2013 Corvette Racing Season

The 2013 season would close another chapter for Corvette Racing as it would be the final year the team would run the sixth generation Corvette. Pratt & Miller had started development of the new seventh generation Corvette race car dubbed the C7.R in anticipation for the release of the latest Corvette. The 2013 season would be the fifthteenth and final year for the American Le Mans Series due to Panoz Motorsports selling the series to NASCAR Holdings, Inc. With NASCAR Holdings, Inc owning the Grand-Am series, the announcement of a merger between the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series was made on September 5th, 2012. This would form in 2014 as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, which would see Corvette Racing enter their new C7.R for the inaugural season of the series.

Image used with authorization from Richard Prince

Due to a majority of Pratt & Millers attention being focused towards the development of the C7.R, the team would reuse the 2012 chassis of C6GT-005 and C6GT-006 for the full 2013 season. With chassis C6GT-006 coming off a championship season therefore very minor changes were made to both cars besides a new paint job. The 2013 livery resembled the one from the previous year, with the most notable difference being the Jake Skull on the sides being replaced with the Corvette 60th Anniversary logo. The same tradition would continue to separate the two cars visually by using a red Corvette window banner and yellow side mirrors for the #3 car and a black Corvette window banner with black side mirrors on the #4 car.

Corvette Racing made up a roster of a total of eight teams in the GT class for the full 2013 ALMS season. This included three teams of Team Falken Tire, CORE Autosport and Paul Miller Racing running the Porsche 997 GT3-RSR. Two teams of Risi Competizione and Team West/AJR/Boardwalk Ferrari running the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2. SRT Motorsports returned with the SRT Viper GTS-R and BMW Team RLL entered their replacement for their BMW E92 M3 GT in the smaller more agile BMW Z4 GTE. The 2013 ALMS season featured a total of ten rounds but Corvette Racing along with a few other ALMS teams would also enter the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

The season started in March with the traditional Twelve Hours of Sebring. Corvette Racing’s last class victory at Sebring was in 2009 with the GT1 car. Since transitioning to the GT2/GT class, Corvette Racing had failed to achieve a class win at the legendary race with their best result coming last year when Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor finished second in class behind the M3 of BMW Team RLL. However for the 2013 Twelve Hours of Sebring the trio of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook secured the GT class victory ahead of the Ferrari of Risi Competizione. Unfortunately the sister #3 C6.R suffered with an overheating gearbox that eventually led to their retirement with less than three hours remaining in the event.

The #3 crew of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen were able to redeem themselves during the third round of the season at Laguna Seca taking first in class after a four hour race. The following race took the team to France for the infamous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing just missed out of a podium finish with Garcia, Magnussen and Taylor taking fourth in class, making for the best result at Le Mans for Corvette Racing since their class victory in 2011.  Throughout the 2013 season Corvette Racing accomplished a total of 10 class podiums including a 1 -2 finish at the Grand Prix of Baltimore. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner attempted to achieve a back to back drivers championship with four class podiums including two wins. But it was the six class podiums including three wins of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen that earned the duo a total of 135 points, securing them the 2013 ALMS GT Drivers Championship. Gavin and Milner finished with 105 points enough for third in the GT drivers standings behind Dirk Müller of BMW Team RLL with 129 points. The success of the team led to Corvette Racing achieving a total 171 points for the season, a whole 31 points ahead of the second place team of BMW Team RLL. This landed Corvette Racing the 2013 ALMS GT Manufacturers Championship, which was the first back to back championship for the team since their run of eight consecutive championships between 2001 and 2008. SRT Motorsports accomplished their best finish in the manufacturers standings with 121 points, enough to land them third in the manufacturers standings.

The final season of the American Le Mans Series and the Corvette C6.R race car handed Jan Magnussen his second ALMS Drivers Championship whilst earning Antonio Garcia his first drivers championship. Corvette Racing In their 15 years competing in the ALMS accomplished a total of nine drivers championships including seven consecutive titles. This led to a total of 10 ALMS Manufacturer/Team Championships, which included eight consecutive titles. With 135 total races in the American Le Mans Series, Corvette Racing achieved a total of 82 wins, a 61% win ratio making Corvette Racing the most successful GT race team in ALMS history.

Corvette Racing ALMS Record

2013 Corvette Racing Schedule & Results

#3 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Drivers 2013 (#73 used for Le Mans)

Antonio Garcia

Antonio Garcia took over full time driving duties for Corvette Racing in 2012 after replacing Olivier Berretta. In his first full season with the team he helped the Corvette Racing accomplish five class podium finishes, which played a major part in handing Corvette Racing their ninth ALMS Manufactures Championship.

For the 2013 season, Garcia would enter his second year in a full time drivers role, where he had his sights set on a title. Garcia along with his teammate Jan Magnussen collected six podiums throughout the 2013 season including three class victories. This was enough to secure Garcia his first ALMS Drivers Championship along with locking in the second consecutive and tenth in total ALMS Manufacturers Championship for Corvette Racing.

Garcia is regarded as one of the best GT drivers in the world. He has claimed multiple victories at the biggest endurance races in world such as Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona. Garcia won back-to-back IMSA titles in 2017 and 2018 and has never finished lower than third in points dating back to his first full season with Corvette Racing in 2012.

Jan Magnussen

Jan Magnussen began his eighth year with Corvette Racing for the 2013 season. After success in 2012 with new teammate Antonio Garcia, the duo had their sights set to win a title. Magnussen last won the ALMS Drivers Championship in 2008 driving the GT1 equivalent C6.R with Johnny O’Connell. Throughout the 2013 season Magnussen and Garcia took six class podiums, which included three wins. The success of Magnussen and Garcia earned them a total of 135 points, a nine point gap over Dirk Müller of BMW Team RLL. The 2013 title would be the second and final ALMS GT Drivers Championship for Magnussen with Corvette Racing.

Magnussen started his racing career in 1990 racing single-seaters. In 1994 Magnussen won the British Formula 3 Championship with Paul Stewart Racing breaking Ayrton Senna’s record of most wins in a single season, capturing 14 wins out of 18 races.

Magnussen would become a Formula 1 test driver for McLaren before competing in DTM and International Touring Car Championship between 1995 and 1996, where he finished second in the 1996 ITC Championship. Magnussen would become a full time Formula 1 driver for the Stewart Grand Prix team in 1997, where he would accomplish a career best sixth place finish at the Montreal Grand Prix in 1998.

Magnussen joined Panoz Motorsports in 1999 to compete in the ALMS where he captured six wins. He would become part of the Corvette- Ferrari rivalry in 2003, driving the Prodrive Ferrari and would join Corvette Racing the following year.

A legend in Denmark, his aggressive racing style and take-no-prisoners mentality made him very popular with the fans. Magnussen became a full time driver with Corvette Racing in 2007 and throughout his time with the team he accomplished 35 wins. In 2008 Magnussen became the ALMS GT1 Driver Champion with teammate Johnny O’connell and would win the IMSA GT Drivers Championship with Antonio Garcia in 2013.

Jordan Taylor (Sebring, Le Mans and Petit Le Mans)

After impressing Corvette Racing in his debut season last year, Jordan Taylor returned for a second year in the third driver role for endurance events. Unfortunately at Sebring Taylor and his teammates were forced to retire with transmission problems. At Taylors second race of the year at Le Mans, he helped Corvette Racing accomplish their best result at the prestigious race since their class win in 2011. At the Petit Le Mans, Taylor played a major part in pushing the Corvette to finish sixth in class, securing Magnussen and Garcia the 2013 ALMS GT Drivers Championship.

Taylor progressed quickly through karting and made his Grand-Am debut in the Rolex series in 2008. By 2011, Jordan Taylor paired with Bill Lester, took the Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to a runner-up finish in the GT Championship by only two points shy of the title.

Jordan Taylor became a full time driver for Corvette Racing at the start of the 2020 season replacing long time driver Jan Magnussen. Taylor is a two-time IMSA Prototype Driver Champion, having won in 2013 (Rolex Series) and 2017 (WeatherTech Championship) for his fathers race team Wayne Taylor Racing. His older brother Ricky Taylor drives in the same series for Acura Team Penske in the IMSA Prototype class.

#4 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Drivers 2013 (#74 used for Le Mans)

Oliver Gavin

The 2013 season marked the 11th year for Oliver Gavin with Corvette Racing. After winning the 2012 ALMS GT Drivers Championship with new teammate Tommy Milner the duo were looking to equal their success. Gavin and Milner started the 2013 season winning the GT class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. This was the first class win for Corvette Racing at Sebring since 2009 in the GT1 version of the C6.R.

Throughout the 2013 season, Gavin and Milner collected a total of four class podiums including two victories. Unfortunately a string of bad luck including transmission failure at round eight at the Circuit of the Americas kept Oliver Gavin away from more podiums. The duo finished third in the 2013 ALMS GT drivers standings, but he played a huge pat in securing Corvette Racing their tenth and second consecutive ALMS Manufacturers Championship.

Oliver Gavin would become the most successful and longest-serving driver in Corvette Racing history. With 51 victories and five championships as part of the program, Gavin would rank as one of the most accomplished drivers in IMSA history. His Corvette Racing record included wins at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona and Petit Le Mans. Gavin would win two championships with co-driver Tommy Milner (2012 and 2016) and would become the longest-running driver pairing in IMSA history at the time of the start of the 2020 season.

Tommy Milner

The 2013 season would mark the third year for Tommy Milner with Corvette Racing. After being paired with Oliver Gavin the previous year, the duo accomplished the 2012 ALMS GT Driver Championship. Milner was hoping to accomplish something Gavin had achieved previously of consecutive drivers titles. Milner and Gavin started the 2013 season off strong with the GT class win at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. This would be the first career victory at Sebring for Milner until he won again in 2016 with the C7.R.

Milner with his driving partner Oliver Gavin accomplished four podiums throughout the 2013 ALMS season, which included another class victory for the season at Mosport. The goal for Milner of a consecutive drivers title unfortunately fell short with Gavin and Milner finishing third in the 2013 GT drivers standings 24 points shy of runner up Dirk Müller and 33 points behind the champions in the sister car of Garcia and Magnussen. Despite missing out on the driver championship, Milner and Gavin helped secure Corvette Racing their tenth and second consecutive ALMS Manufacturers Championship.

A second-generation racer, Milner is son of noted team owner Tom Milner. Tommy Milner’s passion for racing started at a young age watching his fathers race team. Following success in go-karts Milner was chosen as one of the six North American drivers in Formula BMW USA junior drivers program in 2004. Later in the same year Milner made his sports car racing debut in the Grand-Am series with his father’s team, which paired him with former Corvette Racing driver Kelly Collins.

In 2006 Tommy Milner joined the American Le Mans Series driving for the Panoz Team PTG program in the GT2 class. In 2009 Milner became a full time driver with Rahal-Letterman to drive the new BMW M3 E92 GT where he accomplished three runner-up finishes and again the following season before joining Corvette Racing.

Milner’s debut season with Corvette Racing started very strong with a GT class podium finish in his first race for the team at Sebring and then he collected the GTE Pro class win at the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours. Tommy was integral to the victory at Le Mans as he chased down the class leading Ferrari of Toni Vilander in final hours of the race to eventually pass for the lead with only two hours remaining.

Since joining the team in 2011, Milner has won Le Mans twice, claimed two Drivers Championships and taken victories at Daytona and Sebring. Milner has competed in Formula and sports car series with distinction for factory-affiliated teams such as BMW and Chevrolet. His partnership with Oliver Gavin covered nine years making them the longest-running teammates in IMSA up to date.

Richard Westbrook (Sebring, Le Mans and Petit Le Mans)

Richard Westbrook returned for a third year with Corvette Racing in the role of the third driver for endurance events. Westbrook helped Tommy Milner and fellow Brit Oliver Gavin take the GT class win at the 2013 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The 2013 win at Sebring was the first class victory at the legendary race for Westbrook and would be the first class win at Sebring for Corvette Racing since 2009.

Westbrook become a back to back Porsche Supercup champion in 2006 and 2007. He would go onto to take a ALMS GT2 win at Road America in 2008, and quickly established himself as a elite international sports car driver after winning the FIA GT2 championship in 2009. In 2010 Richard Westbrook accomplished a GT2 class third place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and third overall finish at the  Rolex 24 at Daytona. Westbrook has competed in the FIA GT1 championship along with Spa and Nurburgring endurance events.