· First race for program on Belle Isle since 2008· Two mid-engine Corvette C8.Rs to compete in front of home crowd· Corvette brand with victories in GT, Prototypes at Detroit over the years |
| DETROIT (June 8, 2021) – For the first time in more than a decade, Corvette Racing will compete in its hometown when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to Detroit and the Belle Isle street circuit this weekend for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic. Both of the team’s mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs will compete in the 100-minute race that airs live at 5 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN as part of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend. While the GT Le Mans (GTLM) contest in a non-points event, that doesn’t lessen the importance of having Corvette Racing back on Belle Isle. For one, Belle Isle will provide an opportunity for the hundreds of Chevrolet production team members – both within the Corvette team and others outside the main program, all of whom contributed in some way to the C8.R and the road-going Corvette Stingray – to see Corvette Racing in-person for the only time in 2021. The reveal of the C8.R nearly 18 months ago was culmination of almost six years of work between all facets of engineers and designers from the Corvette production side and Corvette Racing. What resulted was a racecar that won six times during its 2020 debut season and swept the full-season IMSA GTLM championships for Manufacturers, Drivers and Teams. The Corvette C8.R also won the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the 2021 season. Second, it’s Corvette Racing’s first IMSA event since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. Competing on Belle Isle will serve as a tune-up for a busy summer schedule that includes four races in a six-week span, plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans in mid-August. It also will be the first time the full-season driver pairings compete together – defending GTLM champions Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R with Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. Corvette Racing competed at Belle Isle in 2007 and 2008 with the sixth-generation racing Corvette, which took American Le Mans Series class victories each year. The event date shifted from September to June in 2012, which was in conflict with the 24 Hours of Le Mans – one of the premier events on Corvette Racing’s calendar. Two of the four Corvette Racing drivers – Milner and Taylor – have previous experience on Belle Isle. Milner twice raced GT2 cars in the American Le Mans Series, and Taylor is a five-time winner in prototypes at Belle Isle, including three in a Corvette Daytona Prototype. Chevrolet on Display at Belle IsleIn addition to happenings on the racetrack on Belle Isle, fans will have no shortage of things to see and do from Chevrolet. That’s because the Chevrolet Motorsports Display will be full of Chevrolet vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend. The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 7:30 a.m. from Friday through Sunday in the fan midway. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include: • A Corvette Racing C8.R showcar and the No. 16 Paretta Autsport IndyCar• Additional Chevrolet products such as the Camaro ZL1, Silverado and Blazer Redline Edition• An opportunity to receive a 2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix special edition T-shirt The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 12. The race will air live on NBCSN and stream on TrackPass via NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App. IMSA Radio will air full qualifying and race coverage at IMSA.com along with Sirius 219, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992. |