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Ahead of the 1,000 Miles of Sebring and the kick-off of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Corvette Racing drivers Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy teammates in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R discussed the team’s first venture into a full WEC season and touched on preparation for the Sebring weekend in the GTE Pro class.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’RE STARTING YOUR SEASON AT SEBRING, AS WAS THE CASE FOR YEARS IN ALMS. WHAT’S THE MINDSET GOING INTO THIS EVENT?
“I was a bit surprised at making 125 starts with Corvette that’s more than I would have thought. But along those lines while the team is starting a new endeavor by racing in the WEC, it still feels very much like home. It feels normal in some ways by starting off our championship at Sebring.
It’s the same team, same co-driver as last year with Nick and lots of carry-over, which is the name of the game in many ways for Corvette Racing.
While it is new in the sense of racing in a new championship, the feeling I get from the team is not business as usual because there is a lot more behind the scenes that makes this happen than just that, but it still feels very familiar and very normal, but also very exciting to get started with a new chapter in Corvette Racing’s history.”
THERE HAVE BEEN TWO STAND-ALONE WEC RACES FOR THE C8.R AND BOTH WERE TOUGH RACES, PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE BoP. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT MIGHT AFFECT THINGS?
“In both of those situations and events for the team, there was some planning to make those events happen but there were add-ons and extras to our calendar. In those situations, and looking specifically at performance, we were hoping for a more competitive situation. Both those races were unique. The COTA race (in 2020) was pretty early on with the C8.R, and last year’s race at Spa was a super cold event.
In this situation for this year and knowing as long as we’ve known that this was the plan to split the two cars, this feels much more like (normal). While this is a new championship in general for Corvette Racing, the experience we have at Le Mans is a part of that. But we do have some new tracks that the team hasn’t been to. We’ll use the DiL (Driver in the Loop simulator) as much as we possibly can for the engineers and us as drivers to get as much time as we possibly can leading up to these events.
We finished last year and started this year knowing what the program is. The BoP process does play a big role at times in the pace, performance and results. For us, it’s probably the best-case scenario in some ways starting at Sebring. We know the racetrack, we know the tires, we know the car. We should be pretty competitive out of the box, I would imagine. If that’s not the case, then we will have some data that us as a team and the WEC can use to hopefully make the racing close and exciting as this class always seems to provide.”
AS IT’S YOUR FIRST WEC SEASON, IS THERE A CIRCUIT YOU’RE LOOKING AT VISITING FOR THE FIRST TIME?
“To be honest, I’m excited about all of it. I’ve never raced at Spa, Monza, Fuji or Bahrain. For many of these races, it will all be new for me. Over my racing career, I’ve been a big fan of and done a lot of sim racing, so I’ve driven all these tracks multiple times in different sims.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to go to these places on our DiL and also in real life. In general, I feel as prepared as I can be for these new tracks. As always, going to these new places in real life, it’s always a little bit different. There are always elevation sensations that you don’t get in the sims. While most of the bumps and things like that are there, the different track surface changes don’t always translate over very well on these sims.
There definitely is a learning curve that will be involved there. We have lots of tools and experience from Nick, our engineers and other drivers that we can pull from to get us all up to speed as quickly as possible. It’s exciting to be part of a World Championship and have a chance to go for a World Championship. It’s exciting to take Corvette Racing and be one of the drivers of the car around the world and showcase this Corvette C8.R especially now with the Corvette street car being available worldwide, it just seems like a perfect fit for this team.”
YOU’LL DO THE 1,000 MILES AT SEBRING AND THE OTHER WEC RACES OUTSIDE OF LE MANS WITH JUST TWO DRIVERS. WILL THAT HAVE AN IMPACT?
“It’ll probably be about the same driving as it has been in the past with a little bit of a shorter race. Obviously, Sebring is tough physically and mentally. From my point of view, I’ve found that the more driving you do in a race, the more comfortable you get. You have more time to really understand what the car needs from every lap and every corner to figure out how to get the most out of the car.
Not that I don’t like driving with multiple drivers. For 24-hour races, it’s a necessity. But there have been times at some Sebring races while for 12 hours having only two drivers would be difficult it’s a situation where at the end of the race and when it’s all over, the ones I’ve done quite a bit of the driving, you are tired for sure.
But there is a sense that you had every opportunity to maximize the potential of the car. I’ve always enjoyed the races where, for whatever reason with the way the drivetimes worked out, I drove a lot of the race.
There is a sense of accomplishment at the end of it all where you feel like you’ve had a big role in the performance of the car, and you feel like you get the most out of it. From that point of view, I’m excited about that challenge. There’s nothing extra special; it’s business as usual with what I’ve done in the past with training has always worked well for me. I’m continuing on that path as I always have.
For me, I think the biggest challenge will fundamentally be getting used to new racetracks and getting up to speed. Our competitors will have had quite a bit more experience than I have at these tracks. That, for me, will be the biggest challenge – finding the maximum out of the car and getting the most out of the car on these new tracks.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’RE GOING BACK TO FIA WEC COMPETITION FULL TIME AND HAVING BOTH CORVETTE RACING ON THE GROUND AT SEBRING ALONGSIDE THE IMSA ENTRY.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most is seeing how the different weekend plays out. The fact that we have our first weekend in the WEC as a single-car team, we’re actually sharing the weekend with our teammates, even though they are different race and different category. I’m looking forward to having another car to cheer on in another class and in another race and how the weekend plays out.
It will be the first time that all of our crew that will be working in WEC all year will be split from the IMSA side. The good thing is that we know how to make our No. 64 Corvette go well around Sebring. Yes, the race is a bit less in time than what we are used to with the 12 Hours.
But it’s still an endurance race at Sebring, so this is a good way to start the year. I’m glad we get to start the year in North America. It’s a familiar place to race and get things started. Hopefully, it’s a good start and something we can learn on the way the races are structured, the way we work as a team and take that through the rest of the season.”
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’RE STARTING YOUR SEASON AT SEBRING, AS WAS THE CASE FOR YEARS IN ALMS. WHAT’S THE MINDSET GOING INTO THIS EVENT?
“I was a bit surprised at making 125 starts with Corvette that’s more than I would have thought. But along those lines while the team is starting a new endeavor by racing in the WEC, it still feels very much like home. It feels normal in some ways by starting off our championship at Sebring.
It’s the same team, same co-driver as last year with Nick and lots of carry-over, which is the name of the game in many ways for Corvette Racing.
While it is new in the sense of racing in a new championship, the feeling I get from the team is not business as usual because there is a lot more behind the scenes that makes this happen than just that, but it still feels very familiar and very normal, but also very exciting to get started with a new chapter in Corvette Racing’s history.”
THERE HAVE BEEN TWO STAND-ALONE WEC RACES FOR THE C8.R AND BOTH WERE TOUGH RACES, PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE BoP. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT MIGHT AFFECT THINGS?
“In both of those situations and events for the team, there was some planning to make those events happen but there were add-ons and extras to our calendar. In those situations, and looking specifically at performance, we were hoping for a more competitive situation. Both those races were unique. The COTA race (in 2020) was pretty early on with the C8.R, and last year’s race at Spa was a super cold event.
In this situation for this year and knowing as long as we’ve known that this was the plan to split the two cars, this feels much more like (normal). While this is a new championship in general for Corvette Racing, the experience we have at Le Mans is a part of that. But we do have some new tracks that the team hasn’t been to. We’ll use the DiL (Driver in the Loop simulator) as much as we possibly can for the engineers and us as drivers to get as much time as we possibly can leading up to these events.
We finished last year and started this year knowing what the program is. The BoP process does play a big role at times in the pace, performance and results. For us, it’s probably the best-case scenario in some ways starting at Sebring. We know the racetrack, we know the tires, we know the car. We should be pretty competitive out of the box, I would imagine. If that’s not the case, then we will have some data that us as a team and the WEC can use to hopefully make the racing close and exciting as this class always seems to provide.”
AS IT’S YOUR FIRST WEC SEASON, IS THERE A CIRCUIT YOU’RE LOOKING AT VISITING FOR THE FIRST TIME?
“To be honest, I’m excited about all of it. I’ve never raced at Spa, Monza, Fuji or Bahrain. For many of these races, it will all be new for me. Over my racing career, I’ve been a big fan of and done a lot of sim racing, so I’ve driven all these tracks multiple times in different sims.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to go to these places on our DiL and also in real life. In general, I feel as prepared as I can be for these new tracks. As always, going to these new places in real life, it’s always a little bit different. There are always elevation sensations that you don’t get in the sims. While most of the bumps and things like that are there, the different track surface changes don’t always translate over very well on these sims.
There definitely is a learning curve that will be involved there. We have lots of tools and experience from Nick, our engineers and other drivers that we can pull from to get us all up to speed as quickly as possible. It’s exciting to be part of a World Championship and have a chance to go for a World Championship. It’s exciting to take Corvette Racing and be one of the drivers of the car around the world and showcase this Corvette C8.R especially now with the Corvette street car being available worldwide, it just seems like a perfect fit for this team.”
YOU’LL DO THE 1,000 MILES AT SEBRING AND THE OTHER WEC RACES OUTSIDE OF LE MANS WITH JUST TWO DRIVERS. WILL THAT HAVE AN IMPACT?
“It’ll probably be about the same driving as it has been in the past with a little bit of a shorter race. Obviously, Sebring is tough physically and mentally. From my point of view, I’ve found that the more driving you do in a race, the more comfortable you get. You have more time to really understand what the car needs from every lap and every corner to figure out how to get the most out of the car.
Not that I don’t like driving with multiple drivers. For 24-hour races, it’s a necessity. But there have been times at some Sebring races while for 12 hours having only two drivers would be difficult it’s a situation where at the end of the race and when it’s all over, the ones I’ve done quite a bit of the driving, you are tired for sure.
But there is a sense that you had every opportunity to maximize the potential of the car. I’ve always enjoyed the races where, for whatever reason with the way the drivetimes worked out, I drove a lot of the race.
There is a sense of accomplishment at the end of it all where you feel like you’ve had a big role in the performance of the car, and you feel like you get the most out of it. From that point of view, I’m excited about that challenge. There’s nothing extra special; it’s business as usual with what I’ve done in the past with training has always worked well for me. I’m continuing on that path as I always have.
For me, I think the biggest challenge will fundamentally be getting used to new racetracks and getting up to speed. Our competitors will have had quite a bit more experience than I have at these tracks. That, for me, will be the biggest challenge – finding the maximum out of the car and getting the most out of the car on these new tracks.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’RE GOING BACK TO FIA WEC COMPETITION FULL TIME AND HAVING BOTH CORVETTE RACING ON THE GROUND AT SEBRING ALONGSIDE THE IMSA ENTRY.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most is seeing how the different weekend plays out. The fact that we have our first weekend in the WEC as a single-car team, we’re actually sharing the weekend with our teammates, even though they are different race and different category. I’m looking forward to having another car to cheer on in another class and in another race and how the weekend plays out.
It will be the first time that all of our crew that will be working in WEC all year will be split from the IMSA side. The good thing is that we know how to make our No. 64 Corvette go well around Sebring. Yes, the race is a bit less in time than what we are used to with the 12 Hours.
But it’s still an endurance race at Sebring, so this is a good way to start the year. I’m glad we get to start the year in North America. It’s a familiar place to race and get things started. Hopefully, it’s a good start and something we can learn on the way the races are structured, the way we work as a team and take that through the rest of the season.”
