12h Sebring – Second straight win for Marcel Fässler and Corvette Racing

Corvette Racing’s Triple Crown streak continued Saturday with a 10^th class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R won their second straight race to open the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) season to go along with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

It is the second straight victory at Sebring for Corvette Racing and the third in four years. Milner drove the final two hours and 50 minutes to win by 2.882 seconds. The team has won the last five of the world’s top endurance races – Daytona and Sebring in 2015 and 2016, plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015. « Great driving, teamwork and execution in the pits were keys to today’s GTLM class victory for the No. 4 Corvette C7.R team in the 12 Hours of Sebring, » said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. « To come from two laps down and win in a field as competitive as the IMSA GTLM class is a true reflection of the never-give-up attitude of the Corvette Racing team. Campbell added, « This win is special because it Corvette Racing’s second consecutive win at Sebring and follows win at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. The IMSA season is off to an exciting start. » Milner drove the first two hours, 50 minutes in Corvette Racing’s No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and was third at the time of a red flag for lightning and track conditions. Milner had led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class midway through the opening quarter thanks to a strong first pit stop by the Corvette Racing crew and being able to take on wet tires 90 minutes into the race just before the pit entry closed due to a crash on track. Fässler got in the No. 4 Corvette not long after the two-hour, 15-minute stoppage and drove in some of the most challenging conditions. He switched from slick to wet and back to slick Michelin tires during his stint as the track surface and weather changed throughout with his pace improving as his stint wore on. Gavin then took over on a dry track with less than five hours to go. He drove two-plus hours and got the Corvette back on the GTLM lead lap before Milner drove to the end. The No. 3 Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller also was a contender for a repeat victory at Sebring before the car suffered heavy damage when another GTLM competitor hit Magnussen at the entry to Turn One, which sent both cars hard into the outside tire barrier. Magnussen, part of the GTLM-winning effort with Garcia a year ago, had just taken the lead in class with less than a little less than five hours remaining in the race. Magnussen was evaluated and released from the Sebring infield care center, but the car suffered significant damage to the driver’s side and rear internal components. The No. 3 Corvette Racing crew worked feverishly to repair the car, and it returned to the race less than 45 minutes after it arrived in the team’s paddock. Despite the setback, the No. 3 Corvette completed enough laps for ninth-place points. Action Express Racing Nets Two Podium Finishes A year after claiming Chevrolet’s first overall victory at Sebring in 50 years, Action Express Racing again climbed the overall podium with both of its Corvette Daytona Prototypes. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP of Dane Cameron, Eric Curran and Scott Pruett placed second overall. The trio finished just 2.926 behind the race-winning Prototype. “I am proud of how the Corvette DP teams and drivers raced at Sebring,” Campbell said. “They raced hard all day long and secured two podium positions at this challenging track.” Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, last year’s winners in the Action Express No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, teamed with Felipe Albuquerque to finish third overall Saturday. Their Corvette DP led the most laps. Marc Goossens, Ryan Dalziel and Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fifth in Visit Florida Racing’s No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP; Wayne Taylor Racing’s quartet of Jordan and Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli and Rubens Barrichello placed 12^th in class in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. The next event for Corvette Racing and the Corvette DPs is the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 16 from the Long Beach (California) street circuit. CORVETTE RACING QUOTES OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: « The race started with us not knowing how much pace we were going to have compared to our competition. Then Tommy and Antonio were both marching up the order. Tommy got us into the lead with some great pit stops and some good strategy. Then of course the rain came and we had that big stoppage. It is hard to get yourself focused after that. But you do, you manage, you use your experience and you get going again. Then it was a case of us battling away with a few things – some bits and pieces – the weather; the track; the tires – generally the conditions. I got the car back onto the lead lap and got us into the top-three. Then I handed it over to Tommy and he did a great, great job. I knew we were in great position toward the end of my double-stint because I knew the car was good because it was underneath me. It had a little bit too much understeer hear and there, but the car was really strong. We got back on the lead lap and into the right spot. Tommy could then get it and run to the end. He had been on fire all day. I had to do exactly what he did at Daytona which was sit on the pit box and watch and fret and pace and stress about is there going to be another yellow. Or is this going to happen, or is that going to happen? Is the last pit stop going to go okay. The guys did a brilliant job with that. Once again the team had their stresses and strain through the day. Jan’s accident was huge and it just shows the quality of the car and the ability of the team to bounce back from that and get that car back out. It was just an exceptional day again. This is 60 hours of racing that we’ve won with the No. 4 with Le Mans, Daytona 24 Hours and now Sebring 12 Hours. That is just amazing that we have been able to do that in the last 12 months.  I am very, very happy with the performance of the whole team. » TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: « What a race. We sort of had an up-and-down race.  At the start of the race the car wasn’t super quick, but we weren’t bad by any means. We had a great pit stop there and got me to the lead. Then the rain came, and we weren’t super good in the wet for sure… third or fourth quick there for sure. But then when I got in at the end, I’ve NEVER had a race car that good. That Corvette was absolutely on rails and I could tell as soon as I left pit lane… I knew we had a fast race car. I just immediately knew – the car felt that good. We didn’t have the best car at the start; certainly not in the rain. But at the end we had THE best car – here we are P1. I’m super, super happy for these guys – for Oliver and Marcel. And for all the crew guys. They have worked super hard. Just fortunate to be in the car there at the end and get to have some fun like that. » MARCEL FÄSSLER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It’s an amazing day. Two events with Corvette Racing and two wins. I’m really, really happy and proud to be a part of this winning team. Looking back at my race, it was quite tough after the red flag for me. I had never driven this track in the wet, especially not in a GT car. It was difficult to find the right racing line early but after that I felt OK. On my last stop, I think we went a little too early on slick tires, and it was really tricky for me to stay on track. Unfortunately I went off and hit one of the banners. We had to stop because the engine was getting warm. So yes it was a tricky situation. We lost some laps but we were able to catch up. Oliver and Tommy did a really good job out there. It was great to watch them, especially Tommy. I think he did half the race which was really impressive and an unbelievable job. The team made no mistakes and the car was a rocket.” Results

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