight first corner and carried on the fight from there. Differing early strategies moved the Corvette back to second ahead of its first call to the pits. A long stop dropped the Corvette down to fourth in class, but Tandy continued to drive steady until the third full-course caution of the race, just shy of the two-hour mark.

He stopped and handed off to Milner, who rejoined fourth but made up track position with a safety car period near the two-and-a-half-hour mark. The No. 64 continued to match the pace of the leaders, and Milner making his first career start at Monza moved the Corvette back into podium position just prior to another round of pit stops with two hours to go.

Tandy went the rest of the way and moved up to second after a five-second penalty to the leading No. 51 Ferrari with 90 minutes to go.
A final full-course caution period with 70 minutes to go opened up the pit window for the final stop, and Corvette Racing engineering called him in with 67 minutes to go and a full tank of fuel.

Tandy got within four seconds of the No. 52 for the class lead inside 40 minutes to go before backing off to save fuel and get to the finish without another stop.
After seemingly settling for second, Tandy and the rest of Corvette Racing were astonished and ecstatic when both Ferraris peeled off into the pitlane.
Minutes later, yellow-and-black clad team members were at the pitwall celebrating as Tandy crossed the line.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the FIA WEC is the Six Hours of Fuji on Sept. 9-11.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTE PRO WINNER:

“I can’t believe it. The Ferraris seemed to have a lap better than us on fuel than what we could do. The team gave Nick a fuel number that seemed impossible to me, but he was just barely making it. At some point, I guess they thought they couldn’t go, and we were sitting here thinking they had it in the bag. Obviously that wasn’t the case!

“You could see on the faces of the crew guys underneath the podium how unexpected this win was. We could see early on in the race that a podium was possible.
But based on the pace of the Ferraris and them going a lap longer than us on at least one occasion while we were trying to save fuel, it looked like during the last run that second place was really going to be it. Nick was given a fuel number and told to push quite hard to close the gap if possible.

There was a combination of things, I’m sure. Us putting pressure on them early on in that last stint made it, so they couldn’t save a lot, so here we are P1!

“For me, it’s super special to be here at Monza for the first time. It’s a track that I’ve always wished I could race on. To be here for the first time and stand on the top step of that podium which is quite historic, to see the fans and our crew guys just below us there was very cool.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTE PRO WINNER:

“With two laps to go, I saw a red car coming in and didn’t know which one. I asked if it was the 52 and the team said it was.
Like Tommy said, we basically gave up with about 30 minutes to go because we had to hit a stupid number to make it. But we did!

“We had no idea really what cars could make it. I think there were four of the five cars that pitted under a safety car with basically three hours left, so it was going to be a stretch for all those cars to make it to two more stops. From then on, it became a fuel mileage race.
When the last full-course yellow came out, it made it worse for all those cars because everyone needed to pit for fuel because firstly we needed it. It also made the last stint another couple of laps longer. In the end, we were the car to make it.

“We fully expected the Ferrari to be able to go to the end. They had already done a stint under green to start the race and went a lap longer than what we could do even when we were saving earlier.
We knew we had to be super-aggressive with the fuel numbers. After the full-course yellow, the guys gave me a fuel number I did laugh a bit when they said it at the start, but I knew that if we stopped then it was going to be game over.

So we had to run at that pace. The good thing is that at the end, the track came to us and the tires were definitely working really nicely toward the end of the race. So the car had good pace, and we could take a bit of margin down the straight and keep the speed in the corners to put the pressure on the Ferrari. I could see that they picked up the pace and that’s when I guess they said they couldn’t make it.
We didn’t know that at the time, so when they came in with two laps to go, it was happy days! Corvette’s first time in Monza and Corvette’s and Tommy’s first win!

“I didn’t want to save anything. We were catching them quite quickly on the final stint and I thought things were looking excellent.

Then all of a sudden we had to start really making the fuel number they’d given me, rather than trying to make it while still going quick.
We didn’t really drop any pace, but they suddenly seemed to start pulling away from us. I thought at the time and hoped that they had given up on their fuel savings. We just assumed they were safe, and they could run the pace they wanted.
As it turned out, they couldn’t. Everyone went from, ‘OK, good race and good podium’ to ‘We’re about to win the Monza Six Hours!’ So it was pretty cool!”

 

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Nick Tandy says Corvette C8.R Racing was surprised by its late GTE-Pro victory in the 6 Hours of Monza, as it “fully expected” the class-leading Ferrari to have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Corvette took its first victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans when Tandy brought the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he shares with Tommy Milner across the line on Sunday evening.

The American squad had looked set to finish second behind AF Corse less than a handful of laps before, as it had been trailing behind the No. 52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco.
Fuoco, however, had to pit for a splash of fuel with two laps remaining, which allowed Corvette to take the lead and the class victory.

Tandy said that the events at the conclusion of the six-hour Enduro had their roots at the halfway point, when all but Porsche driver Fred Makowiecki pitted under a safety car triggered by an enormous airborne crash for TF Sport’s Henrique Chaves.

With the timing of the stop, Tandy predicted that it was going to be difficult for the GTE-Pro contenders to make it to the end on two scheduled pit visits from there.
“We had no idea what cars could make it,” he admitted after the race.
“I think there was a safety car, four of the five cars pitted under the safety car.
“There were basically three hours left, so it is going to be a stretch for all cars to make it on two stops.

“From then it became a fuel mileage race and when the last Full Course Yellow came out, this made it even worse for all cars because everyone had to pit for fuel, because we needed it.
“But it made the last stint another couple of laps longer. In the end, we were the car that made it.”

Tandy admitted he was surprised to see Fuoco dive into the pit lane in the closing minutes, saying that he “fully expected” the Ferrari driver to make it to the end.
“We knew we had to be super aggressive with the fuel numbers,” he said.
“After the Full Course Yellow, the guys gave me a fuel number and I did laugh a bit when they said it, but I knew that if we pitted it was going to be game over.”

The Briton explained that from there he tried his best to keep the pressure on the Ferrari, but noticed Fuoco upped the pace towards the end of the final stint.
“I thought at the time: I hope that they’ve actually given up on trying to make the number of laps,” Tandy noted.

“We didn’t, we just assumed they thought they were safe and could run the pace that they wanted, but in the end it turned out they didn’t.
“We only knew when I saw them come into the pits in front of me, literally as they passed the timing stand.

“Everyone all of a sudden went from ‘good race, podium’ to ‘holy crap we’re about to win the 6 Hours of Monza.’
“It was pretty cool, and now we’re going to go and party.”

 

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Tandy’s C8.R was sitting second, just four seconds behind the #52 Ferrari 488 of Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina with 40 mins to go when he backed off to try and reach the checkered flag. However, with two laps to go, Fuoco pitted from the lead for a splash of fuel, leaving Corvette to come home 19.4sec ahead for its first WEC triumph since conquering the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015.

Tandy, who qualified the Corvette second at Monza, said: “With two laps to go, I saw a red car coming in and didn't know which one. I asked if it was the #52 and the team said it was.
Like Tommy said, we basically gave up with about 30 minutes to go because we had to hit a stupid number to make it. But we did!

“We had no idea really what cars could make it. I think there were four of the five cars that pitted under a safety car with basically three hours left, so it was going to be a stretch for all those cars to make it to two more stops. From then on, it became a fuel mileage race.

“We fully expected the Ferrari to be able to go to the end. They had already done a stint under green to start the race and went a lap longer than what we could do, even when we were saving earlier. We knew we had to be super-aggressive with the fuel numbers.

“After the full-course yellow, the guys gave me a fuel number I did laugh a bit when they said it at the start, but I knew that if we stopped then it was going to be game over. So we had to run at that pace. The good thing is that at the end, the track came to us and the tires were definitely working really nicely toward the end of the race.
So the car had good pace, and we could take a bit of margin down the straight and keep the speed in the corners to put the pressure on the Ferrari. I could see that they picked up the pace and that’s when I guess they said they couldn’t make it

“We didn’t really drop any pace, but they suddenly seemed to start pulling away from us
We just assumed they were safe, and they could run the pace they wanted.
As it turned out, they couldn’t. Everyone went from, ‘OK, good race and good podium,’ to ‘We’re about to win the Monza Six Hours!’”

“I can't believe it,” said Milner. “The Ferraris seemed to be a lap better than us on fuel. The team gave Nick a fuel number that seemed impossible to me, but he was just barely making it. At some point, I guess they thought they couldn't go, and we were sitting here thinking they had it in the bag. Obviously that wasn't the case!

“We could see early on in the race that a podium was possible.
But based on the pace of the Ferraris and them going a lap longer than us on at least one occasion while we were trying to save fuel, it looked like during the last run that second place was really going to be it.”

Milner, who had no prior experience of the Autodromo di Monza, said: “It’s a track that I’ve always wished I could race on. To be here for the first time and stand on the top step of that podium to see the fans and our crew guys just below us there was very cool.”

The #64 Corvette has now scored a first, a second and a fourth across the four WEC rounds of the season held so far, its sole DNF being the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month, in which Tandy set pole in the GTE Pro class.