Corvette Racing Takes Two-Race Winning Streak, Points Lead To Michelin GT Challenge At VIRginia International Raceway

Corvette Racing Takes Two-Race Winning Streak, Points Lead

To Michelin GT Challenge At VIRginia International Raceway

Virginia Driver Milner Joins Gavin In Championship-Leading Winning No. 4 Corvette

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 22, 2016) – Corvette Racing takes a two-race winning streak and the points lead in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class into Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, Round 10 of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (live, FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET).

Virginia’s Tommy Milner looks to continue momentum from Road America, where he charged from fifth to first in the closing five minutes of the race to give the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R co-driven by Oliver Gavin its fourth victory of the season.

“I have lot of great racing memories at VIR, and it would be great to add another with our fifth win of the season in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette,” said Milner, a native of Leesburg who now resides in Ashburn. “This is a track that is really fun to drive. It’s incredibly fast, it’s flowing and has a couple of really good elevation changes. A GT-only race is a nice dynamic for us, where we have a chance for an overall win. The most important thing we can do, though, is score as many points as possible.”

After opening the season with GTLM victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, Milner and Gavin saw their lead trimmed during a midseason three-race winning streak by Ford Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. The Corvette returned to the top of the victory podium at Lime Rock Park, and now leads Ford by 13 points, 264-251. Third in the points is the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, which has three podium finishes this season.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing will be looking to rebound from the late-race disappointment at Road America in the VIR debut of the exciting Ford GT. In addition to winning three races, Westbrook and Briscoe have scored five consecutive podium finishes in the No. 67 Ford GT. Teammates Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller – seventh in the points in the No. 66 Ford GT – were GTE Pro class winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Porsche North America is looking to repeat its 1-2 finish in last year’s Michelin GT Challenge. Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy return in the winning No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR, while Earl Bamber will be joined by Frederic Makowiecki in the No. 912 entry.

“Last year, Porsche celebrated a commanding double victory in Virginia, and there is no greater incentive than that,” said Pilet, who went on to capture the 2015 GTLM championship. “VIR is one of those traditional racetracks deep in the heart of America that I particularly look forward to. It’s fast and demanding, and if you make a mistake as a driver, you pay the price immediately.”

Ferrari also has a solid track record at VIR. Risi Competizione followed up an ALMS victory in 2013 by scoring a last-turn, last-lap victory in the inaugural WeatherTech Championship race in 2014. Last year, the team placed third behind the Porsches with a Ferrari 458 Italia. This year, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander will co-drive the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE, which will race at VIR for the first time.

BMW Team RLL has new cars for the Michelin GT Challenge as well, fielding a pair of BMW M6 GTLMs. Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner are fifth in the championship in the No. 25 IHG Rewards Club M6. John Edwards and Lucas Luhr share the No. 100 BMW, and are coming off their first podium finish of the season at Road America.

Practice for the Michelin GT Challenge begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, August 26, with qualifying at 11:55 a.m. on Saturday. The weekend also includes the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, racing on Saturday at 1:55 p.m. ET, plus the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.