ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 4, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia finished fifth in GTD PRO on Sunday at the end of a chaotic IMSA SportsCar Weekend event at Road America.
The two-hour, 40-minute contest looked more like a short-track race with six full-course caution periods. Two yellows inside the final hour worked against all three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, all of which looked to be in good shape on fuel strategy going into the final 70 minutes.
The first unlucky break against the Corvettes came on the opening lap as Sims went spinning from second place after contact from another GTD PRO car, a dive-bomb move that sent the No. 3 off-track and into the gravel. Recovery crews quickly pulled Sims back onto the track with minor damage to the suspension of the car.
That left class pole-sitter and leader Nicky Catsburg as the lone Corvette at the front of the field, and the No. 4 he shared with Tommy Milner led the first 10 laps before stopping for tires and fuel during the first caution period of the race. A handful of GTD PRO cars stayed out to jumble the running order, which put a greater premium on track position.
Both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes attempted to manage their fuel usage across the final 75 minutes to regain the top positions, but two full-course yellows in quick succession alleviated all fuel concerns for the full GTD PRO field.
The next race in IMSA for the Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs is the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway on August 23-25.
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R –
“Rocky (Mike Rockenfeller) came and apologized. I know that there was nothing malicious in it. It was just a mistake, and we all make mistakes. That’s the way it goes.
I have to give great credit to the Corvette, which held up pretty well for a decent hit. We had a little movement in the rear toe, and we could finish the race with it.
Well done to the recovery crew to get me out of the gravel so quickly. That kept us on the lead lap and in the race.
We came away with fifth which isn’t what you want after starting on the front row, but under the circumstances it could have been race over at that point. It was a good recovery. That’s racing, and we’ll go on to the next one.”
