CAMARO Z/28.R AT LAGUNA SECA: Consecutive Wins for Liddell, Davis
Victory extends pair’s lead in Grand Sport driver championship standings
· Early strategy call proved key in victory for No. 6 Stevenson Camaro Z/28.R
· Liddell’s flawless drive holds off strong challengers for win
· Chevrolet extends GS Manufacturer Championship lead
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 2, 2015) – The Chevrolet Camaro is a winner again at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the third time in five years. Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis drove their Stevenson Motorsports No. 6 Camaro Z/28.R to a thrilling Grand Sport (GS) victory Saturday in the third round of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. Liddell won by 0.552 seconds for the pairing’s second straight win in the series.
The GS Driver’s Championship leaders increased their points advantage, as did Chevrolet in the Manufacturer standings. The Camaro Z/28.R finished second at Laguna Seca in 2014, and the Camaro brand won there in 2011 and 2012.
Stevenson Motorsports’ two Camaros led all but one of the race’s 84 laps. Matt Bell, the race’s pole winner, and co-driver Lawson Aschenbach led the first 69 laps in the No. 9 Camaro Z/28.R before having to make a late fuel stop. They placed 11th in class.
Davis and Liddell benefitted from an early-race caution and pitted before the pits closed after 14 laps in what turned out to be the winning strategy call. Davis handed over to Liddell with 33 laps left and the No. 6 Camaro well within the fuel window to the end of the race.
Mantella Autosport’s two Camaro Z/28.Rs were involved in an early-race incident that resulted in lost time and track position. The No. 8 MBRP Camaro of Martin Barkey and Mark Wilkins came back from 13th to place ninth in GS.
The fourth round of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is scheduled for Saturday, June 26 from Watkins Glen International. Davis and Liddell are the defending race winners.
ROBIN LIDDELL, STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS NO. 6 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – RACE WINNER: “We were very lucky today with the strategy. Mike (Johnson) and Andrew (Davis) made a really good call between them just when the pits were closing and we were able to dive in and take advantage. It was a risky strategy because we expected a lot of yellows around here. Usually with this race, we see a lot of yellows with the sand traps but most of the race ran green. We did have two or three yellows, but overall it was a very clean race.
“That strategy really put us in a good spot. If the other cars (in the lead battle) had a lot of yellows, it might have equalized it more with us. But as it was, one or two of them were struggling to save fuel at the end that put us in a good position at the end. It wasn’t easy at the end. Obviously we had some strong people around us. I was hanging on for dear life (at the end). I was trying to keep my head about me and do what I had to do. I’ve been in that position with these cars a few times before. Overall the car performed extremely well this weekend. It is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team with Pratt and Miller, Team Chevy and all the guys at Stevenson Motorsports. It is a very professional group and we are constantly searching for every aspect we can. We have a competitive car. The strategy put us in position to win today.”
ANDREW DAVIS, STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS NO. 6 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – RACE WINNER: “The early call there by Mike Johnson (team manager/lead engineer) to bring me in was key. It was a super-smart move. I was able to duck in there and be safe in because Mike saw there was going to be a yellow. He pulled me in and I was able to get into the blend line without a problem. That was the key. I knew it was going to be a little tense for us in the middle of my long stint to see if things held out and we didn’t get a yellow when we didn’t need one. Everything just worked out our way. I had a lot of great battles with a lot of great drivers, it was a lot of fun. That was probably one of the most fun I’ve ever had. Our Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28 was just performing really well at that point in time. The Continental Tires did great although they did start to fall off a little near the end, so it was a bit hair-raising. I think that probably the most nerve-wracking part was there near the end because obviously Billy (Johnson) was coming with the Mustang. Robin had to do everything he could to keep our Camaro out front and he did. Kudos to the guys for the strategy call in the pits, and always for the Stevenson Motorsports crew working hard to keep our Chevy up front. Great race and great victory here at Laguna Seca.”
MATT BELL, STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS NO. 9 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – FINISHED 11TH
“We knew we were going to have a hard time with tires. We are the heaviest car in the field. I started up in front, and I thought my best chance was just to try and run away. The No. 6 car (Stevenson Motorsports team car driven by Andrew Davis) got real lucky on their dive-in, and that put the No. 13 right up behind me. The No. 6 was kind of my buffer there for a while. Once the No. 13 was behind me, I had to kind of defend it a little bit. He was really fast in certain parts of the track, and we were really good in other parts of the track. But overall, his less weight actually helped him over the stint. He could push and still have some tire left to keep going. By the end of that stint, I pretty much had no rubber left on those tires. Big shout-out to the team, and Team Chevy. The car did phenomenally. It did exactly what we wanted it to do. It was consistent; it was one of the fastest cars on the track, even on old tires. I couldn’t be happier.”
LAWSON ASCHENBACH, STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS NO. 9 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – FINISHED 11TH: “It is a bit frustrating, I’m not going to lie. This season we’ve such a fast car, and everyone at Stevenson Motorsports has done such a great job, and we can’t seem to get over that hump and get the win. We took a little bit of an alternative strategy and ended up getting stuck that way due to some of the cautions and the way things fell. It didn’t quite work out for us there. But hats off to the team. Our Team Chevy Camaro Z/28.R was fast. Even on old tires there near the end, we were leading but I was trying to save fuel. I held the lead there, but then we knew we really had to save fuel, so I had to back off and let them go. So it’s a bit frustrating. But hats off to the team and obviously it was a great job by Matt (Bell) at the beginning. We had the speed. We are going to get one sooner or later.”
MARK WILKINS, MANTELLA AUTOSPORT NO. 8 MBRP CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – FINISHED NINTH: “Thanks to the Mantella Autosport guys and Chevy for giving us a really strong Camaro Z/28.R. It took a fair amount of abuse today. It was a little bit unfortunate with the incident (early in the race). I feel bad for Martin (Barkey) and Kyle (Marcelli in the No. 8 Camaro Z/28.R). We had a strong car too. Obviously we fought a little bit of handling adversity with the damage but we tried to stay out of trouble and get some points. The guys did a good job. We had good stops. We worked hard, and it’s another top-10. We want to move up the grid so we just need to keep working.”