Category: IMSA

INDIANAPOLIS – An expanded entry of four Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams across two IMSA Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes competes on the 2.439-mile road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) this weekend in Sunday’s Battle on the Bricks IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. The penultimate event of the IMSA 2023 season, the two-hour and 40-minute race is scheduled to go green at 1:10 p.m. EDT this Sunday, September 17, with live coverage on the flagship NBC Network beginning at 1 p.m. EDT. The Battle on the Bricks follows Saturday’s four-hour Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race that will see four Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams compete in a twilight race critical to the outcome of the 2023 Grand Sport (GS) team, driver and manufacturer championships.

The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 and co-drivers Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella compete in the GTD Pro division while a trio of GTD-class competitors complete the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing lineup at Indy. The four Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams at Indianapolis are an IMSA season-high for 2023, matching the four Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing GT3 entries that competed in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona last January.

The WeatherTech team, two-time GTD Pro race winners this season at the Rolex 24 and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, look to build some momentum at Indy to take with them to next month’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans 10-hour race. Gounon, Juncadella and the No. 79 team have a three-point lead in the GTD Pro division standings in the Michelin Endurance Cup, a battle within the overall WeatherTech Championship to be decided at Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta that awards the year’s top performers in the season’s four endurance races.

WeatherTech drivers have been successful on the 14-turn IMS road course in recent years. Juncadella co-drove a Mercedes-AMG GT3 to the overall victory in last October’s Indianapolis 8 Hour while Gounon was on the pole for that race in a Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Winward competes this weekend in the GTD class in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with co-drivers Russell Ward and Philip Ellis. The Winward team and drivers bring the momentum of a season-best third-place finish one race ago at Virginia to the Brickyard.

Winward has combined with Korthoff Preston Motorsports – the new name for Team Korthoff Motorsports – to secure three Mercedes-AMG GT3 podium finishes in the last four IMSA WeatherTech Championship races ahead of Indy.
Mike Skeen and Mikael Grenier co-drove the newly renamed No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 to season-best third-place showings this summer at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and Road America.

Similar to WeatherTech, the Korthoff Preston team and drivers hope a strong showing this weekend paves the way for Michelin Endurance Cup success at Road Atlanta. Skeen, Grenier and the No. 32 team are second in the Endurance Cup GTD championship standings, just one point out of first place.

The fourth Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry at the Brickyard is the debuting No. 15 Lone Star Racing/Bluff City Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Pilot Challenge regulars Anton Dias Perera and Scott Andrews. They also continue their full-season GS campaign in Saturday’s four-hour race in the No. 27 Lone Star Racing/Bluff City Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

The No. 15/No. 27 team and drivers are set for the double in both series this weekend as Lone Star returns to an IMS road course on which they have had recent and winning Mercedes-AMG GT3 success.

Lone Star is joined on the double-duty front at Indy by Winward that fields for the full season both its No. 57 GTD entry and a sister No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 for co-drivers Bryce Ward and Daniel Morad. The GS team was victorious at the Detroit Grand Prix in June and Morad was among Juncadella’s co-drivers last year for the Indy 8 Hour Mercedes-AMG GT3 victory.

Saturday’s four hour is crucial for the GS championship-leading No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak. The No. 72 team and drivers have led the GS championship standings since securing their first IMSA win together last May at Laguna Seca and bring a 10-point lead over the nearest competitors, 1,980 – 1,970, to Indy with only the Road Atlanta finale following Saturday’s twilight race.

Mercedes-AMG also leads the GS manufacturer championship standings coming to Indianapolis by 10 points over the nearest competitor, 2,420 – 2,410.

The No. 72 team and drivers compete alongside longtime teammates Eric Foss and Justin Piscitell who co-drive the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. For the second straight race, Piscitell fills in for the No. 56 team’s primary driver Jeff Mosing who is recovering from a back injury from an incident in a single-make series race in late July at Road America.

A full three-day weekend, the Battle on the Bricks schedule at IMS begins with practice sessions for both the WeatherTech Championship and Pilot Challenge this Friday, September 15.

The WeatherTech Championship runs final practice Saturday morning before GTD Pro/GTD qualifying that afternoon at 1 p.m. EDT. Pilot Challenge GS qualifying takes place Saturday morning at 11:20 a.m. EDT to set the starting field for that afternoon’s four-hour Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 that races into the early-evening darkness after a 4:30 p.m. EDT start.

Battle on the Bricks race-day begins Sunday with a 20-minute warmup session at 8 a.m. EDT prior to that afternoon’s race-start time at 1:10 p.m. EDT.

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Last year I took pole position for the eight-hour race and Dani won. My favorite sector is the small esses and running by the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course section. We got help with some of the weight off of the WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 this weekend, which will help getting off the turns. Let’s see what we can do with just two more races left in the season.”

Daniel Juncadella, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I like Indy. I have good memories from the eight-hour last year, when we won. The track is pretty flat, and simple to drive. It has a lot of history and is such a big facility that it is fun to race there. Going across the start/finish line with the bricks is cool. We received a pretty good weight reduction on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for this weekend. I feel good going into the race with the WeatherTech Racing/Proton team and Jules.”

Mike Skeen, Driver – No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Indianapolis is such a special place because of all the history. It will be a pleasure to race there again. I had the chance to drive there in GRAND-AM Street Touring (ST) and in IMSA GT right after the merger, then most recently in a NASCAR Xfinity series car, but have not raced there in quite a while. We did have a successful test there a few weeks ago, so hopefully we can start off strong. It’s also exciting that the team name is changing to Korthoff Preston Motorsports to highlight the efforts of Walt Preston to grow this program to the level that it is.”

Anton Dias Perera, Driver – No. 15 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3; No. 27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I think it will be an amazing experience to be at Indy. We have been strong all season, and despite not winning races, I think the team has made great progress. We are ready to step up. Lone Star Racing also has a long pedigree in GT3 racing. So, this is a great opportunity for the team and also for Scott Andrews to showcase his talent. Of course, for me, it will be a baptism of fire. It will be a busy schedule. It is always a challenge to jump between platforms, but we have been testing both cars for a while now and I think I am ready. Mercedes-AMGs have broad similarities in terms of cockpits ergonomics between the GT4 and GT3 platforms, which helps a lot. I just have to learn to switch back and forth between the downforce levels between the cars.”

Scott Andrews, Driver – No. 15 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3; No. 27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I have raced with Anton and some others in dual-series races before, but this will be my first time competing in Mercedes-AMG GT3 and GT4 cars on the same weekend. I am really excited, and we are just going to focus on checking all the boxes and trying to do all the right things. Obviously, it is a big step for everybody to move to GTD, but everybody is ready and AJ Petersen and Lone Star Racing always prepare an amazing car. We should have really good cars, and the team has been working really, really hard. It’s going to be very exhausting, as a smaller team, to run both programs efficiently, but everybody has been training. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I am really looking forward to the challenge of competing in both classes. We definitely have a shot at winning in the Pilot Challenge GS race. We’ve been unlucky this year to not secure at least one win and podiums, but hopefully the luck turns around this weekend. In GTD we want to just have a good, clean race in our debut with Bluff City Racing. We would like to come home with the car in one piece and keep everyone motivated and moving in what direction for what is in the future.”

Daniel Morad, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “On paper, the Indy road course doesn’t look that interesting, but when you drive it, it actually has some really good rhythm. You have three distinct sectors of the track, rhythm sections, with Turns 1 through basically 6, the chicane. Then you have the next complex of corners, Turns 7 through 11, and then it is Turns 12, 13 and 14 in the last section, all looped together. It’s interesting and nice to drive but pretty physical actually. There is not much ‘brake’ at Indy.”

Scoring maximum points the goal for Cadillac V-Series.R cars in penultimate race

DETROIT (Sept. 12, 2023) – “Everybody wants to kiss the bricks, right?”

Sebastien Bourdais, co-driver with Renger van der Zande of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, is looking forward to earning that reward this weekend when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship charges into Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.

The 2-hour, 40-minute race will mark the first time the premier North American sports car racing series competes on the IMS road course since 2014. The event will expand to a six-hour race in 2024.

Bourdais is no stranger to the Brickyard. The four-time CART champion has made 10 INDYCAR starts on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (best finish of fourth in 2014, ’15 and 2018) and nine Indianapolis 500 starts.

He co-drove a Daytona Prototype with Alex Popow to victory in the 2012 NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race and co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette DP to 11th place in 2013 on the previous (2.534-mile) circuit configuration.

A decade later, the hybrid Grand Touring Prototype racecar he and van der Zande drove to victory in May at Laguna Seca makes its debut at the iconic racetrack.

“It’s a very different era,” Bourdais said. “Those DP cars back then were a little lighter but not a crazy amount. The biggest difference is the redesign of the track. We used to go backward in Turn 1 and it was a cool track. This one is a whole different challenge. With our cars not having as much downforce, being heavy and having quite a bit of power, we’ll get to Turn 1 and the backstraight quite quickly. But the feel is actually not all that different from back then. There are just a few nuances.”

Bourdais and van der Zande teamed with No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R drivers Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims to work through a testing program in late July at IMS that they hope delivers results. Derani and Sims enter the penultimate race of the season a close second in the GTP Team and Driver Championship standings. They sit atop the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings ahead of the 10-hour season finale at Road Atlanta in October.

Bourdais and van der Zande are sixth in the regular-season championship chase, though only 118 points out of the top spot. Cadillac Racing paces the field in both the GTP regular season and endurance Manufacturer Championship points.

“I think we have a solid baseline coming away from the test, so hopefully we can hit the ground running and be strong as we felt we were during the test,” said Bourdais, who recorded the third-quickest lap over the two days of testing. “Conditions could be very different compared to the heat that we had to deal with during the test, but overall looking forward getting there and scoring maximum points. We’re in the (championship) mix and have to stick with it and see what we can do.”

NBC will telecast the race live at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 17. Peacock streaming in the U.S. begins at 1 p.m. ET, while viewers outside the U.S. can tune in to IMSA.com. Both Peacock and IMSA.com will stream qualifications at 12:55 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 16. IMSA Radio will air on-track sessions at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “I’m looking forward to the Indy road course. As far as the racing community and us in IMSA and Cadillac, it’s one that everybody wants to be a part of. It’s a very different setting as far as the racetrack is concerned compared to most of the other places we go. Very heavy braking, which will open up opportunities for passing. I think it will be extremely challenging in traffic because it’s a track that isn’t easy to manage multi-class racing. Once you hit Turn 4 and then the Esses, you’re kind of stuck. Same thing with (Turns) 7, 8, 9, it’s a one-groove place. You can try to divebomb someone, but that’s until the marbles build up and it will be a lot trickier. It will be a game of patience and a game of aggression. I think it’s easy to make a mistake and end up in the grass in Turn 1 or the last couple of corners. I think we have a solid baseline coming away from the test, so hopefully we can hit the ground running and be strong as we felt we were during the test. Conditions could be very different compared to the heat that we had to deal with during the test, but overall looking forward getting there and scoring maximum points. We’re in the (championship) mix and have to stick with it and see what we can do.”

Renger van der Zande: “Indianapolis is a home race for the team and that brings a great atmosphere to the team for the race weekend. It will be nice to see the families coming to the racetrack. Indianapolis is a track that is not my favorite, but most of favorite tracks are the ones that I have won on. Hopefully, after this weekend I can say this will be one of my favorite tracks.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “We had a productive test at Indianapolis back in July; learned quite a few things about the car in general and how it performs in extreme heat. I don’t think we’ll see those conditions for the race weekend. It is an important race for the team as we’re right in the mix for the championship. We won the pole at Road America in our last race, though we didn’t have the results we were looking for. Still, the car is fast and we look forward to putting on a great race for the fans as IMSA returns to Indianapolis.”

Alexander Sims: “I’m looking forward to racing at Indianapolis for the first time. The July test was useful – even under hot conditions. Nevertheless, we collected a lot of useful information to understand how the car performs at the track. The track itself is fairly straightforward, so it’s mainly fine-tuning things from a driving point of view. We have two races left and we’re right in the hunt for the championship. It’s a very tight championship at the moment, so it is crucial for us to have two very strong races. That’s going to come about by us doing the basics right and executing well to maximize our performance. The car is fast; the team is operating well and generally I’d say Pipo and I are in a good place for Indianapolis. We were very competitive at the test. The race at Indy will be a challenge with traffic. There are a lot of corner combinations at Indy where you turn left-right, left-right continuously and it’s difficult to get past cars in those sequences of corners without taking sometimes an unnecessary amount of risk or sometimes it’s just not possible to get past. Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it goes against you. It’s just part of multi-class endurance racing.”

Siegel to replace Balogh in the No. 30 Airbnb Ligier

Indianapolis, Ind. (11 September 2023) – Jr III (“Junior-Three”) Racing will head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) this weekend with two IMSA WeatherTech LMP3 entries for the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Jr III Racing’s full time entry of the No. 30 Airbnb Ligier JS P320 currently sits third in championship points standings with Jr III Racing regulars Garett Grist and Ari Balogh.

The No. 30 line up will be updated for the IMS round, with Nolan Siegel rejoining the team as Balogh attends to a family matter.

Siegel raced with the team in 2022 as part of the endurance lineup, and has twelve starts at IMS in open wheel competition in USF 2000, USF PRO 2000 and most recently Indy NXT. The California native’s highest finish at the famed track is second, which he scored in 2022.

“I’m really excited to be back with Jr III,” said Siegel. “We had a lot of good times last year and it’s an amazing group of people. I’m really looking forward to working with everyone again. I’ve done a lot of laps at Indy and it’s always a special experience crossing the yard of bricks. Doing it with Garett and all the guys and girls at Jr III will make it that much better!”

Grist is no stranger to the track, having seven starts under his belt at the historic Indiana track. The Canadian has two fourth place finishes, two fifth place finishes, two sixth place finishes and an eighth place finish at IMS.

“I’m very excited to compete at Indy again,” said Grist. “Indy is such an iconic track from entering through the tunnel to seeing the pagoda, and the bricks. I do think that Indy is a different track than what we are used to in IMSA. I hope that it leads to good racing, especially if we can draft. I’m excited to get back on track and hopefully get back to dominating the speed charts this weekend.”

The No. 30 Airbnb team has scored two second place finishes this season at Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Most recently the team fell victim to a penalty early on at Road America that ultimately landed the No. 30 Ligier just short of the podium with a fourth place finish.

Joining the No. 30 Ligier will be its sister car the No. 29 Wing S2 Cyber Ligier JS P320 piloted by Bijoy Garg and Guilherme de Oliveira.

Garg currently competes with Jr III Racing’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (VPRC) series where he currently holds the championship points lead in the LMP3 category. Most recently Garg won back to back races at VIRginia International Raceway in VPRC. Garg made his IMSA WeatherTech debut at Road America in August, but unfortunately an incident left the car undrivable and the team did not finish the race. Garg, who also competes in USF PRO 2000 has eleven starts with a high finish of seventh at IMS.

“I think we are in a really good spot going into Indy,” said Garg. “We had a very good test at Indy and I think I drove pretty well at Road America. We were in line for a podium but our race ended early with contact. I think we can do well and that was encouraging as far as our pace and we are looking to get a win this time out. I fortunately do have some seat time at IMS in an open wheel car, so I’m pretty familiar with the track. I think Indy is a bit easier to get up to speed on and I think the multiclass racing will be fun there.”

Oliveira will be making his second IMSA WeatherTech start as well, but he will be making his first laps around the 2.439 mile course on Friday during the first practice session. Oliveira has previously competed in European Le Mans and Asian Le Mans in the LMP3 category. The 18 year old from Portugal made his IMSA WeatherTech debut earlier this season at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona in an LMP3. Most recently Oliveira competed at two World Endurance Championship events at Monza and Portimão in a Porsche 911.

“Being in the IMSA paddock is amazing, it’s the ultimate experience as a racing driver,” said Oliveira. “The fans, the environment and the racing culture of people who live in America are just different. After I competed at Daytona, one of my main focuses was getting back to IMSA as soon as possible, and being able to do it with Jr III is really special for me. I have never raced in Indy, but everyone knows how mythic this track is, it hosts one of the biggest races in the world and driving around there must be pure magic. It is one of my favorite tracks to drive on the simulator and I can’t wait to get there in real life.”

The Battle On The Bricks will take the green flag on Sunday September 17th with live coverage on NBC starting at 1:00pm ET.

João Barbosa won the last IMSA race at IMS, while Creech shares a significant race history with one of the winningest junior open wheel teams

JUPITER, Fla. (11 September 2023) – Sean Creech Motorsport (SCM) joins the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in a return to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this weekend’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks (Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EDT, NBC).

Drivers Lance Willsey and João Barbosa will pilot the No. 33 SCM Focal One Ligier JS P320 in Sunday’s two hour and 40-minute event, and for Barbosa – and team principal Sean Creech – the weekend represents significant moments in each of their racing history.

Nine years have passed since IMSA last took the checkered flag at IMS. The last man standing on the famed Victory Podium? João Barbosa, who led 92 of 108 laps for the victory alongside teammate Christian Fittipaldi, which helped cement their hold on the series championship title. It is a cherished memory for Barbosa, who first learned the history of IMS when he first came to the U.S. from his native Portugal.

“We had a very quick car and great fuel strategy in 2014,” said Barbosa. “We took advantage of all the opportunities we had. It was great to win at Indy and kiss the bricks – it is one of my best memories. Indy is so special and so historic. When I came to the United States, I saw how important the race was and followed it closely, so it’s great to be able to race here ourselves.”

IMS’s open-wheel history is legendary. The Indianapolis 500 – the largest single day sporting event in the world – is one of the world’s iconic motor races. Less well known is the open-wheel history of both Barbosa and Creech.

Barbosa came to the US from Portugal to contest Formula Atlantic, while Creech spent his time balanced between two worlds – competing in a Formula Ford while also working as a mechanic with Dauer Racing. His expertise with racing cars came to the fore in those early days, with most of his contemporaries racing and working on their cars, and he gained a reputation as a talented technician, understanding every inch of a race car.

In 1992, Creech asked fellow driver Dominic Cape to come work on the car at the SCCA Runoffs, and the team captured the Runoffs victory in the Sports 2000 class. Dominic Cape considers the win to be the first for what would become Cape Motorsports – the winningest team in USF2000 series history (the team returned to the INDY NXT series this season.)

“We were good friends back in the day, racing against each other and cooking out together in the evenings,” said Creech. “He had a Formula Ford, I had a FF2000 and we hung out, working on the cars. I got to know his brother Nicholas and father Reggie as well, so when I got the DB-2, I called Dominic to ask if he wanted to come work on it. It was a good weekend.”

Creech was set to go to Formula Atlantic in 1993 but his transporter – with the car inside – was stolen in January of that year. Creech then turned his attention fully to sports cars, working with legendary names like Dauer, Doran, Busby and Colucci before starting his own team. But he has always kept in touch with the Capes.

“We’ve enjoyed seeing their success over the years,” said Creech. “It will be great to have them out to the Speedway this weekend and compare notes.”

The SCM team tested at Indy in mid-July, experiencing the spectrum of weather conditions over the two days – from cold and wet to hot and humid. Both Creech and Barbosa know that weather and traffic will be the two main factors affecting Sunday’s outcome.

“We learned a great deal at the test in multiple conditions, so we have a lot of good data,” said Creech. “Traffic is going to be the biggest challenge – if it rains, that will come into play even more, because Indy gets very slippery very quickly.”

“I’m looking forward to building on the strong result we had at Road America (where the team earned a pole and a second-place finish),” said Barbosa. “We learned a great deal at the test – the first day was hot, the second had rain, so it was good to see how the LMP3 car reacted to the different conditions. Lance did a great job and we definitely fine-tuned the car. The LMP3 car is so balanced, with the brakes and power and handling. It might not have the downforce of the P2 car but it was fun to drive at Indy. Traffic will be difficult, with so many cars – our speed is close to that of the GTD cars so staying out of trouble will be key.”

SCM thanks partner Focal One for its continued support.

The TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks takes the green flag Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Eastern. The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NBC. International viewers can watch via IMSA.tv, with IMSA Radio also available at IMSA.com.

About SCM

Team leader Sean Creech has competed in a multitude of sports car series from 1990 until the present day, including Group C, IMSA GTP, WSC, Grand-Am, SRO World Challenge, and IMSA. SCM will contest the full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023 with João Barbosa and Lance Willsey. http://seancreechmotorsport.com/

About Focal One

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime in the United States. The Focal One® HIFU Prostate treatment offers patients a non-invasive outpatient procedure to target prostate tissue while avoiding the common side effects such as loss of urinary continence and sexual function. The Focal One treatment uses high-performance, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to precisely target and ablate the prostate, allowing patients to quickly return to normal activities. http://www.focalone.com/

Co-driver of No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R aims to conquer the road course in GTP

Sebastien Bourdais, co-driver with Renger van der Zande of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R in the Grand Touring Prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, met with the media Tuesday to preview the Sept. 17 TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Bourdais, the four-time CART champion, is no stranger to IMS:

• He co-drove a Daytona Prototype with Alex Popow to victory in the 2012 NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race on the 2.534-mile road course.
• He co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype to 11th place in 2013.
• He has made 10 INDYCAR starts on the 2.439-mile IMS road course (best finish of fourth in 2014, ’15 and 2018).
• He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 2005 and has made nine starts overall, with a best finish of seventh in 2014 with KV Racing Technology (Dallara/Chevrolet).
• He and van der Zande prepped for the 2-hour, 40-minute race during a test July 28-29 at the Speedway.

Transcript of his Q&A:

When you think back to that first race back in 2012 at Indianapolis, how special of a win was that for you?

“It was a great day. Victories and firsts like that are always fond memories, especially with the way we had to do it because I think we had to go through the field twice – once in the dry and once on the wets. The weather was quite interesting; lots of precipitation and chaos in the race. It’s always those kinds of race that you reflect on later and it’s the only time that I kissed the bricks, so it was a pretty cool day.”

It’s a different atmosphere from IndyCar to sports cars to IMS. Does it still hold a special kind of magic for sports cars?

“The place is amazing. When you enter the grounds, it’s a very special place and it brings a lot of memories. Every time it’s race day at IMS it has a different vibe. A lot of people are going to show up, I hope. It’s been asked a lot that sports cars come back and I’m fully anticipating a great racing weekend with a big crowd. This place deserves a big crowd because it’s such a big place, and I think Indianapolis being such a motor racing city is always responding well to good shows. We have that in IMSA right now. It’s great to be part of it with Cadillac Racing and it’s a home race with Chip Ganassi Racing, so a lot of things to look forward to.”

Where are the challenges on the track?

“It’s very much a one-groove racetrack and every time you have to get out of that groove – and you will have to – it will make it really difficult. Marbles build up really fast, so for us in the GTPs not being than much faster than the LMP2s and certainly not being any faster in the braking zones, the interaction is going to be quite tricky and will decide the race. How easily your car gets to maneuver around people will be key. Technically, I think it’s a track that is very tricky because you have very pointy apexes and you’re basically braking and shooting for a very specific point. Not like a flowing corner and therefore the margin to hit the apex or not is very small and critical, because if you hit the apex it dictates a very different corner than if you are a half a foot away or not. There is no adjustment from there and they are all pretty long corners, so I think a good front end and getting the car to maneuver around is critical.”

Is virtual energy something you’re aware of during a stint and is there something you can do to try to help with the tools and braking and such?

“It’s something that we’re very much aware of. We can pretty much pick how much fuel we actually put in the car, so it really is virtual energy. I actually came back from came back from Laguna Seca and the strategy was a little bit different there and I was explaining to (wife) Claire that we can to the pit and plugged in but did not change tires and did not actually put fuel in the car. She was like, ‘Say that again. So, you came to the pits. You did not put fuel in the car or take tires, so what were you in the pits for?’ You can be plugged in, not take fuel, and replenish the virtual tank. That is basically dictated when you start the race how much energy the stint with, so it kind of opens up tricks in races when you have a lot of yellows and you’re not actually going to be limited by fuel but limited by energy to get to the end. It kind of opens up different strategies. We’re saving energy the same way. It’s just a matter of a different factor. You obviously keep an eye on the amount of fuel you have in the car. You mostly have to keep an eye on the energy you have left to finish the race. How much regen you get and how you use it is impacting the energy per lap, and that is governing everybody.”

How much more value does IMS add to the sport and where it wants to go?

“With Roger Penske putting so much energy and finance into bringing IMS to its full potential that everybody wants to see in the U.S. and worldwide, I think it makes sense to have a race part of the IMSA schedule. There’s a huge manufacturer push right now. The interest in endurance racing is getting quite incredible to the point where it’s actually going to be difficult to be invited and participate. I’m really happy to see it grow and earn its place back at IMS. All we can hope for is it reaches a peak and attendance is there and everybody brings the energy that a race needs to be successful.”

What has the process of learning the GTP car been like this year?

“It’s a completely new car and we at Cadillac have not really been in a different position than anybody else. We’re figuring things out along the way. It was good to go testing (at IMS); it was really the first test to prepare for Indy since Sebring. So, we learned quite a bit of things about the car, and we went to Road America and it was definitely beneficial. We were on pace and happier right away. The race weekend didn’t necessarily turn out the way we wanted, but it definitely felt like we found a step in terms of pace. It’s a classification that changes a lot. We can see that some cars use the tires better than others depending on the conditions. We’ve been using the harder tire from Michelin ever since Watkins Glen and it’s definitely flipped the order a little bit. The Cadillacs were a bit happier on softer compounds, taking better care of the tires. Now that it’s the harder tire through the summer and it’s going to hold true at Indy, it has been harder for us to extract the most out of it and others have been able to kind of pop up in terms of performance. It’s interesting to see the evolution track to track and circumstances after another. I think it’s all very close. The BoP has worked well. It’s been good racing and we’ve seen a lot of different winners, so I think the crowd has a lot to look forward to. For us, the GTP has been quite different because it’s a heavier car with better tires but more weight with a lot less downforce, so it’s a different combination and you have to be more patient with the car but you still have to push rally hard. The racing has been ferocious, so you have to earn it.”

There has to be a lot of excitement in the Ganassi camp right now?

“Chip Ganassi Racing has had an incredible season, especially on the IndyCar side. They keep showing incredible strength in that program. Obviously, the start of the season for us has been quite challenging. But we’ve shown speed. We’ve just struggled to put weekends together. Road America was a bit of a turning point after a good test at Indy, so we sure hope we can bring some success to the team at home. GM’s headquarters are not very far away from Indy, so it’s time for us to get that Cadillac to the front. And there would be no better place than the Indy road course.”

Alton, Va. (27 August 2023) – A double-header IMSA race weekend at VIRginia International Raceway saw Jr III (“Junior-Three) Racing driver Bijoy Garg sweep the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge weekend winning both races from the pole and leading flag-to-flag on Saturday and Sunday in the No. 3 Wing S2 Cyber Ligier JS P320.

Garg was quick to get acclimated to the majestic 3.27-mile track after a test day just a couple weeks prior to the race weekend. The young California driver topped the speed charts during Friday’s two practice sessions which produced lap times two-seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Saturday saw a warm early morning qualifying session where Garg set the fastest lap time of 1:41.579-seconds, securing his fifth pole award of the season.

The first of two 45-minute races saw Garg maintain the lead throughout the entire green flag race. Garg was able to build a gap of 31.665-seconds between him and the remainder of the field and raced to a dominating victory.

“I think the execution has been really good the last two race weekends,” said Garg. “I feel like we’ve always had the speed, it’s just been putting it all together and not making any mistakes. I feel like we’ve done that at Lime Rock and then here again at VIR.”

Under cooler temperatures, Sunday’s race two saw Garg take home a second win after coming down to a last lap shootout. Garg started from pole position once again and immediately started building a gap. Just 13-minutes into the race a caution came out due to a GSX incident, forcing the field to bunch up one more time on the restart as the track went green with 17-minutes remaining in the race. Garg once again started to build a gap before catching up to the tail end of the GSX traffic. The second-place LMP3 car was able to close the gap between itself and Garg, but it wasn’t enough to take the win.

“I had a good gap before the safety car came out, and it bunched the field back up,” said Garg. “I think (Alex) Kirby took a bit better care of his tires than me, so I was just struggling to hang on. I knew in clear air I could easily pull away, but we kept catching traffic in the wrong spots, that’s what really brought him back into it. I had to defend from him pretty hard, but I could pull away in that last half of a lap and had no pressure at the finish line.”

Garg provisionally leads the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge points standings going into the final event weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October.

• TPC Racing in Action at VIR in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama at COTA
• Monoflo International Teammates Chloe Chambers and Tillman Schmid Look to Extend TPC Racing’s Cayman GT4 Clubsport Team Championship Lead at COTA
• David Williams Second in Porsche 992 Am-Division Championship Heading to COTA in TPC Racing No. 237 Mission BBQ Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
• Shehan Chandrasoma Partners with Nikko Reger in No. 20 TPC Racing/Lamborghini Austin Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 to Continue Pro-Am Championship Fight at VIR

JESSUP, Maryland (August 25, 2023) – TPC Racing brings a trio of championship battles to a pair of races at two of the premier race circuits in the United States this weekend at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) and Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The TPC Racing team runs a total of four cars across this weekend’s IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo doubleheader at VIR and in a pair of classes in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America presented by Yokohama at COTA.

Anchored by the on-track performance of Monoflo International teammates Chloe Chambers, Tillman Schmid and Evan Hinkle, TPC Racing arrives in COTA leading the Sprint Challenge Cayman Pro-Am team championship with just two race weekends remaining on the 2023 calendar.

Chambers brought in the most recent points haul to add to TPC’s lead with back-to-back victories Saturday and Sunday morning in the No. 70 Monoflo International Cayman GT4 Clubsport at Road America two weeks ago. The victories increased Chambers’ series-leading total of wins on the season to five despite missing the opening rounds last March in Sebring.

Schmid competes alongside Chambers this weekend in the No. 77 Monoflo International Cayman GT4 Clubsport and earned TPC Racing’s championship points at Sebring with a third-place finish in his series debut and first time ever racing on slick tires.

Hinkle isn’t competing this weekend but partnered with Chambers and Schmid in a Cayman in an endurance race at COTA last year.

David Williams has stayed in contention in his battle for the 992 Pro-Am class driver championship all season in his TPC Racing No. 237 Mission BBQ Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and looks to bolster his campaign at COTA with a pair of podium finishes, if not race wins.

TPC Racing made a competitive return to the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series one race ago at Road America where new team driver Shehan Chandrasoma co-drove the No. 20 TPC Racing/Lamborghini Austin Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 to a third-place ProAm class finish in Sunday’s final 50-minute race of the weekend.

The podium showing kept Chandrasoma, the reigning Super Trofeo Am-class champion, alive in his 2023 bid for the Pro-Am class Lamborghini title. Heading into the VIR doubleheader, Chandrasoma currently ranks third in the Pro-Am standings.

Additional podium showings at VIR would be crucial in Chandrasoma’s championship battle and he has called on a familiar teammate for help. Before switching to TPC Racing, Chandrasoma co-drove with Nikko Reger to a third-place Pro-Am finish in June in the weekend’s second race at Watkins Glen International. Reger returns this weekend to share the No. 20 Lamborghini Austin Huracán with Chandrasoma.

Between VIR and COTA, TPC Racing’s teams and drivers will compete in seven different races on Saturday and Sunday. The total includes a triple-header schedule of Sprint Challenge Cayman races at COTA, two in Texas for Sprint Challenge 992 and a pair of sprints for Super Trofeo at VIR.

Harris Levitas, TPC Racing Director of Race Operations: “It’s a busy week for TPC Racing. The team is at Circuit of The Americas for Porsche Sprint Challenge, the second to last race weekend of the championship there, and at the same time the Lamborghini Super Trofeo team will be at VIR. Right now the No. 20 Lamborghini Austin car of Shehan Chandrasoma sits P3 in the Super Trofeo Pro-Am championship. Between his third-place ranking in Super Trofeo Pro-Am, David Williams being P2 in Porsche 992 Am and TPC Racing leading the Sprint Challenge Pro-Am team championship, there is a lot going on this weekend for TPC Racing. Everybody is up to the task and we feel we have competitive cars for both series.”

Chloe Chambers, Driver – No. 70 Monoflo International Cayman GT4 Clubsport: “Circuit of The Americas is actually the only track this year where I have prior sports car experience, so I expect this weekend to go as well as possible. I’m feeling more confident than ever after the performance at Road America. The talking point of this weekend however is the temperature. With every day being over 100°F it’ll be a challenge physically, mentally, and on car performance. Nonetheless, I aim to extract the maximum out of the car and bring TPC Racing and Monoflo International that team championship!”

Nikko Reger, Driver – No. 20 TPC Racing/Lamborghini Austin Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2: “This is kind of a last minute thing we put together with Shehan and has family and we are super excited to be with TPC Racing. I have seen the work they have done in the past. Some amazing drivers have been with the organization and we are just happy to contribute to that as well and get that championship for Shehan. We are excited, been working hard and think we have a good shot at it for this weekend, to at least get on the podium and always shooting for a win.”

About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.

One lap short a year ago, Garcia and Taylor eager for another shot at VIR win

DETROIT (Aug. 22, 2023) – After coming tantalizingly close a year ago, Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor get another shot at their second victory together at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday in the Michelin GT Challenge, the ninth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Garcia and Taylor were runners-up 12 months ago in the GT-only race with Taylor finishing eight-tenths of a second from the victory in the pair’s No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. It was a thrilling finish with the Corvette gaining more than two seconds on the eventual winning car on the final lap.

One more lap and the Garcia/Taylor duo might be entering VIR as defending race winners. A victory this weekend would be Corvette Racing’s sixth at VIR and third with the C8.R in its farewell season. Garcia ranks second in the field with three VIR wins – all of them overall – which gives him one more than Taylor.

Garcia and Taylor won earlier this year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in GT Daytona (GTD) PRO, their lone win so far this season. They’ve been on the class podium in four other races.

Returning to Victory Circle also would keep championship hopes alive for the No. 3 Corvette drivers, their team and Chevrolet. The group is second in points and badly in need of victories in any of the remaining three rounds to challenge for the GTD PRO Drivers, Teams and Manufacturers titles.

The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 27. The race will air live on USA beginning at 2 p.m. ET and 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 morning’s practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Going to VIR is nice because this is one of the first tracks I raced on in America. I liked it from the very start. It has some really fast and intense corners, long straights and some technical parts in the slower-speed turns. It’s like a test for both the driver and the car every lap. I’ve had many good races and wins there with Corvette Racing, and we came up just a little short last year. Hopefully we’re that much better this year and can get the win we need for the championship.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m looking forward to the weekend. I think we had pace to win at Road America, and VIR should be a similar type of track for us. Being a GT-only race, it’ll be another intense event without being able to rely on traffic to make some opportunities. VIR was one of the strongest races we had last year, so I think we should be in good shape this time around. We’ve had a few races slip through our fingers this year, so I’m hoping we can cap the season off with some wins. Let’s start this weekend.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After eight of 11 events)

Driver Standings

1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2,810
2. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,641
3. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 2,594
4. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 2,587
5. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 2,468

Team Standings

1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 2,810
2. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,641
3. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 2,594
4. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 2,587
5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2,468

Manufacturer Standings

1. Lexus – 2,810
2. Chevrolet – 2,641
3. Mercedes-AMG – 2,594
4. Porsche – 2,587
5. Aston Martin – 2,479

CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: By the Numbers

• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette
• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at VIR since 2012 – Corvette C6.R (2012-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the mid-engine Corvette C8.R, which races at VIR for the final time in IMSA competition this year
• 4: Overall VIR race wins for Corvette Racing – 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. Antonio Garcia was part of the first three
• 5: Class wins at VIR for Corvette Racing, the most among IMSA entrants. Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin won in ALMS GT competition in 2012, and Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won overall in 2016 and 2017. Garcia and Jordan Taylor drove the C8.R to a win in 2020 with Milner and Nick Tandy victorious in 2021.
• 9: Number of VIR victories for Chevrolet since 2002 covering both ALMS and the Rolex Series; that’s the most among manufacturers
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship
• 126: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, eight at Le Mans and one in the FIA WEC
• 279: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
• 6,183.57: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its nine previous trips to Virginia International Raceway. It surpassed 6,000 miles after 30 laps in last year’s race
• 359,619.37: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!

Corvette Racing at VIR (wins in bold)

2012

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT (Garcia fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Clinched ALMS GT title)

2013

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GT (Clinch GT team, manufacturer titles)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GT

2014

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 7th in GTLM (Taylor replaced Magnussen – injury)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM

2015

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM

2016

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM (Magnussen pole)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap)

2017

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM

2018

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM

2019

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2020

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2021

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTLM (Milner pole)

2022

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO (Taylor fastest race lap)

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Danville, Va (21 August 2023) – Jr III (“Junior – Three”) Racing will take on the next round of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (VPRC) at VIRginia International Raceway August 25 – 27, for the penultimate round of the VPRC championship ahead of the season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October.

Jr III Racing will enter the No. 3 Wing S2 Cyber Ligier JS P320 for the double header weekend with Bijoy Garg behind the wheel. Garg currently leads the VPRC LMP3 Championship point standings by ten points over Dan Goldburg.

Garg has competed with the Jr III Racing team since January in VPRC scoring four wins at Sebring International Raceway and Lime Rock Park, Garg has an additional three podium finishes.

Garg recently made his IMSA WeatherTech debut at Road America with the team, continuing to show pace and poise through the event ahead of an unfortunate mid-race incident that led to an early end to the weekend.

VIR will mark another new race track for the young California driver, but that doesn’t phase Garg after competing at five unseen tracks already this season and going on to win two races and three more podiums at three of those tracks. However, Garg was able to get a few test sessions at VIR in weeks leading up to the race.

“We are excited to get Bijoy back in the No. 3 Ligier this weekend,” said Billy Glavin, owner of Jr III Racing. “We had the chance to take Bijoy testing at VIR last week and we believe it will give him a bit of an advantage compared to the tracks he has not seen yet. It’s been awesome to watch him grow as a driver and I’m excited to see him continue to chase after the championship.”

The Charlotte-based squad will roll just two hours up the road to VIR on Thursday before the practice starts on Friday morning. The VIR double header weekend will see races Saturday afternoon at 12:25pm ET and Sunday morning at 8:55am ET, both races will be streamed live on the Peacock App.

Will form full-season GTD PRO crew along with IMSA program veterans Garcia, Milner

DETROIT (Aug. 17, 2023) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports confirmed today its full-season lineup for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will see a pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs compete in the GTD PRO class.

Alexander Sims returns as a Chevrolet Corvette factory driver, this time for a full season, along with returning veterans Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg. The quartet of drivers will contest the 10-round GTD PRO championship for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the debut year of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Driver pairings will be confirmed at a later date, but the four drivers are well-known in the world of GT racing and specifically with Corvette. They have a combined 34 years of service with Corvette Racing and Chevrolet, and their records in IMSA competition are among the strongest of any lineup in the championship:

• Nicky Catsburg: Two wins – the 2021 Rolex 24 and 2022 Sebring 12 Hours – p­lus three wins and the GTE Am Drivers Championship in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship
• Antonio Garcia: 27 wins – two in the Rolex 24 and four in the Sebring 12 Hours – with five championships in 15 years with Corvette Racing
• Tommy Milner: 20 wins – the 2016 Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 Hours in 2013 and 2016 – and two championships in 13 years with Corvette Racing
• Alexander Sims: Six wins – including at Sebring this year plus 2017 Six Hours of the Glen and Petit Le Mans – and is second in the GTP Drivers Championship for Cadillac Racing

Sims replaces Jordan Taylor, who is electing to return to prototype racing after this season.

In more than 10 years as a factory driver for Corvette Racing and General Motors, Taylor compiled an outstanding record of 33 victories and four Drivers championships in both prototype and GT competition – including in 2020 and 2021 with Corvette Racing. He also was part of the team’s winning lineup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 and is a three-time Rolex 24 winner in GM-powered entries. The vast majority of his sports car career has come in GM racecars.

“We’re very pleased with the full-season IMSA lineup in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R for 2024,” said Mark Stielow, Director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Engineering. “The four drivers have exceptional records and history with Corvette.

“At the same time, we thank Jordan Taylor for his years of service and success with General Motors,” Stielow added. He has been an important part of Corvette Racing and a great ambassador for Chevrolet. We wish him well.”

The 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car, constructed by Pratt Miller Motorsports in New Hudson, Michigan, is based on the production Corvette Z06 with the two sharing common elements. The Z06 GT3.R’s aluminum chassis frame and the 5.5-liter, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine both come from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green Assembly factory in Kentucky.

The current Corvette Racing program is in the midst of its 25th season with 126 race victories to date – 114 in IMSA with the most recent coming at the Chevrolet Grand Prix in July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Also for the second year in a row, Corvette Racing has programs in both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Corvette C8.R, now in its final season of competition.

The 2024 IMSA season begins with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28.

NICKY CATSBURG: “This will be my first full season in America, and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Some of the most notorious tracks like VIR, Road America, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park… I’ve never been to these. I’ve always wanted to do this because those are the events I enjoy watching always, and now I get to race there. When I joined Corvette Racing, the goal was to become a full-time driver. To have a chance to do full-season WEC this year and a full IMSA season next year is something I’m really looking forward to. This is something new and something that is a challenge. This will not be easy because some of these tracks are ones I don’t know. But I am ready for that challenge.”

ANTONIO GARCIA: “It’s hard to believe this will be my 16th year racing with Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller. We have grown a lot in our time together with many different versions of the Corvette. I think this Z06 GT3.R is a very good car. You can see that from the months of testing and development we’ve done on this car for 2024. I think it will be a very good racecar for us in what is going to be a tough GTD PRO category with some new teams and maybe some new manufacturers. More importantly it will be a very good car for the new customer Corvette race teams. I’m very happy to be part of the first group to race this car in this new era for Corvette Racing.”

TOMMY MILNER: “I’m very excited about being back full-time again, especially in this new era of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R and all that it brings – customer race cars and more Corvettes racing on the track. It’s an exciting time for us as drivers and an exciting time for Corvette fans. As this team has shown for 25 years, the Corvette Racing name means a lot to sports car racing. So to see more examples of Corvettes racing around the world is really exciting and something we are looking forward to.”

ALEXANDER SIMS: “It’s been fantastic to drive the Cadillac GTP car, but It’s great to be able to work with all the team at Pratt Miller again after two years as third driver. I know not only a lot of the engineers and team personnel but also the other full-time drivers and people I’ve worked with before within Corvette Racing. I’ve shared a Corvette with Tommy and shared a garage with Antonio and Nicky. It’s great to be going into a driver group where I know everyone and know that we get on well together. We will push each other hard, so from a performance point of view, it’s really good to know that we will all be on a similar level and eeking more performance out of one another all the time.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.