Corvettes capture 2nd and 3rd on dramatic final lap at Long Beach
The # 66 Ford GT of Dirk Mueller stumbled and got shoved into the wall by the # 3 Corvette C7.R of Jan Magnussen on the final lap at Long Beach. The Ganassi team ran out of fuel, opening the way to 2nd and 3rd place finishes for the Corvettes. The hit was unavoidable, no harm-no foul as Magnusson’s race could have ended as well.
Ford gambled early on fuel with 67 minutes remaining but the strategy backfired in the 100-minute street race which is the shortest on the schedule.
Earl Bamber in the # 912 Porsche GT RSR won the GTLM class as Porsche prevails atop an evenly-balanced field through the first 3 races.
Magnussen put a stellar pass on Patrick Pilet in the # 911 Porsche earlier in the action.
Oliver Gavin in the # 4 Corvette qualified 3rd ahead of Antonio Garcia 2 places back in the # 3 Corvette but Magnussen came out ahead after the stop to swap drivers and add gas.
Jan Magnussen talks about the race. https://www.facebook.com/janmagnussen23/videos/443266999778224/
6 min video race recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLCOsLJfrBk
The IMSA GTLM race on Saturday was packed into a full agenda capped off by INDY cars on Sunday. Racing on the streets of Long Beach began in 1975 with a trial run to liven up the city fallen on hard times. It has grown into a party for celebrities, fans and tourists.
Two well-preserved and highly desirable C4 GT1 tube frame Corvettes built by Protofab Engineering in 1988 were invited to compete in a race for Historic IMSA GTO cars from 1980 to 1991.
