Even though Corvette Racing went into the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday having never competed at the 3.4-mile road course, it didn’t put a damper on Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen’s chances at winning. The unstoppable duo led for most of the day and drove to their third straight class victory in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competition.
The win moved Garcia and Magnussen into the lead in the GTLM driver’s championship and put Chevrolet in first in the manufacturer’s standings. The pair and their No.3 C7.R led 154 of the 185 GTLM laps after Magnussen stole the lead from the pole-sitting No.55 BMW Z4 GTE early on in the first lap.
The victory didn’t come easy, though. The No.3 car’s chances at winning were almost thwarted when a full-course caution brought the pack closer together and forced the C7.R inside its fuel window. A final lap, white-knuckle dash with minimal fuel saw Garcia hold off the trailing second-place SRT Viper, but only by 0.185 seconds.
“The Corvette C7.R team’s first race at Watkins Glen was exciting given the challenging track and intense competition that kept the pressure on all race,” Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, said in a statement. “Antonio and Jan drove a great race and the crew executed quick pit stops. We are thankful to come out of The Glen with a GTLM class win and the class championship lead.”
The No.4 C7.R put forth a solid showing as well. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner clinched a fourth-place finish after running second to their teammates for the majority of the day. The team was close to a 1-2 finish, but a stop-and-go penalty with only an hour left in the race for what race officials judged to be “avoidable contact” spoiled their chances.
The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, will be held at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 13. Gavin and Milner won there last year as part of the American Le Mans Series, and will be searching for similar success when TUDOR makes the voyage to the Canadian track.
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