CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Ready for a (GT) Challenge

Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Ready for a (GT) Challenge

Five Z06 GT3.R teams look to write next chapter of VIR successes for Corvette program

 
DETROIT (August 18, 2026) – Championship hopes and more for Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams take center stage this week with three rounds left in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The first of those three is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) – the season’s lone GT-only race.


The five Corvette GT teams each have their own goals heading to the 3.27-mile, 17-turn VIR road course. Some are in title contention and others are hoping to enter the final two races of the season with strong momentum:


· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims (No. 3 Corvette) – 2025 race-winners and sixth in GTD PRO championship defense

· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette) – second in GTD PRO Drivers Championship

· 13 Autosport – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani (Corvette) – Leading Bob Akin Award standings

· DXDT Racing – GTD: Robert Wickens, Mason Filippi (No. 36 Corvette) – Penultimate scheduled race for Robert Wickens

· DragonSpeed – GTD: Giacomo Altoé, Casper Stevenson (No. 81 Corvette) – Fourth in GTD at Road America

(Factory drivers in bold)


In addition, Chevrolet increased its lead in the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship at the end of six hours at Road America earlier this month. Three more solid results would give Team Chevy a second straight title.


It should come as no surprise that a GT-only event is steeped in Corvette Racing success. Since the program’s first VIR race in 2012, Corvette teams have won nine races at the track – seven in IMSA competition – including a first- and third-place finish last year in GTD PRO for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.


The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 23. It will air live on NBC starting at noon ET as does streaming coverage on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA’s YouTube channel internationally. IMSA Radio will air on-track sessions at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.


CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Now we need to win races and qualify up front if we want to have a chance to race for the championship at the end of the season. VIR is a good place for us to start. This is a track where the team has been strong and it’s one I like since I first came to race in the U.S. VIR is a lot like Mosport in that it’s really fast and very hard to pass, so track position is going to be really important. Hopefully we can start out front and stay there.”


ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Having had some strong races at VIR in the past, it’s always a circuit that I look forward to going back to. It's a brilliant lap all the way around. It's a track where our Corvettes are usually strong. I feel like a good result is fairly important this year if we are to challenge for the championship at all in the 3 car side of things. Nevertheless, we’ll work through our normal program and optimize everything possible and see how the weekend unfolds."


TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "“I don’t remember a championship being as close as this. I’m sure it has happened before in the past, but it seems like for whatever reason every year in GTD PRO there’s one car that just kind of has a year where nothing kind of goes wrong. Now it seems like that’s not going to be the case this year for us. We’ve had a couple of bad ones. Obviously the BMW didn’t have the best one there in the last round, either. It’s so easy to go up the order and down the order right with so many cars being competitive. If you have a bad day, there are six, seven, eight other cars that are all having decent days, and they’re going to beat you. It’s those days when things don’t go your way and when you’re trying to salvage whatever you can is important. No matter how you get there at the end, you want to have that chance to race for a championship in that last race.”


NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The championship is super-tight going into VIR. It’s back to whoever finishes in front this weekend is going to have the lead going into Indianapolis. It’s super-tight with the BMW and Porsche. Unfortunately the 3 car took a big hit at Road America, but we’re a two-car team so hopefully we can use that to our advantage, especially in the Manufacturers Championship. VIR is another classic, old-school American track that is great fun and really competitive. It’s always a close fight when you are trying to gain or defend your position because of the nature of the track. But that is what makes it enjoyable and one of the reasons I enjoy racing in IMSA. Hopefully this is a good step toward our championship.”


MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We are heading into the VIR weekend with the goal of extending our Akin points lead. It’s a little close for comfort at the moment! VIR is always a tough circuit, always hot with high tire degradation, but I enjoy the challenge the circuit brings every year."


OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m looking forward to VIR. Coming off a Bob Akin Award win at Road America gives the team some good momentum, and VIR is a place where we had success last year as well. We currently lead the Bob Akin championship, but only by a small margin, so the goal is to increase the advantage this weekend. At Road America, we felt like an overall top-five result was left on the table. The pace was there, so now it’s about putting everything together, fighting for another Bob Akin win and hopefully securing the overall result we know is within reach.”


ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “VIR is a drivers track with great flow and rhythm. It really challenges both the driver and the car with demanding curbs and a good mix of low- and-high speed corners. Then on top of all, add in the heat of Virginia in August and it becomes even more of a demanding race. Another interesting change is there are no prototypes here so we just have to focus forward and not look in our mirrors all the time. Hopefully this is the weekend where we can score the result the team deserves."


GIACOMO ALTOÉ, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "After a short break, we are fully ready for the VIR weekend. I have some great memories from last year with the pole position in qualifying and then very tight race battles with both Pratt Miller Corvettes in the race. As a team, we are getting stronger and stronger every weekend so I feel we can keep showing our great performance and hopefully bring home something big at the end of the weekend.”


2026 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points

GTD PRO Drivers Standings

1. Connor De Phillippi/Neil Verhagen – 2142

2. Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 2127

3. Harry King/Nick Tandy – 2111

4. Christopher Mies/Frederic Vervisch - 2043

5. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2029

6. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 2005

 
GTD PRO Teams Standings

1. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 2142

2. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2127

3. No. 77 AO Racing – 2111

4. No. 65 Ford Racing – 2043

5. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 2029

6. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2005

 
GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings

1. Chevrolet – 2356

2. BMW – 2251

3. Porsche – 2247

4. Ford – 2205

5. Lexus – 2130
 

GTD Drivers Standings

1. Dudu Barrichello – 2017

2. Philip Ellis/Russel Ward – 1993

3. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 1991

4. Aaron Telitz/Benjamin Pedersen – 1972

5. Albert Costa – 1687

8. Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 1617

10. Giacomo Altoé – 1493

17. Mason Filippi – 1298


GTD Teams Standings

1. No. 27 Heart of Racing – 2017

2. No. 57 Winward Racing – 1993

3. No. 96 Turner Motorsports – 1991

4. No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 1972

5. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 1687

8. No. 13 13 Autosport – 1617

10. No. 81 DragonSpeed – 1493

13. No. 36 DXDT Racing – 1298
 

GTD Manufacturers Standings

1. Ferrari – 2282

2. Aston Martin – 2257

3. Mercedes-AMG – 2254

4. Lexus – 2104

5. BMW – 2044

7. Chevrolet – 1981

 
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: By the Numbers

• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at VIR since 2012 – Corvette C6.R (2012-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the eighth-generation, mid-engine Corvette. The Corvette C8.R raced at VIR for the final time in IMSA competition in 2023, and the Z06 GT3.R debuted at the circuit in 2024

• 5: VIR IMSA class wins for defending race-winner Antonio Garcia, the most among drivers entered in this year’s race. Tommy Milner is tied for second with three… two of them with Corvette Racing

• 7: IMSA class wins at VIR for Corvette Racing after last year’s win for Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims. Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin won in ALMS GT competition in 2012, and Garcia and Jan Magnussen won overall in 2016 and 2017. Garcia and Jordan Taylor drove the C8.R to a win in 2020 and 2023 with Milner and Nick Tandy victorious in 2021

• 9: Overall VIR race wins for Corvette Racing regardless of series – 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The first five came in IMSA competition with DXDT Racing winning once overall in the 2024 GT World Challenge America’s event as it swept the Pro class

• 14: Number of VIR victories in IMSA for Chevrolet since 2002, including the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series; that’s the most among manufacturers

• 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001

• 35: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sāo Paulo (Brazil), Sebring, Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Sonoma, Spa-Francorchamps, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen

• 44: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list were TF Sport’s Peter Dempsey and Salih Yoluc at Sāo Paulo in WEC

• 73: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year

• 86: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Steller Motorsports’ Lenny Ried joined the list at the 24 Hours of Spa

• 159: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 119 in IMSA, 10 at Le Mans, six in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia, GT America and the European Le Mans Series, and one in IGTC/GT World Challenge Europe

• 385: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999

• 9.522.24: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries in its 18 previous events at Virginia International Raceway

• 510,225.84: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. The program went over the half-million mark at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa

 
Corvette Racing at VIR 

2012 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT (Garcia fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Clinched ALMS GT title)

 
2013 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GT (Clinch GT team, manufacturer titles)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GT

 
2014 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 7th in GTLM (Taylor replaced Magnussen – injury)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM

 
2015 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM

 
2016 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM (Magnussen pole)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap)

 
2017 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM

 
2018 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM

 
2019 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

 
2020 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

 
2021 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTLM (Milner pole)

 
2022 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO (Taylor fastest race lap)

 
2023 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTD PRO

 
2024 – GT World Challenge America

No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st,1st in Pro

No. 08 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Bryan Sellers/Scott Smithson – 6th, 3rd in Pro-Am

 
2024 – IMSA

No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims – 9th in GTD PRO

No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 8th in GTD PRO

No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 6th in GTD

 
2025 – GT World Challenge America

No. 11 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Blake McDonald – 3rd, 2nd in Pro-Am

No. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest/Aaron Povoledo – 8th, 4th in Pro-Am
 

2025 – IMSA

No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims – 1st in GTD PRO

No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 3rd in GTD PRO

No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 8th in GTD

No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Robert Wickens/Alec Udell – 10th in GTD


Ryan Smith