Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA
Corvette Racing will continue in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a single full-season Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD for Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia, with Tommy Milner joining in for the long-distance races at Daytona, Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.
Announced on Tuesday alongside its new-look FIA World Endurance Championship effort, the Pratt & Miller-run squad is set to enter its 25th season of top-level endurance racing and second consecutive juggling full-season efforts in both championships.
Unlike last year that featured two cars at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, a Corvette spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365 that only its full-season entry will be present in the Michelin Endurance Cup races as it works on “allocating our resources in the most efficient way” between the WEC program and also developing the new-for-2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Taylor and Garcia, who won the 2020 and 2021 IMSA GTLM titles, will be back in the No. 3 Corvette for the full season in 2023, in what will mark the final year for its GTE-adapted machine prior to the launch of the all-new Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
“It’s great to be back with Corvette Racing for its 25th year,” said Taylor. “I remember as a kid watching my dad race, and Corvette already had a strong reputation for being competitive and winning big races.
“So it means a lot to be able to continue on with Antonio, Tommy and the rest of the team in 2023.”
The duo finished third in this year’s GTD Pro standings, highlighted by a class win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with Nicky Catsburg, who is off to the WEC full-time as part along with Ben Keating.
“I have to say that this season was very difficult and challenging, maybe more than previous years,” said Garcia. “Still I think we learned a lot as drivers and as a team about a new category that we can use to make us better in 2023.
“Hopefully Jordan and I can get back to winning races and being in the championship fight.
“It also will be an important year as we get closer to finishing testing and development of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which will be a big deal.
“I’m happy that Tommy will be part of that and with us for the big races in America. We were teammates in his first year at Corvette and we’ve raced against each other in previous versions of the Corvette since then. I’m glad to be able to race with him again.”
Milner will replace Catsburg as the team’s third driver, while also set to serve a “key role” in the primary testing and development of the GT3 car.
“I’ve not driven a lot in my career with Jordan or Antonio. But when I have, we’ve had success,” said Milner. “I’m always excited to drive with those two guys.
“They’re obviously great drivers and great teammates, and they have been for a long time. I’ve raced against them quite a bit in my time so it’ll be fun to be teammates with them for a change.
“The process of developing the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be an interesting one. I did quite a bit of this with the C7.R and C8.R. It’s different from racing of course, but it can be a rewarding process in its own right.
“This year was fun because it was something totally different. Next year will be something different again, and that’s a good thing to do different things every now and then. It’s an honor to be a part of this racing team and program.”
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