LE MANS, France (Aug. 22, 2021) – Corvette Racing remained firmly entrenched among the GTE Pro class leaders as the 24 Hours of Le Mans reached and passed the halfway point early Sunday morning. The No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg ran third in class as the race entered the final 12 hours. Taylor completed his second double-stint of the event just prior to halfway, handing over to Catsburg, who was next in the rotation. All three drivers in the No. 63 C8.R drove double stints to open this year’s Le Mans – the first for the mid-engine Corvette. Each driver led for a time as well as the race began to evolve into primarily a battle between Corvette and Ferrari, although five cars remained on the lead lap in GTE Pro. Unfortunately, the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R wasn’t one of them. The entry of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims was three laps down and in sixth place at the 12-hour mark. Milner was the early GTE Pro leader despite being hit from behind as the cars rolled off the starting grid for the formation lap. Nevertheless, Milner charged to the head of the category as moderate to heavy rain fell across the circuit. The No. 64 Corvette fell back in the order due to a pitlane refueling penalty and lost additional time when it was separated from the GTE lead pack by one of the three safety cars in the opening three hours. The biggest blow, however, came in the fifth hour when the Corvette crew had to change the damaged diffuser, which had created a severe vibration for Sims during his second stint. That trip to the garage cost the No. 64 team two-plus laps to the leaders. Corvette Racing’s next update will come at the 18-hour mark. |