Magnussen, Garcia Take Corvette to GTLM Victory at Long Beach

Photo: IMSA

With an early lead and a caution-free race, the Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase lived up to its name in the GTLM class, which saw Corvette Racing put on a showcase of a performance.

Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia gave the new Corvette C7.R its first class victory in only the third TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race.

The pole-sitting No. 3 Corvette of Garcia bridged out a 10-second lead early in the 100-minute race, aided by Prototype class traffic that held up the battle for the class lead.

Magnussen held control of the race following the single round of pit stops, cruising to a 5.408-second victory over the No. 56 BMW Team RLL entry of Dirk Mueller and John Edwards in second.

Tommy Milner nearly made it a Corvette 1-2 in the end, after pressuring Mueller in the closing laps but having to settle for third in his No. 4 Corvette with co-driver Oliver Gavin.

Porsche North America, which swept the opening two rounds, finished fourth and fifth in class on Saturday, with the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy and Richard Lietz ahead of the Patrick Long and Michael Christensen-driven entry.

Long held off a hard-charging Bill Auberlen in the end, after the defending race winner was delayed in the pits due to a  broken right side mirror, which required a complete door change. 

Auberlen dropped from second to seventh during the long stop but managed to bring the No. 55 BMW home in sixth, ahead of the No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R of Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goossens.

While the No. 62 Risi Competizione recorded its first finish of the season, despite a spin by Dane Cameron and a late-race unscheduled stop, the No. 93 Viper retired late with drivetrain issues.

Remarkably, the 100-minute race ran caution-free.

RESULTS: Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John