Corvette Racing Team locked in for IMSA GTLM Championship with 2nd place finish at 2020 Petit Le Mans
Words & pics by Dave Ferguson
Corvette Racing entered two C8-R Corvettes in the GTLM class at the 2020 Motul Petit Le Mans on October 17 at the 2.54-mile 12 turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Beautiful fall sunshine greeted participants and spectators for the 10-hour endurance clash that ends at night.
The # 3 driven by Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg ended up second to the # 911 Porsche RSR-19 driven by Nick Tandy, Fred Makowiecki and Matt Campbell.
Garcia started from pole as strategy, pit-stops, various leaders and luck played out. Taylor took over just past halfway and remained in contention until dusk before Garcia’s final triple stint to close.
The # 4 Corvette, with Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fassler, advanced to finish 4th benefiting from a late-race incident (see ending below).
Milner starting fifth drove a triple-stint and led twice before Fässler got in. Gavin, ribs hurting from a biking mishap, struggled a bit before Milner and Fässler fought back at the end.
With five wins and two runner ups in seven of the last eight races, the # 3 team needs only to start the final two races to become 2020 IMSA GTLM drivers and manufacturers points champions.
Quite exceptional for a revolutionary new car debuting in the hotly contested BoP regulated ranks of IMSA GTLM and before that, ALMS GT1 & GT2.
Although the distinctive look of the front-engine C7-R is gone, the C8-R’s visual impact is doubled by the # 4 in silver-gray/yellow trim that contrasts with the traditional yellow scheme worn by the number # 3 car.
The Corvette C7-R ended its 6-year racing career at last year’s Petit Le Mans. The now-retired crew chief Dan Binks was asked how he felt about the end of that car’s career. He said, “it was a little sad”, but was looking forward to the new mid-engine C8-R. “The car (C7-R) ran well, but we have gotten as much as we can from it.” Right on target as the new C8-R has delivered in spades.
C8.R vs C7.R driver comments – 4 min video https://youtu.be/ehbpzd9d7hQ
It is impossible to ignore the impact of Covid-19 on this year’s Petit. A re-vamped schedule robbed this year’s race from ushering out the season. The very popular fan walk before the start was cancelled as was access to the paddock area to any non-essential personnel. Ticket sales were limited to 50% of capacity which was a boon for those who got to go. Traffic congestion was noticeably less, yet because fans tend to congregate where they can best see the action, it did not feel ‘half full’. Free parking will be missed by fans when racing returns to normal. What did not change was the close racing and high drama that are the norm at this event.
The Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Cadillac Dpi took the overall win. Things got exciting with less than 10 minutes to race when leader Pipo Derani in the Action Express/Whelen Engineering Cadillac was spun out by Ricky Taylor in the Acura Team Penske in an over-zealous last-ditch attempt to pass for the lead.
A final caution period following the restart with five minutes left meant the race ended under full-course yellow.
Results compiled by Wayne Ellwood.
Next is WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Oct. 31-Nov. 1
