Corvette Domination About To Deliver The Silverware?
After a blistering inaugural season for Corvette and their new C8.R, the fan-favourite team is within striking distance of both the team’s and driver’s championship in GT Le Mans. With five wins this season, Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia are in a great position to take the driver’s championship.
In the team’s championship, it comes down to largely a formality for Corvette. They need at least one car to start each of the final two races to secure their fourteenth team’s championship.
“It’s a big weekend for us in the championship, obviously.” Jordan Taylor said. “We haven’t tested at Laguna Seca. It’s a pretty hard track. But considering how well we ran at Mid-Ohio, which is another low-grip track, it shows pretty well for Laguna. We’ve done some simulator work already for this event – just some small developmental items.”
Garcia, who is looking for his fourth IMSA championship title in GT, is still not satisfied with five wins this season. “I’m hoping we can continue our strong run and clinch the championship, but I also want to win another race this season,” Garcia said.
“It’s true that we are in a great spot in the championship heading to Laguna Seca, but our goal is to keep doing what we have been doing all year: put ourselves in position to win races if we can, and if not then maximize our points position,” Garcia said.
Both Garcia and Taylor compared Laguna Seca to Mid-Ohio, both highly technical tracks with elevation changes and not a lot of grip to offer. Corvette won earlier this year at Mid-Ohio, but that race featured just four cars in the class after Porsche was forced to skip the round. Still, though, the team is confident their strength at Mid-Ohio will translate to Laguna Seca.
Laguna Seca has not been a great track for Corvette, though. The team’s last win at the track came in 2014 with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, meanwhile, have gone winless at the track since 2012. In the five years since their last win, Corvette has just two podiums; two third-place finishes for Magnussen and Garcia.
“We will go into the weekend expecting to contend and win this race. It’s another new track for the Corvette C8.R, but that has worked out well so far this year at Mid-Ohio and Charlotte,” Garcia said. “We have continued with our simulator work in preparing for this weekend to find the best possible setup for the first practice.”
Milner, in the #4 Corvette C8.R, echoed the thoughts of his teammates.
“Laguna Seca is pretty unique with the track surface. It’s super low-grip with all the sand that comes on the racetrack. It’s always a big challenge and trying to figure that out has never been easy. Now we go there with a new car where we haven’t tested, so that makes it even more of a challenge,” Milner said.
The fact that Corvette is in such a strong position is a testament to the incredible season they have had, but it also speaks volumes about the struggles that BMW, and in particular, Porsche has had this season.
Porsche was already behind in the championship fight before they were forced to miss the round at Mid-Ohio. After calamities at Sebring where their two cars hit each other in the pits and at the Charlotte ROVAL where the team suffered an early double retirement, Porsche is likely to finish last in the manufacturer’s championship. (Not including Ferrari who ran just the Rolex 24 with Risi Competizione.)
BMW, meanwhile, is in the fight for second in the championship. The #24 BMW M8 of John Edwards and Jesse Krohn are four points behind the #4 Corvette. BMW has won just two races this season, oftentimes having to settle for the edges of the podium.
The bottom line in GTLM is simple and the marketing team at Corvette will likely have the “2020 IMSA Champions” banner at the ready if they need it.
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