Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen returned to the GT Le Mans (GTLM) podium in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday with a third-place finish in the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.
The duo in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R recorded their fourth straight top-three finish at Virginia International Raceway on the heels of victories in 2016 and 2017 and last year’s runner-up result. Corvette teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were right behind in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R, their best result since a third-place finish at Long Beach in April.
The result moved Garcia and Magnussen back into third place in the GTLM Drivers Championship with two rounds left in the season. The two Corvettes, lacking overall pace to the race-winners, were part of a thrilling battle inside the final 30 minutes for the final podium spot.
Both Corvettes opted for three-stop strategies following an early-race caution that saw all GTLM cars pit just 22 minutes in. Magnussen – who started second and Gavin – who started fifth – each drove double-stints to start. Gavin, who gained two spots on the first round of stops thanks to a speedy tire change and fuel fill, was the first GTLM driver to make his second stop an hour into the race.
Magnussen handed over to Garcia 20 minutes later and was part of a tight fight with Dirk Mueller in the No. 66 Ford in the midpoint of the race. It was a close battle with the two cars making contact at the end of the backstraight but both got away relatively damage-free.
The two Corvettes and the two Fords were nose-to-tail following the final round of pit stops with 35 minutes remaining. Garcia made a daring move at Turn Four to move back into the podium, and Milner followed him through by overtaking both Fords a couple of corners later.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the IMSA Monterey Grand Prix at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 13-15.
