Press release:
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Z06 GT3.Rs on 1st, 2nd Rows

Milner drives No. 4 Corvette to second on grid, Garcia qualifies repaired No. 3 in fourt
 
BRASELTON, Ga. (October 11, 2024) – Corvette Racing factory drivers Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia will start on the first and rows of the GTD PRO class for the 10-hour Petit Le Mans in their Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs after Friday’s qualifying session at Michelin Raceway Road Atlan

Milner qualified second in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 4 Corvette with a lap of 1:17.933 (117.331 mph) and will start directly ahead of teammate Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R. It sets the team up well to go for its ninth Petit Le Mans victory and first since 2010.
    
Milner just missed claiming the fourth pole of the season and second straight for the No. 4 Corvette with just 0.052 seconds separating him and pole-winner Laurin Heinrich. The top five GTD PRO cars were within 0.225 seconds, including Garcia with a lap of 1:18.085 (117.102 mph).

For the No. 3 side of the GTD PRO garage, making qualifying was a race in itself. The car suffered right-rear chassis damage in a crash during Thursday’s night practice, and mechanics worked into early Friday morning to patch and weld the damaged portion back together. As a backup, GM and Pratt Miller dispatched a transporter from Detroit late Thursday to bring in the program test car in the event that components from the existing No. 3 needed to be moved over to make the race.

As it turned out, the overnight/early-morning fix did the trick and the team plans to proceed as normal into the race.

AWA’s No. 13 Corvette elected not to take part in qualifying and preserve the car and its allotment of Michelin tires for the race in hopes of giving the team the best possible chance of claiming the season-long Bob Akin Award.

Orey Fidani will enter Petit Le Mans with the lead in the Akin Award standings. As long as the AWA Corvette finishes seventh or better among GTD entries featuring a Bronze-rated driver, Fidani will take the season award and also an automatic invitation into next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Petit Le Mans is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. The first three hours will air live on NBC starting at noon followed by USA’s coverage from 6-10:30 p.m. Live streaming starts at noon ET on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will stream the audio call at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

Petit Le Mans is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12. The first three hours will air live on NBC starting at noon followed by USA’s coverage from 6-10:30 p.m. Live streaming starts at noon ET on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Thursday’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO:

“I’m absolutely happy to be P2 and to start the race on the front row is fantastic. The car was excellent and I’m really happy with it. From that side it worked out well for us. In reality the qualifying sessions right now in IMSA are a disaster, especially in GT. They have been all year long. I’m glad that I was able to have a chance to go for a lap without too much issue. I know that’s not the same for a lot of the guys behind me, that’s for sure. You have some guys who are out there for four laps not even trying to run qualifying laps and getting in the way. You’ve got people that are stopping on the racetrack and causing stack-ups. This is one of top – if not the top – sports car championships in the world and I feel we should be better than that. All that frustration aside, I’ve been on the wrong end of these qualifying sessions so I know it feels. But I’m really happy with our Corvette Z06 GT3.R. My teammates are fast. This race is going to be about staying out of trouble and we’ll do the best we can.”

(Team effort to repair the No. 3 Corvette) “I don’t want to say it’s typical Corvette Racing but we do get spoiled. And we were spoiled again by this team. It’s not my car specifically but for team morale to have the problem they had last night with both crews helping out, guys coming from Michigan driving a spare car down just in case, guys staying up until 2 this morning to make sure the car was good to go for today… it’s absolutely amazing. I’m sure Antonio would have liked to have shown a little more pace, and I’m sure he did have more pace in him. It’s a great reward for the whole team to have both Corvettes at the sharp end of the field to start this last race of the year on a good note.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN GTD PRO: “It was a mess. We have a lot of GT cars out there and a mix of pro drivers and the Bronze guys. I don’t think it’s good for them either trying to find a gap between us. It was messy. But overall I’m glad that I was able to qualify. I can be a little more or less frustrated. But it was nice that the whole team put together the effort and this strategy to get that car out for qualifying. First row or second row, we definitely are not last. I’m really happy about that. We got a chance to double-check a couple of items that we tried in Practice Two (Thursday afternoon). We gambled on my last feeling of the car in that session which may have compromised me a little bit of how the car behaves now. But we have the 4 car data to compare with us now, so we’ll look at what they did during night practice and combine it with what they have now against us. Regardless, it’s a strong, strong situation where we are second and fourth. Everything is so close and now we have 10 hours ahead.”

(The team effort) “I’m really happy with the crew and the whole organization. I didn’t expect to be out there for qualifying, to be honest. Once you are out there, you forget that you aren’t doing an install lap or anything like that. You have to trust your guys. I never once worried or thought about the car not being perfect because I know this team and crew. It was really, really good and I’m very thankful for them.”

Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick