Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims led the Corvette Racing charge at Indianapolis for the six-hour Battle of the Bricks on September 22nd, 2024, putting the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from fifth to third in the final two laps of the race.
The first half of the race was a challenge as rain drenched the track, but it did little to slow the No. 3 Corvette Racing duo on their way to the front. The podium finish marked the first for Garcia and Sims since their win at Canadian Motorsports Park in July.
Three full-course yellows neutralized the field during the first 100 minutes of the race. The No. 3 Vette team elected to swap to wet-weather tires during the first round of pit stops, which helped Sims, who was behind the wheel at the time, lunge forward to take the lead after another pit stop. A third caution slowed the field for almost an hour, which kept Sims in the lead until the rain finally petered out after the halfway point of the race.
Garcia then took control, battling hard in the final 60 minutes after being pressured by the No. 14 Lexus and the No. 23 Aston Martin for P3. Garcia slipped to fifth on the final restart with 55 minutes left on the clock, but shouldered his way back into fourth with five minutes left before finally making the pass for the podium with two laps left.
“Those last laps were tough,” Garcia said. “We had a good call to pit before a yellow, but the way things unfolded it kind of helped the ones that stayed out. So we lost a little track position to some of the cars that were ahead of me when we got to the last restart. The restarts with these guys and being so close is not easy. I made up a few places, but with how hard the race was for everyone, there were times where I got caught in traffic and lost some spots.”
Meanwhile, the No. 4 Corvette Racing duo of Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg finished 11th in the GTD Pro class after late-race contact that necessitated lengthy repairs to the right rear. The No. 13 Corvette quietly finished sixth in the GTD class, piloted by Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, and Lars Kern.
Comment
Too bad, the higher ups got rid of CAMARO so we could see them wipe out the mustangs. But Mary thinks everybody needs EV’s. The sale figures sure don’t show it. I sure hope Trump Wins so he can put tariffs on Mary stuff coming in. That would be funny.