CORVETTE RACING AT THE GLEN: Sims Grabs Front-Row Start

No. 3 Corvette qualifies second in GTD PRO, Catsburg fifth in No. 4 Z06 GT3.R
 

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 22, 2024) – Alexander Sims will start on the front of the GTD PRO class and led the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R effort in qualifying Saturday ahead of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
 

Sims posted a best lap of 1:44.317 (117.334 mph) in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette that he will share in Sunday’s endurance race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It marks the third straight front-row start in class for the first-year Z06 GT3.R after pole runs at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the Detroit street course.

    
Sims will team with Antonio Garcia and was just 0.114 seconds off the class pole-winning team. The 15-minute session was a typical tight fight in GTD PRO with the fastest seven cars within 0.531 seconds.
 

Among them was Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, also from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. He will team with Tommy Milner on Sunday and set a best lap of 1:44.561 (117.060 mph) – only 0.358 seconds from pole position.

 
In GTD, Orey Fidani qualified 19th in the AWA’s No. 13 Corvette. He will start the race and drive with full-season teammate Matt Bell and Lars Kern. Fidani enters the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen leading the Bob Akin Award standings, which goes to the top-scoring, Bronze-rated driver in GTD. The winner receives an automatic invitation to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

 
The Glen is the third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship-within-a-championship made up for the five long-distance races on the IMSA schedule. At Watkins Glen, points will be awarded at the three-hour mark as well as the race’s end. Entering the Six Hours, Chevrolet leads the GTD PRO Manufacturers standings by three points; a maximum of five points per segment are available at IMEC events.

 
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET on Sunday. The race will air live on USA Network from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with full streaming coverage on Peacock. IMSA Radio also will stream audio coverage at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “Under the circumstances, I’m pretty happy. That was really our last chance of doing that laptime because the tires were just starting to lose their peak. Once they’re gone here, that’s it; there’s no chance of setting any representative times. The gap ahead of me closed too much on the first lap then one of the Ferraris slowed on the second lap and I thought that was it. Thankfully the third lap was clear, and then we had the puncture on the last lap. The Corvette was really nice. You never know what it’s going to be like on low fuel and in qualifying trim, but it felt really nice and was a pleasure to drive. Qualifying was a nice experience.” 

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTD PRO: “Honestly I’m very pleased with that lap. This morning in practice, the car was a bit of a handful so when I saw the first timed lap in qualifying, I knew it was pretty good. The guys did a very good job of turning the car around because it was really a lot better than it was in practice. We softened up the rear a little bit to make it more compliant on corner entry, and we also had some entry oversteer in practice. So we made the right decisions to make the Corvette really nice. But in qualifying, we really nailed the car. It was very good and I’m very happy.”

AWA QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Qualifying 19th was a tough break for us, but the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is a long race, and anything can happen. We’re focused on strategy and consistency, aiming to make significant gains and put the Corvette where it belongs by the end of the race."

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: By the Numbers

• 2: Wins at Watkins Glen International in 2021 for Antonio Garcia: the Sahlen’s Six Hours and the WeatherTech 240 in consecutive weeks with Jordan Taylor

• 2: Wins and pole positions in the Sahlen’s Six Hours for Antonio Garcia. He won GTLM in 2014 and 2021 and was the GTLM pole-sitter in 2019 and 2021

• 3: Victories at Watkins Glen for Corvette Racing since its debut there in 2014: 2014 and 2021 Sahlen’s Six Hours, and 2021 WeatherTech 240

• 5: Consecutive podium finishes for Antonio Garcia at Watkins Glen from 2017-2021

• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001

• 18: Victories for Chevrolet in the Sahlen’s Six Hours, ranking second among all manufacturers

• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen

• 48: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999 – DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell being the latest in GT World Challenge America at Circuit of The Americas

• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year

• 129: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and two in GT World Challenge America

• 295: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999

• 383,516.42: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles

Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen (wins in bold)

2014

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTLM (Team’s first race at Watkins Glen)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2015

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM (Ret., Accident)

2016

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 7th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2017

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2018

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

 
2019

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia pole, fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM (Accident on first lap)

 
2021

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Garcia pole)

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 4th in GTLM (Tandy fastest race lap)

 
2021*

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Taylor pole, fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTLM

2022

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GTD PRO

2023

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTD PRO

* Two-hour, 40-minute sprint race

Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick