Magnussen, Garcia Take Corvette to Victory at VIR

The No. 3 Corvette won pole and the race

Corvette Racing scored its third consecutive GT Le Mans class victory, but this time with a dominant run for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, who scored top honors in Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

Garcia took the No. 3 Corvette C7.R to a 0.802-second win over the No. 66 Ford GT of Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand, in the GT-only race that ended with a one-lap shootout following a late-race yellow.

Following a sweep of the front row in qualifying, the Pratt & Miller squad had the GT Le Mans field covered, virtually all race, despite strong challenges from Ford and the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE.

It was Magnussen and Garcia’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win of the season and the fifth of the year for Corvette, which extends its lead in the GTLM manufacturers’ championship.

Giancarlo Fisichella appeared to be en route to a third place result but was spun by the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber on the final lap. It was one of many cars to fall back with off-course excursions during the two-hour and 30-minute race.

Championship leaders Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner had a horrid race, with a late-race crash by Gavin, an off by Milner and subsequent drive-through penalty for a pit lane infraction during the unscheduled stop to clean the car’s radiator.

More to follow…..