Pratt & Miller # 3 Corvette wins embattled IMSA street race in Detroit

Alexander Sims qualified the Pratt & Miller # 3 Z06 GT3.R Corvette on pole, then handed off to Antonio Garcia who battled to win the 1 hour & 40 - minute race on the short 1.645-mile course centered around the iconic GM Ren Cen.

Sims was the quickest of the 10 GTD PRO cars before pitting for fuel and the driver swap just 32 minutes into the race.

While Sims had it easy, Garcia’s lead evaporated after exiting pit lane as it took him 15 minutes to get past the pesky Harry King in the # 77 AO Racing T Rexy Porsche 911 GT3.R.  Garcia also survived two restarts inside the final 20 minutes, one of which inflicted damage by Ben Barnicat in the # 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3.

Tommy Milner qualified the Pratt & Miller # 4 Z06 GT3.R Corvette in second place but went a bit too wide in turn 1.  That miscue let Jack Hawksworth in the Lexus and Frederic Vervisch in the Ford Racing # 65 Mustang GT3 slip by.

Nicky Catsburg took over and rocketed to 2nd place after the final restart.  Only to tangle up with Aaron Telitz in the sister # 15 Lexus in turn 3, fittingly against a background mural of Joe Louis, the fighter a/k/a “The Fist”.

So, after starting alongside the # 3 Corvette from the front row, the # 4 Corvette finished 7th after a costly drive thru penalty.

The Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic is a showcase for GM with president Mark Reuss, racing chief Jim Campbell, workers, families, friends and fans on hand.

And this year was surely great with Earl Bamber and Jack Aiken winning overall in GTP class in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series R.

Yet things could change.  IMSA race control issued four drive-through penalties for rough play in the final 12 minutes of the race, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the 21-car field.  And that’s not counting two other sanctions earlier in the running and several others skidding into the wall.

And while the # 4 Corvette saw its 51-point lead shrink to 18 points heading into big 6-hour race at Watkins Glen on June 25-28, both cars are in the game for the Corvette to repeat as champs.

Photo credits Kevin Bowman, GM Racing