Chevy Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this Sunday, July 14th

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The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA teams are both back on familiar ground this weekend and will give the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its racing debut north of the border this weekend: the Chevrolet Grand Prix and the only Canadian stop for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Historic and challenging Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course circuit outside Toronto has been a playground for Corvettes over the years. The program has recorded 12 class victories at the track formerly known as Mosport, including last year for returning Corvette star Antonio Garcia in a Corvette C8.R.

This year’s Chevrolet Grand Prix will feature three of the first-year Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs: No. 3 and No. 4 from factory-supported Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO, and the No. 13 customer entry for AWA, which will contest its home race in a Corvette for the first time. The lineups are: • Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R • Matt Bell and Ontario’s Orey Fidani in AWA’s No. 13 Corvette

The Pratt Miller-crewed squad enters Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as defending GTD PRO winner, with Garcia victorious a year ago in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R with Jordan Taylor. This time around, Garcia and Sims also a past winner at the track will arrive in Canada coming off a third-place finish at Watkins Glen for their first podium finish of the year.

Milner and Catsburg hope to break through after nearly winning at The Glen. They were third in their Z06 GT3.R at Laguna Seca in May. Of note, this will be Catsburg’s first race at CTMP and Milner hasn’t raced there since 2018; he won there in 2013 in a Corvette C6.R.

For AWA, there are two goals: one is a podium finish at its home track, which is realistic given a very positive recent test session at CTMP for Bell and Fidani. The second is to grow Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the year earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The AWA Corvette has finished in the GTD top-10 in three of the last four races, going back to Sebring in March. Bell and Fidani were seventh in class at Watkins Glen to solidify the Akin Award lead.

In addition to the extensive success and following at CTMP, Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows is part-owner of the circuit and is largely responsible for operations at the facility. In his Corvette Racing driving career spanning 1999–2008 Fellows won 30 races (three times at CTMP) and three championships in the American Le Mans Series. He also was one of the founding members of the team and a key development driver starting in 1997.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14. The race will air live on the USA Network plus stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday afternoon’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m hopeful for this weekend. We had the chance to test the Z06 GT3.R at CTMP just after Watkins Glen, and already the car is pretty amazing around there. I’m not surprised considering how well each of our past Corvettes have been at Mosport.
Given the strengths of our car, we are confident, but we still need to go there and execute the classic Corvette race with great strategy and good work by the crew and us as drivers. If we can do all those things, I think we can have a really good weekend and hopefully get the first IMSA win for the Z06 GT3.R.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s always a pleasure to return to a place where you’ve had success. It’s even better when it is a place like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The track is very fast, very daunting and very old-school. It’s really one of the things I like about IMSA the circuits and places where we race are phenomenal.
The racing I had in the past in GTLM with the Corvettes around CTMP and Mosport were really hard, tough fights, and so was GTP last year.
I suspect GTD PRO could be a level or two greater with the competition we have seen so far this year. It should make for a pretty spectacular weekend and hopefully a successful one for us. I’m looking forward to it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We’ve been close, we feel like, for many of the races this year. For one reason or not, we haven’t quite finished the job, so we’re trying to make that happen this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s an awesome racetrack.
I had to go back and look; I haven’t raced there since 2018 so it’s been quite awhile. I missed the 2019 race with a broken hand. It’s been a little bit for me to be at CTMP, but I was just there recently for testing. It reminded me of how awesome the track is and how much fun it is to drive.
Even in our GT cars, the rhythm there is like no other racetrack in the world. It’s superfast and a lot of fun.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Before the start of the season, there were a few tracks that I circled in my head because I have never experienced them. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, or Mosport was one of those. I’m really excited to race there after hearing so much from my teammates and friends about the track, how fast it is and how challenging it is. Knowing that the circuit hasn’t changed much in so many years makes me appreciate it even more.
It’s a proper, historic and old-school track that hopefully is as good for our Corvette as I hope it will.”

AWA PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is on my list of top five circuits in the world. It’s only a short lap and looks like a tiny little place on a map. You see the grand circuits of the world like Le Mans and Spa, but you get to Mosport and it’s mega. The topography of the track, the commitment required, the bumps… it’s a recipe for an absolute addiction to racing.
I’ve always found that one of my strengths is learning circuits and getting straight back on it when I get to a place where I haven’t been in a while. But this is one of those places that just takes that little bit more respect and that little bit more time to get back in sync with the place. It takes a huge commitment, and I love the place.

“This is a race every year that AWA targets. Standing on the podium would mean that much more with it being the home race for the team.
There will be a lot of thought and a lot of effort going into that one.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is my home track. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many laps I’ve done here.
I feel like I could probably drive it with my eyes closed. It’s high-speed, very technical, and requires all your concentration from start to finish.
It’s a challenging layout, and no matter how many times I drive it, it never gets old.
Furthermore, it’s so special to race in front of the home crowd, it just means so much to have that extra support.
We want to do well at each event, but stepping on the podium here would be a dream come true for us all.”

 

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Tommy Milner said he’s hoping to “get over the hump” with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports seeking its first win with the car.

While Milner helped give the new-for-2024 GT3 contender its maiden victory in global competition during the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS event at Circuit of the Americas in May, the pair of factory-supported cars have yet to visit victory lane in the highly competitive IMSA GTD Pro ranks.
Milner and co-driver Nicky Catsburg narrowly missed out on the class win in last month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen after being forced to pit for a splash-and-dash on the final lap while leading the race.

The Watkins Glen round, however, showcased an improvement in the car’s reliability compared to early season rounds.
“At the start of the year, it’s always tough to go to these long-distance races Daytona and Sebring with a brand-new car,” said Milner.

“I would say we’ve had a little bit more lingering issues than we would have liked and as we’ve seen in the past from this team and program.
“I feel like at this point now that the ones that have lingering, we’ve gotten a handle on finally or we feel like we have. You never know until the results show it.

“Le Mans was good from the program, generally, as far as reliability goes. From that side, there’s been some minor updates to correct some of the problems. All our testing has been smooth sailing, typically; that’s obviously a good sign.

“The car has been fast from the beginning. That’s been nice that we haven’t had to worry so much about trying to find speed in the car.
“Maybe right now we are a little too mismatched with some of the other cars in our class with how we make our speed versus them. We typically seem to be down on power to most cars.

“Some of the racing can be difficult at times. We can get stuck behind cars quite easily that might be slower than us over a lap, but we can’t do much with it currently with the way things are right now. It changes, obviously.

“At Laguna Seca we were fast. The way that we made our speed and our pace over a lap didn’t hinder us there.
“Watkins Glen was a little different in that regard. I feel the car is in a good place. The reliability has been quite a bit better. We’ve always been doing the fine-tuning stuff with the car setups as we can.

“A lot of the men and women at Corvette Racing, Pratt Miller and GM have been working hard to fix the small little things that become bigger things in races.”
When asked what it would mean to score a breakthrough WeatherTech Championship win this weekend at CTMP, Milner said it would be “big” for the entire program.
“We’ve been close, we feel like, for many of the races this year. For one reason or not, we haven’t quite finished the job, so we’re trying to make that happen this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park,” he said.

“It’s been a little bit for me to be at CTMP, but I was just there recently for testing. It reminded me of how awesome the track is and how much fun it is to drive.
“Even in our GT cars, the rhythm there is like no other racetrack in the world. It’s superfast and a lot of fun.

“We got a taste of some of the multi-class racing with some of the LMP2 cars that were there testing with us, so we have a feel for that already. It should be exciting.
“It’s definitely a difficult racetrack to pass in some situations. But we’re excited to get to CTMP and hopefully get over the hump to get a win for this Corvette Racing program.”

 

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Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports finished 1-2 in GTD PRO in the session, led by the No. 3 Corvette of Alexander Sims
Sims put in a late flyer at 1m15.696s to displace the sister No. 4 of Nicky Catsburg from the top spot by just 0.018s.

Despite Sims spinning at Moss Corner at the checkered flag, it’s a good start to the weekend for the works Corvette team, which is still seeking its first IMSA victory with the new Z06 GT3.R.
The No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Mario Farnbacher was third fastest in GTD Pro, followed by Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, and GTD PRO points leader Seb Priaulx in the No.77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

GTD was led by the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW driven by Robby Foley, with Frederik Schandorff in second aboard the No.70 Inception Racing McLaren GT3 EVO.
Championship leader Philip Ellis was fourth fastest in GTD driving the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The only car that wasn’t able to set a representative time was the No. 55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3, which did only two laps due to a clutch problem.

The start of the weekend also sees confirmation that the No. 43 Andretti Motorsport Porsche has withdrawn.
The car normally driven by Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves had no confirmed drivers listed on the provisional entry list.

Practice 2 starts tomorrow morning at 10:35am ET.

 

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The Chevy Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is down to a 34-car grid following the withdrawal of Andretti Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R, which initially appeared on the entry list with two to-be-determined drivers. It marks the first GTD race that the Jarett Andretti-led effort has missed this season.

Pfaff Motorsports took the wraps off a special plaid livery for its McLaren 720S GT3 Evo this weekend during a pre-race event at a Canadian Tire store on Wednesday. The team’s third driver, James Hinchcliffe, was among those in attendance.

Elsewhere in the GTD Pro class, Paul Miller Racing has tweaked the livery on the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s sole race outside of the United States, with the car sporting the Canadian flag on the front.
Seven Canadian drivers feature on the entry list for Sunday’s race: John Farano, Orey Fidani, Parker Thompson, Roman De Angelis, Mikael Grenier, Kyle Marcelli and Misha Goikhberg.

Mercedes-AMG factory driver Grenier, whose other commitments this year include Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup and Intercontinental GT Challenge, notably told IMSA Radio’s Shea Adam that this is “the only race out of 26 race weekends that I race at home.”
There have been no Balance of Performance adjustments to the GTD Pro and GTD class this weekend, following a power increase to the Ford Mustang GT3 that was put into place in last month’s round at Watkins Glen International.

LMP2 returns to CTMP for the first time in five years, with the class set to feature as the headline category for the first time in series history. It is also the first sprint round of the season for the class, having only appeared at Michelin Endurance Cup rounds so far this season.

The now-defunct Prototype Challenge category, featuring similar Pro-Am driver requirements, headlined at several races in 2014-15, including Lime Rock Park in 2014-15 and in 2014, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, both with GTD, along with a standalone races at Kansas Motor Speedway and Virginia International Raceway with IMSA Prototype Challenge machinery.

Deletraz’s practice-topping time of 1:07.895 already broke the lap record for LMP2 machinery at the Ontario venue.
The previous record was held by Matt McMurry, who set a 1:08.197 driving for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports during the WeatherTech Championship race in 2019.
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Alexander Sims explained that the LMP2 class’ relative lack of straight line speed to GTP cars makes traffic management around the 2.459-mile circuit “really difficult” for GT drivers.

Sims said: “The straight-line speed difference between our classes is so small that it’s really hard to let them by efficiently for both of us. They’re faster in the corners by a decent chunk in the high-speed sections here, but in the low-speed parts they didn’t look that strong, especially in the bumpy parts at Turn 5.

As they get close to you on the straight, you want to try and keep them behind, but you’re just delaying the inevitable pain because at no point do they breeze past you. With the GTPs, they’re not that much faster than us through the corners, but they are so much faster on the straights. So we co-exist on track super easy because they just blast past us and don’t affect us much.”

While GTP cars are not in race action this weekend, a number of teams have used the period for testing, with both Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti and BMW M Team RLL having tested at Road America earlier this week, and Chip Ganassi Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in preparation for the next two WeatherTech Championship GTP rounds.

The No. 01 CGR Cadillac will switch chassis to the No. 2-badged car that was run in last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning with next month’s WeatherTech Championship round at Road America, with its IMSA chassis set to be used in an upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship group test at Circuit of the Americas, according to a Cadillac spokesperson.
A total of four teams: AF Corse, Heart of Racing Team, Proton Competition and United Autosports are split up this weekend between CTMP and the WEC race at Interlagos, to varying degrees.

Tommy Milner returns to CTMP for the first time since 2018, after the Corvette Racing driver was replaced by Marcel Fassler due to a hand injury in the 2019 race. The CTMP event was canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Milner moved to WEC competition in 2022, while serving as the development driver of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R last year.

Pipo Derani, meanwhile, turned his first competitive LMP2 laps since 2019 during opening practice on Friday. The Brazilian’s last race outing in the class came during the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series season, when he teamed up with Alexander West and Come Ledogar for three rounds aboard a Spirit of Race Ligier JS P2 Nissan.

Derani’s last race outing in the Oreca 07 Gibson dates back even further to when he joined Vaillante Rebellion in the 2017 WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring and finished eighth in class alongside David Heinemeier Hansson and Mathias Beche.
Pratt Miller announced a new partnership with Haas Automation, which will see the CNC machine tools being utilized at the team’s facility in New Hudson, Mich. It marks the Gene Haas-owned company’s foray into sports car racing.

IMSA has clarified, in an update to the GTD Pro/GTD technical regulations, that GTD cars no longer have to have yellow headlight lenses but must still emit yellow light. GTD Pro cars, meanwhile, must continue to emit white light but are not mandated to have clear headlight lenses. Headlight color must be “satisfactory” in the “sole opinion” of IMSA officials.

JACKSON, the firm behind Michelin’s IMSA PR and marketing efforts as well as the North American support of Aston Martin customer racing, has entered a partnership with The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, to provide “pro bono strategic and marketing support” to the Official Charity of IMSA.
AO Racing has announced that Hot Wheels versions of its ‘Rexy’ and ‘Roxy’ Porsche 911 GT3 Rs will be available in stores beginning next month.

USA Network will carry live coverage of the Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP beginning Sunday at 11 a.m. EDT, with Brian Till and Calvin Fish in the booth, with Ryan Myrehn and Hannah Newhouse on pit lane. IMSA Radio’s coverage, which also appears on the live YouTube stream for international viewers, comprises the regular team of John Hindhaugh, Jeremy Shaw and Shea Adam.

 

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Practice completed
The 2 PM Z06s ran fairly OK but not near the pole
The 1 Canada team Z06 as the whole season sucked and near the bottom of their class

 

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Corvette Z06 GT3.R takes the pole to start the race tomorrow, Sunday

In GTD, qualifying got off to a false start when the red flag flew for Conquest Racing’s Ferrari 296, when Manny Franco ground to a halt at the pit exit.
That led to a truncated 10-minute sprint to decide pole, with Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth becoming the first to dip under the 1m15s bracket with a 1m14.972s in his #14 Lexus RC F.

Fellow Brit Alexander Sims, driving the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R grabbed the provisional pole from him with 1m14.911s, only for Hawksworth to snatch it back with 1m14.710s. That gave him a 0.271s advantage, as Sims backed off for a lap to regroup.

Sims then unleashed a 1m14.405s, taking the top spot by 0.235s, to which Hawksworth could not respond.
Sims rubbed it in by going even quicker on his last lap, with a 1m14.373s extending his advantage to 0.267s. That meant he’d set two laps good enough for pole.

“The car was incredible around this amazing place, I got a couple of really nice, clear laps that was an excellent blast,” said Sims.
“We hadn’t been sure which direction to go in practice, but we had such a good car for qualifying.”
Frankie Montecalvo led the pro-am class in his #12 Lexus, impressively leading a phalanx of Pro class cars.
“It’s absolutely my favorite racetrack that really suits our RC F,” he said.

Tommy Milner will start fourth in the #4 Corvette, seven tenths off his stablemate Sims, ahead of Harry Tincknell (#64 Multimatic Ford Mustang), Madison Snow (Paul Miller Racing BMW M4), Mario Farnbacher (#23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage) and Marvin Kirchhofer (Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S)

 

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Pratt Miller, Corvette Z06s win GTD Pro class takes first and second Place

Canada Corvette team in GTD crashed out early in the race

 

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The new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R took its long-awaited maiden victory in IMSA competition via a 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD Pro.

The No. 3 Corvette of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims scored the victory, just ahead of the No. 4 of Nicky Catsburg, and Tommy Milner, who previously gave the Z06 GT3.R its first win in GT World Challenge America earlier this year.

Sims and Garcia led almost the entire 2h 40m race, only surrendering the lead during the first round of routine pit stops.
This came just after Dennis Andersen crashed his No. 20 MDK by High Class Racing Oreca at Turn 9, which led to the first full course yellow of the race.

Antonio Garcia said Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports had been “knocking on the door for a long time” to secure the first win for the Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after leading a 1-2 finish in the Chevrolet Grand Prix.

Garcia crossed the line aboard the No. 3 Chevrolet to record the new-for-2024 car’s first WeatherTech Championship win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday.
The victory for the Spaniard and co-driver Alexander Sims came as part of a run from pole position for the No. 3 crew, with Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg finishing in second.

Milner was notably part of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s first win in global competition in May, when the car won back-to-back races at the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS round at Circuit of the Americas.
However, Garcia added that the first WeatherTech Championship win was a “very important” milestone for the brand in the car’s debut season.
“It’s always special to have a first win for the car,” Garcia said.

“I’m really proud of that, proud of the Pratt Miller guys. I mean, Tommy already [won a race] in SRO.
“Now we finally get this car to win in IMSA, which was very important and that’s where we really want it.

“We almost had like a perfect weekend. We led most of the practice, amazing pole position by Alex, and then we just run P1 all the way through.
“It looked easy, but it was kind of difficult, especially with the last restart with all the GTDs ahead of us.

“So it was interesting, but again fantastic to have Corvette 1-2 finally, not only in qualifying but [also] in the race.”
Garcia noted that the team “had been knocking on the door” for the car’s maiden series win prior to arriving in Canada, with he and Sims notably finishing third at Watkins Glen and Milner and Catsburg scoring a podium at Laguna Seca.
“This ranks pretty high in my career,” the Spaniard said.

“I got the first win for C7.R and C8.R, so this is brilliant! I’m happy with that! I’m so happy for the team. We’ve been so close.
“The pace has been there all year, but we just didn’t quite make it or had issues, or we weren’t in the right position.

“We’ve been knocking on the door for a long time. We finally got it to happen, so I’m very happy for everyone at Corvette Racing and the Pratt Miller team.”
Sims, who secured pole on Saturday and took the start, praised the handling of the No. 3 car, saying it was “on absolute rails” for the opening phase of the race.
“It was working really well in that opening hour or so,” said Sims.

“Pretty difficult honestly after the pit stops, some people took half a set of tires and we didn’t.
“So it was a bit squirrelly and tough to hang onto at times, but I enjoyed pushing flat out. I had a few moments, but that’s part of it.
“You expect to have to do that when you are leading. Just a well executed race and we had good pace.”

After the third and final restart of the race, Garcia came under pressure from teammate Catsburg, with the two separated by just 0.408 seconds at the finish line.
Despite the close finish between the two cars, Sims maintained that he wasn’t stressed about the outcome of the race, watching from the pit wall.
“Nicky is a proper professional, he knows what he’s doing,” Sims said.

“We all know how important getting a 1-2 is for the team.
Obviously, if there had been a genuine racing situation where he could have passed, I’m sure he would have gone for it.

“But at the same time, it’s pretty hard to pass legitimately here when you’re only maybe one or two tenths quicker here or there.
“I guess no real opportunity presented itself, and he was going to be smart the whole time, I’m sure.”

 

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Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia led a 1-2 class finish for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R on Sunday as Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports swept to the top of GTD PRO in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Sims and Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette delivered the first victory for the Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The pairing began from pole position and led 109 of 113 laps en route to a 0.408-second victory over Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette following a late-race restart.

“Congratulations to Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and the No. 3 team on winning the Chevrolet Grand Prix today at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the first victory in IMSA with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R,” said Scott Bell, Vice President, Global Chevrolet. “This is one of the world’s toughest categories of racing, with a strong and deep field of GT manufacturers and teams.

The high levels of performance, reliability and execution from the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports drivers, crew and engineers were evident throughout the race. We congratulate them and the entire team for the hard-earned, 1-2 GTD PRO finish today.”

The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team has been knocking on the door of the elusive first win in the WeatherTech Championship since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, with leads in the last five races. Milner and Catsburg gave the Z06 GT3.R its first podium finish at Laguna Seca with Garcia and Sims finishing third in the last round at Watkins Glen.

Closing the deal this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was fitting, as the Corvette Racing program won for the 13th time at the circuit. Garcia went back-to-back in class after scoring a victory last year with Jordan Taylor in the Corvette C8.R.

Sims and Milner each drove the first half of the race, with Milner making the first move for a driver change to Catsburg in hopes of leap-frogging the sister Corvette. Sims pitted two laps later from the lead, with Garcia re-emerging ahead of the No. 4 Corvette for the run to the end.

Garcia’s lead remained between five and seven seconds until a full-course yellow with 16 minutes to go. That bunched up the GTD PRO field, with a number of GTD-class cars ahead of them at the restart. Both Garcia and Catsburg worked their way through the slower cars to keep their positions to the checkered flag.
AWA’s home race in the No. 13 Corvette ended early when it was pushed off-track and into the tires at Turn Three.

Orey Fidani had climbed to second in GTD from 11th at the start before contact from behind sent the Corvette into the barriers. The Z06 GT3.R’s safety systems and chassis structure did their jobs as Fidani climbed out of his car under his own power.
He was evaluated and released from the infield care center shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, the AWA team displayed the never-give-up spirit of the Corvette Racing program and attempted to get the car back into the race, but the damage was too great.
The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA is August 2-4 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO RACE WINNER:

“This is huge for the entire Corvette program. I’m glad that we could finally get the first win in IMSA for the Z06 GT3.R and to get my first win with Alex. We just need to carry on like this and build on the things we have been doing. More wins will come.

“This ranks pretty high in my career. I got the first win for C7.R and C8.R, so this is brilliant! I’m happy with that!
I’m so happy for the team. We’ve been so close. The pace has been there all year, but we just didn’t quite make it or had issues, or we weren’t in the right position.
We’ve been knocking on the door for a long time. We finally got it to happen, so I’m very happy for everyone at Corvette Racing and the Pratt Miller team.”

(On the late-race restart) “I thought about it right before the yellow. I was sure there was quite a big potential to have a yellow at the end. It seems like it always happens. I think I was being gentle with the tires that I had, so I was able to push at the end. It was tough to be in the middle of the GTDs.
They were fighting and we were fighting. But I was able to stay ahead of him. It was fantastic to bring a 1-2 for Corvette Racing.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO RACE WINNER:

“It was nice. To be able to lead the race from the get-go is always the place you want to be. The pace of the Corvette has been good for most of the season, to be honest. We’ve definitely gotten stronger as the season has gone on. Everything worked really well from the start.
Tommy got past the Lexus, so I knew I had him behind me. It’s always nice when you have your teammate right behind you.
The car was working well all week. I felt like I was in a good rhythm. I love driving around this place. Antonio was a very good, safe set of hands to bring it home.”

“Superb. We’ve had some pace this year at times. The car has been so good today. We were able to execute a really nice race and to be able to generally manage things from the front, which is what you generally want to do. The Corvette has worked super-well this weekend.
Pratt Miller has done a great job. We nailed the strategy, coming up aces when we needed to. It’s been a wonderful weekend.”

(On the late restart against the No. 4 Corvette): “You never know what Nicky is going to do! He’s a bit of a wild card! He’s a fantastic driver as well.
Furthermore, he’s the best of the best, basically. I’m sure he knew what he was doing, and I’ve got full confidence in Antonio as well.
They are the perfect guys to bring it home one-two for the team. We all know how important it is to get this result.
It’s amazing to get two wins here, but I want more.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTD PRO:

“I’m absolutely happy with this. There’s nothing better, a 1-2 for the team. Both cars executed really well today. We had fast cars, for sure, but we did everything right. We had decent qualifying too and that helped.
The start of the race was pretty good for me in getting by the Lexus and then was into a lead-follow with Alex there for a while.
It got a little hectic with some of the rocket ships in our class passing us from five or six car-lengths back, so I had to fight that off a little bit.
It’s a great day for Corvette Racing and a great day for Pratt Miller Motorsports. We thought this racetrack would suit us pretty well, which it certainly did.
I’m glad that we as a whole team executed from top to bottom and got the result we deserved today.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTD PRO:

“This is a great result for the team. I’m extremely happy because we’ve been waiting for this result for quite a while.
I’m glad we finally had everything going our way with the yellows and so on. Furthermore, I’m really, really happy because I feel we deserved this.”