Corvette Racing had a hard day at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on August 25th, 2024. Both Corvette Z06 GT3.R race cars fielded by Pratt Miller Motorsports suffered mechanical issues that took them out of contention for the victory in the Michelin GT Challenge race, while the AWA Racing entry fared slightly better.
The No. 4 Corvette, split by Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg, finished eighth in the GTD Pro class, followed by the No. 3 Corvette in ninth, driven by Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. Catsburg was at the wheel of the No. 4 Corvette Racing machine when it refused to refire after a pit stop with one hour left on the clock. While he and Milner managed to finish on the lead lap, it certainly wasn’t the result they had hoped for.
“A bit of a gut punch today for the whole team. Having quite a few races with no issues, and then today with both cars having both problems is going to make quite a few people on this team unhappy,” Milner said. “We’ll go back to look at it, figure out what happened and improve the car for the future. But yeah, a tough day for us.”
Meanwhile, Garcia was running third in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R when he was called into the pits. Sims took control of the race car and returned to the track in fifth place, but before he could get up to speed to rejoin traffic, the No. 3 Vette lost power. After several unsuccessful attempts to reset the power cycle, he was called behind the wall to replace the power steering pump. But the hardships didn’t stop there. With 45 minutes left, the No. 3 Corvette presented with a suspension issue.
“Today is what it is. No one wants to have issues, but that was the reality today,” Sims said after the race.
Orey Fidani and Matt Bell split the No. 13 Corvette Racing machine in the GTD class. Fidani turned laps for the first 47 minutes before swapping the controls to Bell. After the final pit stop, the No. 13 Vette rocketed from 13th to seventh place in the GTD class by the time the checkers waved.
“It was another great IMSA battle and a great IMSA race,” Bell said. “We made all the right calls at the right times. Tire deg and tire management was a huge part of this race. We had to be smart and give up pace at certain times but also know when to push and know when to go for it.”
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Corvette news, Chevy news, Corvette racing and motorsports news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comment
It wasn’t much fun to watch. It looked like Garcia went to sleep on the start and things just got worse from there. In the end, because of the mechanical issues, it didn’t make any difference. Corvette might be better off trading some downforce for top end speed if IMSA will let them. They seem to really struggle trying to get past people on the straights. It might be that they aren’t getting good drive out of the corners, but with a rear/mid-engine and downforce that’s a little hard to believe.
Based on qualifying position, they are fast alone. But in traffic they lose their cornering speed and just follow folks down the straight until they get blocked in the next turn.