Rochester Corvette Club

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CORVETTE RACING AT DETROIT: Antonio Garcia Q&A

Defending GTD PRO champion on flying the flag for Chevrolet on streets of Detroit

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Antonio Garcia met with members of the media via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon to discuss next week’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the downtown Detroit street circuit. The Corvette Racing factory driver finished second in GTD PRO last year at Detroit alongside Alexander Sims on the way to sharing the GTD PRO Drivers Championship – Garcia’s sixth title in IMSA. He also was the 2024 GTD PRO pole-winner at Detroit.


ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

You’ve been part of Chevrolet and Corvette Racing for many years. Is there extra pressure and what do you and Alex expect once you get there next week?

“We’re looking forward to getting back there, for sure. And it’s time to win. Obviously in the last two years we raced there we only came away with a pole and a second last year, which coming from the back was a really good result for us. And I’m looking forward to getting back to Detroit underneath our headquarters and giving GM and Chevrolet the win for sure.”

With Detroit being one of the most manufacturer-driven events of the season, does racing in Detroit add extra pressure or motivation compared to any of the other weekends of the season?

“It’s not that it brings a little bit more pressure, but you have all the big guys for all the companies there and our brand for sure. So everybody’s looking forward to that race. It’s just underneath the GM offices and everybody is keen to see their car winning there. So far, Corvette hasn’t managed to win here yet on this new racetrack or street circuit. We came close last year. We were really strong both of the years. So I see no reason to be somewhere else. I’m sure we will be fighting for a win, either the 3 or 4. That’s the target for sure.”

In addition to the obvious stuff of racing in front of the bosses, are there more distractions on the weekend than at many other races where there may be public appearances and things like that?

“I don’t think it brings more attention in a way of more people coming. For sure you can see some other people that usually don’t come to the races, but they are able to come to these ones. For instance, all the Pratt Miller personnel usually come here and they set up a big tent to invite most of their workers. It’s nice to see them, it’s nice to get them to see what they built. And for sure, it doesn’t bring any more pressure. For me it’s just that Detroit is somewhere that I never won at, and I want to take that away.

“I’m really looking forward to that. And I love street circuits. I feel it’s very unique and just the way the track is settled and how bumpy it is. But I usually like them. I think Alex loves street circuits too. So it’s just a whole nice combination and I think it works. So I’m looking forward to racing again there and let’s see if this year is the year.”

We’ve talked about how important it is to win in Detroit for the American manufacturers. Let me be a little more specific about that and turn the question around a little bit. How important is it for you guys at GM to beat Ford in Detroit?

“If you come up with a win, that means you won against everyone. So for sure it is important to beat everybody out there. I mean, it’s obviously something that is more on everybody’s mind. Obviously every manufacturer wants theirs to be up front. It probably feels more like a good football match where you have the biggest teams out there competing against each other. Let’s put it that way. It feels more like a big match or Super Bowl… big teams fighting against each other, so it is important for sure.”

Ryan Smith

Happy mother's day!

Thank you to the Charcoal Corral & Silver Lake Twin Drive-in for a great venue and meal for our break-out cruise today. The venue and food were excellent for us to be able to kick off the Corvette season.

The Rochester Corvette Club could not be stopped by a little rain! Thank you to the club for bringing together 20+ cars and joining us for a fun pre-cruise season gathering.

This is a dedicated group that we look forward to seeing throughout the summer!

(this photo courtesy of David Vasile)

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Wickens to Continue in DXDT Corvette for Sprint Rounds – Sportscar365 Robert Wickens confirmed again for five GTD sprint races in DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R...

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Corvette Racing at Le Mans: Four of a Kind

For the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, four entries from the Corvette Racing program will be on the grid for the June endurance classic.


TF Sport, Corvette Racing’s full-season representative in the FIA WEC, will be present for the third year in a row with its Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs – the No. 33 of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating plus the No. 34 of Charlie Eastwood Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey – that also will contest the full-season championship.

The team will also take up its automatic invitation from winning last year’s European Le Mans Series with another Corvette, which will sport the No. 66 for Le Mans. Running under the TF Sport banner, the effort also includes personnel from Johor Motorsports Racing with Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Afiq Ikhwan and Ben Green teaming together.

From North America, 13 Autosport will take to the Le Mans grid with its No. 13 Corvette. Under the AWA banner in 2025, 13 Autosport owner/driver Orey Fidani won his second straight Bob Akin Award in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship to earn 13 Autosport a return trip to Le Mans this year. Fidani will team with IMSA teammates Matt Bell and Lars Kern.

This isn’t the first time that four Corvettes have taken on Le Mans in the same year. The brand’s first appearance at the French classic came in 1960 with a quartet of Corvettes – one of which won the GT class in the hands of John Fitch and Bob Grossman. Four Corvettes also appeared at the 2016 race including two factory cars from Corvette Racing in the GTE Pro class.

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R starts with the same production chassis frame as the road-going Z06. Similar carbon-fiber splitters for front downforce, and the surface area from the top of the windshield to the rear of the Z06 remained intact on the Z06 GT3.R. That includes side air ducts behind the doors — directly inspired by Z06 production road car — that help to cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes.

The similarities carry over to the hand-built 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine in the Z06 GT3.R. Both originate from the Bowling Green factory with the racing version sharing 80 percent of the production content from the Z06

The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for June 13-14 and will be the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ryan Smith

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CORVETTE RACING AT BATHURST: For the first time in almost 30 years of competition, Corvette Racing will finally get to run at the Bathurst 12-hour race in Australia as two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs from Johor Motorsports Racing (JMR) as well as an international cast of drivers are officially on the entry list.

https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2026/02/09/corvette-racing-at-bathurst-at-long-last/