Milner, Tandy eager to keep Sebring momentum in second WEC round of 2022
DETROIT (May 3, 2022) – Corvette Racing begins the European leg of its 2022 global tour this weekend with the Six Hours of Spa and the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It’s the second straight year that the program will compete at the fast and historic circuit in the Ardennes region of Belgium and a final tune-up ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy will again pilot the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R at Spa in the GTE Pro category. The pairing are coming off a satisfying runner-up finish at a storm-shortened 1,000 Miles of Sebring in March – the first race for Corvette as a full-season WEC team.
While not as familiar to Corvette Racing as Sebring, the team does have some Spa experience to lean on. Antonio Garcia and Oliver Gavin teamed in the Six Hours a year ago to give the team and the WEC technical group a better understanding of the mid-engine Corvette’s capabilities ahead of its 2021 Le Mans debut. Armed with that data and the mileage gained from Sebring, Corvette Racing is hoping for a solid performance that will go a long way toward its preparation for a potential ninth class win at Le Mans.
Tandy is extremely familiar with Spa. He has logged two previous starts in the WEC at the 4.35-mile, 20-turn circuit that has played host to every major automobile series since it began hosting Grand Prix races in 1925. Tandy also is a past winner of the Spa 24 Hours.
That insight will be valuable to the rest of the team and seatmate Milner, who will race at Spa for the first time. Despite never having set foot on the grounds, Milner has logged hours upon hours of laps around the circuit on his personal simulator as well as Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop sim.
The Six Hours of Spa for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET/1 p.m. CET on Saturday, May 7 from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Qualifying is set for 2:20 p.m. ET/6:20 p.m. CET on Friday, May 6. The race will air live on MotorTrend with live streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend app. Radio Le Mans will broadcast the race, qualifying and all practice sessions.
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s my first time at Spa. This race will be the first time it really feels like a new championship for me and the team. I’ve driven Spa for thousands of laps on a simulator and I’ve been doing more on our Driver in the Loop with the team and engineers. I’ll be ready to go but driving a new track is always something new and unique. As we saw at Sebring, the competition is very, very tough. I’ll be a little bit on the back foot compared to some of these guys who have driven these tracks already in their careers. With the help of the simulator at Chevrolet and my sim at home, I’m excited about getting that experience of learning the track. It’s a great challenge to drive a track like Spa and I’m ready for it.”
Spa Special: “For Spa, Eau Rouge and Raidillon are the obvious highlight sections of Spa – much like at Laguna Seca, the Corkscrew is the highlight of that track. But the whole track itself is what’s exciting at Spa. There is a lot more than just that sequence of corners to start the lap. I’m certainly excited for that. For me most of all, I’m excited to take on the challenge of learning a new racetrack.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Spa is one of the legendary circuits of the world. Driving this car around there is something I’m really looking forward to. It’s super fast. We have the experience from last year’s race and some data we can take forward into this year. If the car behavior is anything like it was at Sebring, it will be a dream to drive around Spa. We hope we can make it a tiny bit faster.”
Spa Special: “My favorite part of Spa I’d say is the Fagnes Chicane (turns 12 and 13). It’s a sequence where if you hook it up well and use the curbs perfectly you get rewarded with lap time. Maybe more important for lap time is Les Combes – a section with heavy braking and a three-corner combination. If you get one part wrong, it can lead to a whole world of errors.”
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