Corvette finishes last in class at Watkins Glen 6-hour enduro
The single car entry at the Glen was slow right off the hauler, 1.5 seconds off pace. (Vs 1-2 a few weeks earlier at Le Mans).
Keep in mind the Corvette for IMSA GTD Pro and the Corvette for WEC GTE Pro in Europe are two different set-ups. The Pratt & Miller boys had no hard data to attack the ultra-fast 3.4-mile circuit at Watkins Glen, situated high on a ridge overlooking Lake Seneca in the finger lakes region of New York.
That said, it’s still kind of a puzzle why they could not make the car better in practice and qualifying sessions leading up to the race.
Starting from behind, Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia in the Corvette Racing # 3 C8.R GTD gained a few spots, helped by several caution flags, sterling pit stops and fuel saving strategy.
Halfway through the race, things turned worse. Taylor incurred a drive-thru penalty for exceeding track limits (boundaries) in a valiant effort to keep up with the competition.
With 90 minutes left to go, lightning storms stopped the action for almost an hour. The leaders needed a splash of fuel in the closing stage creating hope that Antonio Garcia could reach the podium.
Hope was dashed when Garcia was forced to pit to replace a right rear tire, punctured by a smack from John Edwards who was legitimately overtaking in the RLL # 25 BMW M4 GT3.
To add insult to injury, the # 3 Corvette was among 10 cars penalized for violating a rule for minimum driver time (adjusted to account for the red flag period). It also cost BMW, awarding the win to Ross Gunn & Alex Riberas in the Heart of Racing # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
When GM designed its all new C8 Corvette, they benchmarked performance with mid-engine supercars like Ferrari, Porsche, Audi & McLaren.
The same concept applies to racing under IMSA’s Balance of Performance rules. Word is that IMSA has assigned more weight to BMW and Aston Martin.
There are opportunities to improve in the coming weeks at Mosport, Lime Rock Park, Road America & Virginia International Raceway.
Photos by Richard Prince.
