SEBRING, Fla. (March 20, 2021)– Corvette Racing ended a tough day of competing with 4th- and also fifth-place class coatings in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Development Vehicle Components. Both Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs dealt with difficulty throughout the day, though it was an inevitable late-day accident that avoided the group from winning for the 13th time at Sebring International Raceway.
The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg positioned 4th in the GT Le Mans Racing group after leading much of the day in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion. Garcia started in the course pole position. Throughout the majority of the race, the triad led their field, running in the GTLM pole for 211 of 334 laps. After winning the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, it appeared as though the No. 3 Corvette was mosting likely to sweep the 2021 Florida-based IMSA race occasions … that is till Garcia was knocked senseless of the lead with less than 10 minutes of eco-friendly flag racing remaining.
In spite of a number of mid-race problems, the Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg driving group re-established themselves with a mix of fuel savings as well as strong strategy as the race entered its last number of hours. A fortunate rest stop prior to a full-course caution duration at the two-hour mark permitted the No. 3 Corvette to gain the lead, however just for a couple of secs. Garcia drove the final couple of hrs and remained to function his method via traffic when he was powerfully struck under braking by the second-place De Phillippi’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan-run BMW M8. The # 3 of Corvette Racing was sent out spinning as it attempted its way out of Turn 7.
The front-left of the C8.R was harmed, and also Garcia needed to pit with a blowout. The damage was too great, creating the otherwise capable No. 3 Corvette from securing an area on the platform.
The No. 4 Corvette C8.R triad of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy as well as Alexander Sims had a similarly abysmal day, though theirs began at the start of the race and just went downhill from there. Beginning the race second in GTLM, the No. 4 C8.R established an electric problem from the outset that hampered the Corvette’s performance. Milner, Tandy as well as Sims– who finished second in GTLM at Daytona– were 5th in class Saturday at Sebring.
” I do not know what to say. I’m definitely let down in the whole scenario. It was an extremely hard race for everybody. We took care of to be up there, as well as with 2 stints to go we were both going flat-out. It definitely was between them (the No. 25) and also us. As much as that factor, it was fair. The entire thing was great. He was pushing hard, and I was pushing as difficult as I could. Racing I believe we put on an excellent program but I’m dissatisfied with the means it ended. I make sure we would certainly have been very satisfied to earn a genuine outcome. It’s a tough break, particularly after such a lengthy race. I’m let down for the guys, for Corvette, for Group Chevy and the followers. All of us was entitled to a little better. We will certainly simply move on. My following quit is Health club and also I’m looking forward to that and the rest of the period. Thank you to Jordan and also Nicky … it’s just a tough break.”.