Will Corvette Defend the Crown? Corvette Racing Chasing Another Title Corvette C 7
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CORVETTE 2017 WILL CORVETTE DEFEND THE CROWN? CORVETTE RACING CHASING ANOTHER TITLE CORVETTE C 7. R CORVETTE RACING’S WINNING WAYS The Champs “The nature of GT is that there are “Rolling out a new car at the two Broad Performance Bandwidth features and any updates in the class technical rules If you must beat the champ to always three phases,” said Corvette longest and toughest races here is While some cars seem to be stronger at certain tracks and less so into the newest cars. become the new champ, then the Racing driver Antonio Garcia. a very tall order,” said Chris Baker, at others, the Corvette C7.R has demonstrated a wide performance Manufacturers will typically have spent six to ten car and team for BMW, Ferrari, Ford “You have a new car, then you reach director of motorsport, Michelin North bandwidth with wins on the big, fast Daytona International months and several thousand miles in track testing and and Porsche to beat in international a peak where you have developed the America. Speedway, the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, the fast development before their first race. sports car competition is the Chevrolet car, and then you try to keep the car After disappointments in the first and bumpy Sebring circuit, the shortest circuit on the series - Lime Given the extensive experience of the GTLM teams Corvette C7.R and Corvette Racing. competitive as other new cars arrive. two races, Garcia and co-driver Jan Rock Park - and on the streets of Long Beach. and the use of increasingly sophisticated simulators it Corvette Racing scored five “Corvette Racing has run over Magnussen scored the first victory for The C7.R begins 2017 competition having already claimed doesn’t take long for new cars to debut already on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar several versions of the cars before and the Corvette C7.R in the next stop at pairs of wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve pace. Championship GT Le Mans class wins been competitive in later stages in the Long Beach, and immediately built a Hours of Sebring iced by a victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours (Daytona, Sebring, Lime Rock, Road past in the last years of car. We just streak of four consecutive wins with race. The X Factors America and VIR) in 11 races in 2016 keep rolling.” victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna In its first three seasons, the C7.Rs have taken wins at a “The advantage of the established car is that the reliability is to claim the series’ manufacturer, The record certainly backs him up Seca, Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire total of 10 different circuits; Le Mans, Daytona (2), Sebring pretty well sorted,” said Corvette Racing program manager Doug team and driver championships as Garcia, co-driver Jan Magnussen and Motorsport Park before falling to (2), Long Beach, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Fehan. in the third year of the car’s Corvette claimed the series titles in Balance of Performance adjustments. Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock, Road “Our team has a very thick book on its nuances and chassis competition cycle. 2013, the final year of the predecessor, They then opened the 2015 season America and VIRginia International Raceway. setups for all of the tracks on the WeatherTech Championship trail,” Through its first three seasons, Corvette C6.R. with wins at Daytona and Sebring. said Gary Pratt of Pratt & Miller Engineering, which runs the Corvette the Velocity Yellow pair of Corvette “We just keep working. We know Midway through 2015, momentum New Challengers Racing program for Chevrolet. Racing C7.R entries has combined what we have developed and do as shifted to the other half of the Corvette With Ford, Ferrari and BMW entering new “The flip side is that after a year or two, the big gains are pretty for 12 wins in 35 races, while taking much as we can,” said Garcia. Racing tent as teammates Oliver Gavin models in 2016 GTLM class competition, and much gone and you are looking at smaller and smaller increments.” a championship at Le Mans and a “The curve we go through with and Tommy Milner (joined by Jordan Porsche debuting the new Porsche 911 RSR in “Top teams like Corvette Racing are very good at understanding the sweep of the 2016 GTLM titles in North this car gets more difficult later in the Taylor) took an inspired victory at Le 2017, the Corvette C7.R, now in its fourth season strengths and weaknesses of their cars, teams and drivers, and assessing the America. That is a 36 percent strike cycle.” Mans. of competition, is the oldest car competing in competition” said Baker. rate in the fiercest class in international The 2016 season saw the arrival of the factory dominated GTLM class. “They play to their strengths. One of those strengths is that they have competition. Tracking the Corvette the new Ford GT, Ferrari 488s and the “Race cars have an accelerated life cycle, developed the C7.Rs to be remarkably consistent, lap after lap. C 7. R BMW M6 GTLMs but Gavin and Milner, especially in a class like GTLM where the big “The Corvette drivers are all multiple-time champions and the team has a The Three Phases of GT In 2014, Corvette introduced the joined by Marcel Fässler, nipped their factory teams are constantly testing, and tremendous amount of experience and a winning culture. The 2017 season marks the C7.R the hard way, making its debut at teammates for the win at Daytona refining,” said Chris Baker. “Their race strategies and pit work allow them to create or take advantage of fourth year in competition for the the two longest races in North America, and went on to claim Sebring to start The newest cars have the benefit of every opportunity and to apply relentless pressure to the competition. Corvette C7.R, the latest in a series of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil a run that carried them to the 2016 seeing any innovations that others have “The combination of the Corvette Racing team and the C7.R is very difficult to championship-winning Corvettes. 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. championships. or the trends and incorporating those beat.” 2 3 MILNER & GAVIN’S PATH TO VICTORY Main Street with Corvette “Tommy did well at the test, and Gary Pratt, Doug Racing Louth, and I all felt that he would be a good fit with the One of the most important moments team,” said Fehan. of Tommy Milner’s racing career came not at a race track, but literally on Main Street in The First Season and the downtown Greenville, South Carolina. breakthrough It was there in September 2010, signing Getting started, the 2011 season was a mixed bag autographs in a BMW race car display at a daylong for Milner. He struggled with consistency and the early Michelin fan event called “Motorsports on Main” season results were disappointing. that Milner’s career path was forever changed. Milner’s defining moment came at the biggest race “Michelin put together a great, really well- of all: Le Mans. promoted event for the Friday before the Petit Le Mans When Jan Magnussen’s class leading Corvette race week and they invited all of the teams, including crashed out of the race shortly after dawn on Sunday the (then) non-Michelin teams like BMW,” recalled Doug morning, Milner and co-driver Antonio Garcia Fehan, program manager Corvette Racing. became the team’s only remaining hope, and they “BMW has a big presence in the area, but Tommy were a full, 8.5-mile lap down to the class-leading was the only BMW Team RLL factory driver there, and he Ferrari. was doing a great job signing autographs, talking with Adding to the challenge, their veteran co- fans, doing interviews and promoting the brand all day driver, Olivier Beretta, had become ill driving long,” said Fehan. during an extended caution period, leaving Garcia and Milner to handle the last 14 The Corvette Way hours of the race. “The Corvette Racing philosophy is a After Garcia wrapped up an little different than most,” said Fehan. outstanding triple-stint to slice the gap “Our Corvette drivers are not only to the lead Ferrari, Milner would be on expected to win races, but also to be great the spot to continue the march. ambassadors for the brand. We were looking Awaiting the driver change, for an American driver and from the outside it team boss Gary Pratt could see the looked like Tommy was kind of low man on the tension in his young driver. He put driver totem-pole at BMW.” an arm on his shoulder: “Tommy, “We knew that Tommy had talent and was still you’ll be fine. Just drive the car growing as a driver, but we hadn’t been able to see if like always and you will do he was the kind of driver that would understand and fine.” buy into the Corvette Racing program,” said Fehan. Milner picked up “That day at Motorsports on Main gave me that where Garcia had left off, opportunity.” relentlessly slicing away at When the season ended, Corvette Racing invited the the Ferrari margin. Then it 24-year-old Virginian to test with the team at Sebring. began to rain. 4 5 had gambled and lost with an wedged into the throttle linkage of the rankings and they stayed there aggressive restart. Magnussen/Garcia/Ryan Briscoe car during fighting back a mid-season run This time, rather than risk Thursday night qualifying.