This Weekend 12 hours of Sebring

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Following on from a highly successful start to the 2025 season first at Daytona and then in Qatar the Corvette Racing program and its teams now move on to America’s oldest sports car race: the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Four Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for the 73rd running of the Sebring 12 Hours an event where Corvette Racing has claimed 14 class victories dating back to 2002. Two GTD PRO entries come from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports with single-car GTD entries for Rolex 24 At Daytona class-winner AWA along with DXDT Racing.

• Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella(No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
• AWA – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern (No. 13 Corvette)
• DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc (No. 36 Corvette)

The momentum of the second-year Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is sky-high even after only two months of racing. At Daytona, AWA captured a landmark first 24-hour win for the Corvette in GTD, the No. 3 Corvette from Pratt Miller Motorsports finished second in GTD PRO and the No. 4 sister Corvette led seven times in class.

In addition, the Corvette GT3 won in FIA World Endurance Championship competition for the first time with TF Sport taking the LM GT3 class victory with Juncadella as part of the driving lineup.

Corvettes were busy at Sebring in 2024. Both Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA posted top-10 class finishes in a rough-and-tumble 12 Hours – with the No. 3 Corvette running as high as second in the final 10 minutes before being pushed off-track in the closing minutes.

Meanwhile, DXDT Racing returns to racing Sebring for the second time in less than a year. Although this is the team’s first 12 Hours, DXDT Racing debuted with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the circuit last spring in GT World Challenge America.

Long-time Corvette technical partner Mobil 1 will again be prominently featured on special race liveries of both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports at Sebring. Following its 50th anniversary celebration in 2024, Mobil 1 is placing renewed emphasis on the timeless red and blue colors in its primary Mobil 1 logo. As the design has become synonymous with sports car racing and Sebring, the Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette liveries incorporate this classic theme while also paying homage to a variety of historic Corvettes adorned with the same colors.

For more than 25 years, the Mobil 1 brand has been an integral part of the Corvette Racing program. It was the only lubricant used by the factory racing effort dating back to the first on-track tests of the Corvette C5-R in 1997. The Mobil 1 brand continues as a primary sponsor of the Pratt Miller-run Corvette Z06 GT3.R team, and since 1993 has been the factory fill for all new production Corvettes.

Chevrolet Motorsports on Display at Sebring

In addition to the many happenings on the racetrack at Sebring, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. The Chevrolet’s Motorsports Display – located in the Sebring Midway – will be full of Chevy vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend. The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday plus 8 a.m. Saturday. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include:

• The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 plus a cutaway chassis and engine display
• Additional Chevrolet products such as Corvette Stingray Coupe, Blazer EV SS, Equinox ACTIV, Traverse RS, Colorado ZR2, Silverado 1500 RST and Silverado EV RST
• An opportunity to receive a 2025 Chevrolet Motorsports t-shirt

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15. The race will air live flag-to-flag on Peacock in the United States and YouTube outside the U.S. beginning at 10 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along with the race call on XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996, 99.9 FM in Sebring and 107.9 FM at the circuit.

JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“After big wins at Daytona and Qatar, it’s exciting to continue the early part of our season at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Year in and year out, it’s a race that attracts the top manufacturers, teams and drivers for one of sports car racing’s ultimate tests. What makes it even more special for the Corvette Racing program is the long history of success our program has experienced during the last 20-plus years. We’re looking forward to working closely with each of our teams over the course of the event to deliver the best possible results.”

 

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SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m looking forward to another year at Sebring. It was my first race in America so it means a lot to come here every year, especially with Corvette. There isn’t another track like it which always keeps things interesting. I think this year we want to win this one more than almost any other given our pace last year. The ending was really unfortunate but we know that this year we will have another strong package. Daytona was a near-miss so hopefully we can fix that this time.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I always look forward to Sebring. There was clear progress that we made at Daytona this year versus last year, so we’re going into this race with a good package. Our pace a year ago was pretty strong through lots of the race. We did some testing there in November where things went really well and it was very successful. I love driving Sebring. It’s a great track, an iconic one and unique with its characteristics. It makes things interesting so I’m looking forward to a fun race. Hopefully we can make it to the end like we didn’t last year unfortunately. We were in a good spot and in a podium position. Hopefully we can replicate that sort of form again, fight at the front and finish a clean race.”

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We are in a much better place than we were a year ago going into Sebring. We have made some really big steps throughout last season. We nearly won last year at Sebring and had a big chance for a podium on the last lap before I got pushed out of the race. I’d say it’s a track that suits us nicely. The Corvette should be strong there, and the track suits us nicely. As a driver, you can really make a difference because it’s bumpy and difficult. So I look forward to racing again there. I love IMSA, and those three big races that I’m doing are probably the most fun of all. It’s a cool weekend.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m ready and looking forward to Sebring this year. Everyone knows about the history of this place and what this event means in the sports car world. It truly is a test of car, driver and team to survive what I think is one of the most physically challenging races in the world. That’s what I look forward to every year I come back to Sebring with the Corvette. We know we have a great car and a proven car compared to where we arrived a year ago. After seeing a potential win disappear for us at Daytona, I know our guys are eager to make it right this weekend and get back to the top of the podium.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We are coming off a strong Daytona even though on the No. 4 car the result wasn’t great. But for me the performance all around – the car, the drivers, the whole team – was super strong. It gives me great confidence compared to where we were one year ago. I think we can win this race. We did quite a lot of testing at Sebring in the winter, and I think we will have a very good car for this track and this event. I hope the focus will be on the race and not too much on what happened at Daytona. We want to focus on just doing a good, clean race. Unfortunately Sebring in the last couple of years has turned into a bit of a crashfest at the end of the race. I really hope to avoid that happening again and that we can all use our common sense a little bit more because even at Daytona it was a bit too much. But it is a very positive outlook for me. I’m looking forward to being back with Tommy and Nico. They were mega at Daytona, and the team is in a much better place than one year ago with the Corvette and everyone working with each other. I can’t see a reason why we won’t be good at Sebring.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Sebring is always special because of the history and the track itself. It has a lot of character. Every 12 Hours of Sebring I would define as chaos. You go into the night at such an iconic track with the bumps… you put one wheel in the wrong spot and you are off the track. So you pay for your mistakes, which is the characteristic of IMSA and the American tracks, which I like. GT racing is really aggressive. I think at Daytona it was too much but I expect the same for Sebring. At Daytona we were in a good spot; we were just missing top speed versus some of the other manufacturers, which made it really difficult to race against them. Sebring has always been a great track for Corvette, and the cars always work well there. I’ve had success there with Corvette as well. The cars always felt really nice. I think we will be in a good spot but other cars will be fast as well. I expect it to be a super fight until the end.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m excited to get back on track with AWA after our amazing weekend in Daytona. I’ve always loved that IMSA has so many iconic race tracks and events, and we go straight into another one this weekend! I’ve wanted to win the Sebring 12h for as long as I’ve had Daytona on my list too, and we are obviously going there with a lot of confidence after the win at the 24H. The test we did last month went very well, I think we will be very competitive again.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Winning at Daytona was definitely the best way we could have started the season. We were firing on all cylinders and all the hard work the team put in during the off-season really paid off. We have no intentions of slowing down, we’re all motivated and want to keep the momentum going. Sebring is one of the toughest races on the calendar, but we know we have what it takes to fight at the front and that’s exactly what we’re setting out to do.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We had a great race at Daytona and we’ll have the same approach for Sebring. We should be in the mix for a good result again, especially after a great test we had at Sebring recently. But this isn’t just any championship where you rock up and win every race. IMSA is the most competitive series in the world. Our target is to maintain the championship lead and finish the race in the highest position possible.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“GT racing at Sebring is always one to watch if you’re not involved. The GT fight last year over the last 30 minutes was crazy. The Corvette was strong there last year and hopefully it will be the same again this year. Obviously Daytona for us didn’t go the way we wanted. To keep our Endurance Cup championship hopes up, hopefully we can give the team back something because they worked so hard pre- and post-Daytona. We need to find a way to piece all the bits of the puzzle together so we can show the performance the car has, which has been shown by others also, and get a good result for DXDT Racing.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m looking forward to the race coming up at the Sebring 12 Hours. The track itself is one of the more physical circuits we go to on the IMSA calendar, and from that standpoint I’m happy to be behind the wheel of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The platform is great over a long run and allows the driver to guide a lot of the balance through the run. The DXDT crew has been putting in a lot of hard work in the shop since Daytona and the test a few weeks ago, I think we’re going to be ready for the condensed schedule on the weekend. I expect this weekend will continue to be growing and gelling for the team.”

SALIH YOLUC, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I am looking forward to Sebring after a disappointing Daytona. Hopefully we will get a good result to kick start a good momentum for the remaining 2025 season which we desperately need for our championship hopes as well. I can’t wait.”

 

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Seldom has there been a more appropriate term to characterize the second race in a season as “Round Two” than the coming contests in GTD and GTD PRO. After all, the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona resembled nothing so much as a heavyweight title bout, make that bouts, in both classes.

The No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 and No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R may have won GTD PRO and GTD respectively, but only after 24 hours of intense and at times (over) heated clashes among the representatives of the nine automakers in the categories.

“After our Daytona win, we have been on a high,” said Frederic Vervisch, who shares the No. 65 Ford with Christopher Mies and Dennis Olsen. “We learned a lot at the recent test at Sebring, so we are well-prepared for this race.
We are feeling very positive and motivated to keep hold of our championship lead. We know it will be hard as it is not the perfect track for our car, but the team is on top form, and we are working well together with our sister car. I’m sure we can achieve a good result.”

Matt Bell, who shares AWA’s No. 13 Corvette with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern added, “It was a dream start to our season. We had a good test at Sebring; we feel well-prepared, but the GTD field is so deep with talent and it’ll be extremely competitive again as we go ahead and take everyone on.”
Chevrolet and Ford may have brought joy to Motown with their Rolex 24 triumphs but defending Sebring GTD PRO and GTD winners Lexus and Mercedes-AMG will be keen to stage repeat performances this weekend, with Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche looking to get in on the winning action as well.

Saturday’s 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring streams live, flag-to-flag, exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. starting at 10:00 a.m. ET and streams internationally on IMSA’s official YouTube channel.

 

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Today Thursday there are 3 practice sessions for today
The first has just started at 10 AM ET and is 1 1/2 hours long

You can keep up by looking at the live scoring as how the 4 Corvettes, 2 in GTD and 2 in GTD-Pro classes
At least you can monitor how your UK Corvette team is doing in GTD class

Scoring | IMSA

www.imsa.com

 

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Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner says he feels it’s time to “move on” after the controversial incidents between Paul Miller Racing’s BMWs and his No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the closing stages of the Rolex 24 At Daytona back in January.

Ahead of Saturday’s Sebring 12 Hours, Milner reflected on the battles at the sharp end of the GTD PRO field between the two teams when frustrations boiled over. It, of course, ended with the now-iconic image of him sticking an arm out the window of his car and gesturing to Augusto Farfus, whom he felt went too far in blocking him to assist the sister car’s charge while running more than 50 laps down.

“I’ve rewatched some of it again, and in reality, my initial reaction maybe is not how I feel at this moment,” he said.
“It’s rough driving, though it’s understandable in some ways, but it’s pushing the limits every year and went over the line a little.

“In some ways, I am not surprised, based on an earlier interaction I had with the No. 48 earlier in the race.
I knew it was going to be rough and difficult to pass. It’s still a little frustrating, but the response from people inside and outside of IMSA has been on my side, if you want to put it that way.
“At the end of the day, it was an exciting moment. It’s not exactly how I wanted to go, and I am sure it’s the same for them, but it’s got people talking about IMSA, and it’s brought a spotlight on our class.”

The reaction continued long after the race finished and prompted Milner to raise money for the American Eagle Foundation by selling shirts featuring an artistic impression of his “bird flip.”
Emails with requests to purchase shirts are still coming in by the day, but sales have now been stopped to allow him to concentrate on his racing and give his credit card a break.

“I got my first paycheck of the year from the team, that helped clear things with the credit card!” he said with a grin. “I thought we might get 200 orders total, 500 at the high end, but we got that in two hours. So eventually I had to stop it for my own sanity we stopped taking orders at 4715 shirts sold and $25,000 raised for charity.

“The response blew me away. I know people in the paddock that have bought them, I won’t name them because they’re with other teams! I’ve also already been flipped off by people in the paddock (in jest). So I’m expecting all sorts when the fans show up Friday and Saturday in big numbers”
However, with the Rolex 24 in the rearview mirror and the race at Sebring coming right up, Milner wants to draw a line in the sand and reset the relationship between the two teams.

“I’m sure IMSA is salivating over the attention and the stories,” he said. “I mean, they’ve got us parked next to each other here in the paddock! But the whole point is to win races and not be mired in controversy. We wanted to win and not be known for sticking my hand out the window and fighting with a competitor like that.

“What’s done is done. I have no issue with the No. 1 car from Paul Miller.
I feel bad for them and for the other contact at the end of the race with Nico (Varrone), all it did was make our race worse.

“It doesn’t make sense to carry bad feelings. You’ve got to move on, or we won’t allow ourselves to achieve good results if we are thinking about how to get them back in some way. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and run our own race here in Sebring, it’s hard to have expectations these days in this class. We will see how we stack up come Saturday.”

On the other side of the fence, Paul Miller’s drivers feel the same way, with both Daniel Harper and Max Hesse telling RACER that there’s “no bad blood.” A more gentlemanly affair is therefore expected on Saturday night.
“I think, at least from our point of view, it’s all good now. It’s going to be clean and hard racing here, and there’s nothing to worry about,” Hesse, driver of the No. 48 BMW with Harper, Jesse Krohn, said.

“As drivers, we want to win so bad,” Harper added. “The excitement and buzz came out at that moment in Daytona, and when it all cooled down, all the drivers and teams were all together and 100 percent with each other.”

 

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Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Nicky Catsburg has expressed concern on IMSA’s new-for-2025 restart procedure for the GTD Pro and GTD classes, which are split up. The new format made its debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, resulting in a contact-heavy conclusion to the race.

Catsburg said: “With GTD Pros all together, I predict mayhem. If IMSA keeps officiating like they do now, I predict that people may just ram each other off.
That’s something that I really hope does not happen. Because you’ve survived for 11 hours and then in the end you are just waiting to get smashed.

That shouldn’t be. I hope they officiate this a bit stronger, or they try and set the tone in the drivers’ briefing to put more emphasis on it. You want a nice show, but I also want fair racing, so let’s see.”

 

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Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Antonio Garcia and Matt Bell met with members of the media Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Garcia will pilot one of the two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entries, with Bell part of the lineup for AWA GTD winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season.

ANTONIO GARICA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT GOING TO SEBRING?

“Foremost, part of the season is that it’s almost my 20th 12 Hours. So that makes it easier to win four times! But I always love going back to Sebring. I have a lot of good memories from Sebring, good closing stints and fun racing all over the years in different cars and classes. I think Corvette has always been very competitive there and successful.
The last two years, I think, we came close to winning. Especially last year we were leading quite a lot of laps and in the closing stages got mixed up in some incidents. Let’s see if we have a clean race this year. That’s key at Sebring, especially at night when the sun goes down, everyone gets excited and at times the racing gets a little crazy.”

HOW DO YOU CONDITION YOURSELF FOR SEBRING?

“Sebring definitely is hard, and you need to be very prepared. Last year we had A/C problems from Hour Three, and it was very hard for us. You need to be as good as possible because anything can happen. There is no time to fix anything if it’s a big change or a big repair. Last year Dani (Juncadella) did two-and-a-half stints without A/C, and then we kind of cycled through just to minimize that.
If it’s a hot one and looking at the forecast it looks to be very hot it will be hard for everyone the car, the tires, us and for sure the crew.”

PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?

“We have another year of experience this year with this car. Last year, even if the car felt pretty decent, we found a few other things over the course of the season and at Daytona. We didn’t get to test (at the sanctioned test) but the AWA guys were there, and we have their data to see.
That will help the whole Corvette development program. Some of our guys also have been going to the simulator.

I hope we’ll have an excellent pace for this race again, and let’s see if we nailed the direction in which the car should go. Now, with the new power curve and how we use that, I think it will be a challenge for us. It will be the first time we will run it at Sebring, which seems very particular with the bumps and everything. But I think we have a really good strategy and I hope everything runs smooth.”

WHAT DO YOU TELL YOURSELF TO TRY AND AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE NIGHT AT SEBRING?

“Last year, I think we cycled twice to the back (during pit stops).
By the way the GTD and GTD PRO progression worked last year, we cycled to the back of the group. That didn’t help in order to get back to the leading pack. At night on every restart If you are at the front, the chances that you’re going to get hit or get into a big mess is a lot less.

I think that’s the biggest thing at Sebring. At night, you need to be up front on every restart. If you’re able to be in the top three positions, you are way more safe. Now that GTD PRO and GTD are split (on restarts), I think it’s going to be better. At night, you don’t know who is behind you; you just see lights. I know the GTD lights are yellow, but it’s very difficult to know who was following you.

Now that things are split, I think it will make things easier for both classes. We know we are going to be fighting our class on the restart and not get in the mix with (GTD) or them with us. So I think that was a good call, and at Daytona it was a big upgrade.”

REACTION TO THE MOBIL 1 LIVERY THAT PRATT MILLER PRESENTED.

“I think it’s pretty cool to have different liveries. It feels strange not to see a Corvette painted in yellow. In traffic, I don’t know if people will spot who we are! But it is very cool to have this Mobil 1 new livery. I didn’t get to see the actual car it was related to in real life.
But when I get to see it at the track, it will be very cool. Hopefully we can get it to Victory Lane because that’s even better, a special livery there with some photos looks even better.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

RACE OUTLOOK FOLLOWING THE WIN AT DAYTONA WITH CORVETTE.

“We’re still riding on Cloud Nine, I have to say, from a little over a month ago. It was a dream start to the season and a race that we all wanted to win for quite a long time, as most drivers do. We’re coming into this race with a lot of confidence. I know my way around Sebring a little bit now, too, so it’s a race event that I love and a track that I love.

As Antonio said, Corvettes have always seemed to go pretty well around Sebring. I’m feeling just as confident and coming into here with just as high hopes as I did for Daytona. We had a good test at the IMSA sanctioned test. We all feel pretty well-prepared.
The GTD field is pretty deep with talent so it’s going to be extremely competitive again but we are looking forward to taking everyone on.”

PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?

“Antonio has been a big part of the past development on the factory side. From the AWA side, there have been a lot of refinements going on and a lot of learning with the car for a customer team. We come into this race with a lot more knowledge than at any point last year.
We put a lot of that into practice at Daytona, and it seemed to go well. The good thing was that the performance of the car all last year seemed very strong and there were a few things to get on top of on the reliability front, which is a usual new car challenge.

Everybody seems to have those under control now, but you never quite know in racing. The most established car on the grid can always have an issue. Sebring is the hardest track in the world for any racecar. But we’ve taken some big steps. Sebring will test us, but we think we’re going in the right direction. We’ve always got the support of the Pratt Miller and Corvette guys.

We lean on the likes of Antonio, as well, if things aren’t going well, and that worked out very well last year.
We’ll be going at it the same this year again.”

LATE AT DAYTONA YOU HIT A SKID PLATE OFF ANOTHER CAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT INCIDENT?

“There were always some quite intense battles going on in GTD. There were always noises coming from the wheel well every now and then, but that one felt a little bigger than normal. As I came out of Turn Six, I think it was a lap or two before I managed to get past the 27.
Heading toward the Bus Stop, the right-hand side of the cockpit started filling with smoke quite quickly.

As a driver, we have all experienced the smell of tire smoke or the smell of oil smoke or whatever. It didn’t smell like oil, so that was an immediate checkbox that made me a bit more confident. I just radioed in ‘Smoke in the cockpit. Please check tire pressures’ because I was a little busy dealing with the surrounding competition.

They came back and said no punctures showing up. I gave the wheel a little wiggle, it felt alright. I sent it into the Bus Stop and it still felt OK. At that point in the race, it was do-or-die. We were 20 minutes to go and if it was going to go wrong, it is what it is. Just had to keep my foot in it and it cleaned itself up.

“It turned out that a wooden block, we think of a GTP car, had come off. The Aston in front of me ran over it and fired it up into the bonnet of our car. It got stuck in the wheel well and was rubbing on the tire. It took a couple of millimeters of rubber off and didn’t go deep enough to give us a puncture worry.

Everyone has always told me in these big 24-hour races that there is that moment of luck that you need to get over the line.
That was a close call and could have been race-ending. Thankfully it didn’t happen and behaved itself the last 20 minutes.”

THE 13 FROM DAYTONA HAS BEEN RETIRED. IS THIS ONE AT SEBRING BRAND NEW?

“Yes, it will be a new car. We had already planned to be running a new car to Le Mans, fortunately.
So the team having a second car available to us was already in the works, and we managed to speed up the delivery of that and the prep of that in order to get it turned around for the IMSA test.
So the AWA crew had a pretty long Daytona 24 Hours, a night or two to celebrate and then a lot of hard work to get the new car prepped for the IMSA test. So it has done some running. It’s not run in competition yet, so this will be the car’s first race.

When we jumped into the car, it felt exactly the same as the previous one that we had. There’s always that little worry in the back of your mind, especially when you have a good result in a car and the superstitious part of you doesn’t want to change the set of gloves that you’ve got. But we jumped in it, and it was like being in the original car. No differences whatsoever.

Great consistency from the Pratt Miller and GM guys on the construction side of things in our experience so far.
The concern is as low as it can be going into a race like Sebring. It’s the hardest race on a racecar in the world. Could it throw something up?
Of course, it could, but it could do that for anyone’s car. It was nice to retire the Season One car with such a big win.
Hopefully we can start another bit of the team’s history with this new car.”

 

[teamzr1]

Qualify has been completed for both the GTD & GTDPRO classes
Out of 21 cars in Pro the 2 Corvettes finished in 5th and 6th places
In GTD class out of 22 cars in the class the 2 Corvettes did poorly, almost in last place

12 hours of Sebring Race tomorrow, Saturday, starts at :10:10 AM ET

 

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Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will start side-by-side Saturday on the third row of the GTD PRO class for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring following qualifying time trials Friday.

Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette will start fifth alongside teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 entry as the Corvette Racing program looks for its 13th program victory in America’s oldest sports car race.
Both Pratt Miller Corvettes are running special Mobil 1 liveries this weekend and hope to recapture the magic of previous years at the circuit.

Garcia’s best lap was a 1:59.897 (112.296 mph) effort in the Corvette he’ll share with Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella.
The trio was second in class to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Milner was an eyelash back at 1:59.926 (112.268 mph) in the Z06 GT3.R that he will drive with Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone all three previous winners at Sebring in either IMSA or FIA World Endurance Championship competition.

In GTD, Salih Yoluc was the quickest Corvette driver with a 2:01.814 (110.538 mph) in DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Z06 GT3.R, just ahead of AWA’s Orey Fidani in the No. 13 Corvette at 2:02.274 (110.113 mph).
Although both entries were down the order in class, they will have an advantage in the race as most teams elected to qualify their Pro-level drivers in the session.
With the expected number of safety car periods, Both DXDT and AWA will be able to run their higher-ranked drivers against the Bronze drivers from other entrants.

The momentum of the second-year Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is sky-high even after only two months of racing. At Daytona, AWA captured a landmark first 24-hour win for the Corvette in GTD, the No. 3 Corvette from Pratt Miller Motorsports finished second in GTD PRO and the No. 4 sister Corvette led seven times in class.

In addition, the Corvette GT3 won in FIA World Endurance Championship competition for the first time, with TF Sport taking the LM GT3 class victory with Juncadella as part of the driving lineup.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15.
The race will air live flag-to-flag on Peacock in the United States and YouTube outside the U.S. beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
IMSA Radio will have the race call on XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996, 99.9 FM in Sebring and 107.9 FM at the circuit.

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s not bad when you are involved in the fight for pole, for sure. So it’s not that I wasn’t going for it. I definitely liked the times we were able to start from that position, but today we probably didn’t have the ultimate pace against the cars ahead of us.

But I would say car balance isn’t bad, so we kept working throughout yesterday, and I think we made progress last night. It was improving, and maybe we tried a few other things in qualifying just to validate or discard toward the race. So even if the car wasn’t what I wanted it to be, I think it gave us that good information for tomorrow. I’m still happy with that. It’s not the front row. It’s the third row, but I’m sure we can still win this race from there.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Qualifying was okay. I would say probably are kind of close to everybody except really the Ferrari and the Porsche. I had a feeling just based on practice that we don’t have the ultimate pace of the other guys.
We’re super heavy, so that doesn’t usually bode well for tire wear either, so we’ve been put in a box here that’s not ideal. But obviously, we’ve been in this situation multiple times, so we’ll do our best, work on the strategy and things like that toward the race. Last night was important. That’s when all the magic happens in Sebring at nighttime, good and bad.

I thought our Corvette was decent last night, but it’s also hard to gauge against what everybody else does with tires and things like that. They have such an impact on your pace. To be honest, I feel like we certainly don’t have the fastest car and probably not even really the second- or third-fastest car. We’re down a little bit on pace. But from our side, the car feels good generally.
We have a little bit of work to do, but we’re not far off. So yeah, I think for us, it’s going to be a strategy race tomorrow.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m happy with the car and the session. I think I had a little bit more left in the tank.
The car just had a tad bit of understeer, so I couldn’t put it together at the end of the session.
But we have a good car that will only get better once it cools down.”

 

[teamzr1]

Corvette Racing’s four Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams suffered poor finishes to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, with misfortune ruining chances for GTD PRO and GTD victories in America’s oldest sports car race.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette was the highest-finishing Z06 GT3.R with a seventh-place GTD PRO finish for Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella.
The result marked an unfortunate turn of fortunes for the group of four Corvettes all of which led their respective classes on multiple occasions.

The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone also in GTD PRO ran a clean race for the first three-quarters and ran second when it had to stop for a repair to the IMSA-mandated scrutinizing logger.
It cost the Corvette three laps and dropped Varrone to 10th in class. Catsburg made up a spot near the end to move himself, Varrone and Milner to ninth at the end.

DXDT Racing appeared set to challenge for its first podium in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship competition.
However, a late-race mechanical issue knocked the No. 36 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell and Salih Yoluc who drove a triple-stint to start from the top-four in GTD down to eighth at the finish.

AWA’s hopes of a second straight GTD victory took a huge hit with damage to the right-front of the No. 13 Corvette on a restart with a little less than three hours remaining. Orey Fidani drove three of the first four stints, and Lars Kern and Matt Bell steadily worked their way forward and into the class lead on multiple occasions.
Subsequent stops for repairs dropped Bell from seventh to 12th, but the Corvette remained on the lead lap up until being hit late by the leading LMP2 entry. It relegated AWA to 10th in GTD.

Perhaps the Corvette in the best position late in the race was the No. 3 of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. After a strong run through the day and some clever strategy, Sims worked his way up from sixth to fourth inside the final 90 minutes and was on a fuel strategy that likely would have had him challenging for the victory.

However, the Sebring circuit bit the Corvette as Sims had to pit for a rear with a little more than an hour with a broken right-rear suspension component. It knocked him from third in class and in the podium fight to seventh and two laps down.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Long Beach Grand Prix from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on April 11-12.

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“A bit of a bummer, this one. Our Corvette had a pretty good pace to be honest. Going into the night, it seemed to come alive a bit. We had good pace, and I was able to get up to third before we had the rear suspension problem. It did seem the leaders at the end had pace that we didn’t, to be honest.
I don’t think we would have gotten any better than that. Even holding on to third would have been a struggle. Full credit to the Pratt Miller guys for getting it turned around quick and salvaging what we could. We didn’t give up and still managed seventh place, which could have been worse if they weren’t as quick in the pits as they were. On to the next one.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“An unlucky race. I think we had an OK Corvette, but not fast enough to challenge for the win.
I feel like we are on a bit of an unlucky streak at the moment. It’s not anyone’s fault.
We have to take things as they come and ride those waves. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We had a great race. We got a little unlucky with the second-to-last yellow because we had a good fuel advantage, and it got wiped out.
We hung in there and crept from eighth to third. It was very enjoyable being in the middle of the fight. We just got very unlucky at the end when what we thought was a comfortable P4 which turned out would have been a podium with the Ferrari boxing on the last lap. I’m gutted for the team.
They’ve worked so hard since Daytona. We just didn’t have the pace there and came here with a lot more.
They deserved more, unfortunately. They worked tirelessly between now and then to make sure we had the Corvette that we had in the race.

Such a shame, but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side, and we’ll be right there.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We were having a good race once again up until we had the little incident in the final stages.
We had a very strong car, and I’m proud of the team and their efforts. We know what we’re capable of. Furthermore, we’ll take this finish and move forward to the next one.”