CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: GT Championships in Sight
ALMS manufacturer, team titles within reach in next-to-last round
 
DETROIT (Oct. 1, 2013) – Twelve months ago, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet celebrated a championship weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Now let’s fast-forward to the present day – Chevrolet and Corvette Racing are on the verge of securing a repeat championship titles in the American Le Mans Series… once again at VIR.
 
The Oak Tree Grand Prix on Saturday, Oct. 5 could see the ALMS GT team and manufacturer championships wrapped up. The two yellow Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs have five victories between them: three for the No. 3 of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen – Laguna Seca, Baltimore and Circuit of The Americas – and two for Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette – Sebring and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
 
All Corvette Racing needs to win its 10th ALMS team championship is for either of the two cars to finish sixth or better in class at VIR. A victory for either Corvette would secure Chevrolet’s 10th manufacturer title with one race left in the season. That’s what happened in 2012 – Gavin and Milner’s triumph landed them the drivers’ championship, Chevrolet clinched the manufacturers’ crown and Corvette Racing wrapped up the team title.
 
In the drivers’ standings, Garcia and Magnussen are in the midst of a remarkable run of three wins and two podium finishes in the last six races. That streak places them in the lead of the championship despite coming away from the season’s first race at Sebring with no points.
 
Saturday’s race is set for 2:15 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN3 beginning at 2 p.m. ESPN2’s coverage airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
 
VIR, which opened in 1957, has been a happy hunting ground for Corvette’s stable of four drivers. In addition to his GT victory last year with Gavin, Milner also won in GRAND-AM competition in 2005. The Virginia native made his professional debut in GT racing a year earlier and claimed pole position.
 
Magnussen also is a past winner at VIR in Rolex Series competition having taken a Daytona Prototype victory in 2007. This will mark Garcia’s fourth straight year competing at the venue, and he posted the fastest GT lap of the race in 2012. He and Magnussen placed eighth in class last season.