Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin had plans to race with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in the upcoming Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 650, however an unforeseen scheduling conflict will require the veteran GT driver to stay in North America.
Gavin, who shares the No. Corvette C7.R with Tommy Milner, had committed to racing the two Aussie endurances events with Cameron McConville and Nick Percat in Dumbrell’s No. 222 Holden Commodore. A recently scheduled three-day manufacturer tire test for Corvette Racing meant he couldn’t attend the gold Coast race, so he opted out of the Bathurst 1000 as well.
“Sadly I’ve had to rule myself out of the Supercars enduro season in Australia,” Gavin wrote in a statement on his official Facebook page. “Sandown was already a clash with COTA IMSA race and then Corvette Racing commitments ruled me out of the Gold Coast event. I didn’t feel that I could do Nick, LDM and Holden justice by being down there for only one race. The Bathurst 1000. Of all the races to miss that is the one… It’s the big one and I’ll miss it hugely.”
Gavin and Milner are currently locked in a tight battle for the GTLM driver’s championship with No. 67 Ford GT drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westrbook. The No. 4 C7.R finished poorly at VIR Sunday after a late-race shunt, trimming the pair’s previous 13 point lead over the Ford pilots to just seven.
Comment
corvette needs to win the GTLM championship after ford sandbagged to get a performance advantage at the beginning of the racing season to prove cheaters never win.