Pair of Z06 GT3.Rs start up front in GTD PRO for Chevrolet Grand Prix
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 13, 2024) – Alexander Sims claimed his first pole position of the season and the third for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season in qualifying for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Sims shattered the GTD PRO track record Saturday in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Z06 GT3.R – a 1:14.373 (119.027 mph) lap that was nearly seven-tenths of a second under the previous mark. He and teammate Antonio Garcia are coming off a third-place finish in the team’s last race at Watkins Glen.
Tommy Milner was third in GTD PRO and fourth among all 22 production-based GT cars in Saturday’s 15-minute session. His best lap in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R was a 1:15.105 (117.866 mph) as he and teammate Nicky Catsburg look for their second podium finish of the year.
The team’s goal Sunday, though, is the first GTD PRO victory for the first-year Z06 GT3.R. The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller squad has shown strong form throughout the season, and CTMP would be a fitting place to break through. The program has recorded 12 class victories at the track formerly known as Mosport, including last year for Garcia in a Corvette C8.R.
In GTD, AWA’s Orey Fidani qualified 11th in class in the home race for the local team and its No. 13 Corvette. He and Matt Bell are on a nice streak of their own with three top-10 finishes in the last four races going back to Sebring in March.
A podium finish and a larger lead for Fidani in the Bob Akin Award standings are the primary goals. Fidani leads that championship, which goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of each race. The season winner earns an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14. The race will air live on the USA Network plus stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will stream the call of the race at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO POLE-WINNER: “Moments like that with the car around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – which is an incredible circuit that I absolutely love – with low fuel and new tires and a beautiful Corvette working well… I got a couple of really nice laps there from a driving point of view. I had clear laps with not much traffic. It was a real blast and really, really good fun.”
“It’s great to do this on a weekend that Chevrolet is backing. The whole Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing team gave me such a good car. We had a few ups and downs through practice and weren’t quite sure in which direction to go with. We picked the direction on the 3 Corvette, and it looks like it worked pretty well.”
“It’s just a lovely mix of high-speed corners here. You need to be brave. As with many tracks in America compared to the more conventional F1 circuits in Europe where you don’t get rewarded as much for being brave, here you really, really do. I took some risks out there. The car just came alive in qualifying trim. The Corvette’s been working through practice as well. To run on new tires and low fuel and get some clear laps without traffic, which is something I didn’t have during practice to get a real good feeling of. It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be able to experience those moments.”
“It’s lovely to have the fan support that we do. It’s really incredible the support that Chevrolet and Corvette have here along with so many circuits to be honest as well. When I wasn’t racing for Corvette, it was always Corvette that had the longest lines of fans out for the autograph sessions and stuff. Now to be representing them is lovely and to drive here has been wonderful.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTD PRO: “Our starting spot is good. We took a calculated risk for qualifying in trying something with the setup of the car based on Practice One and Practice Two to get both Nicky and I a bit more comfortable in some ways. I think we went a little bit too far with that. The gap to Simsy is bigger than I’d like, obviously. I think some of the performance loss is down to us trying something different. We didn’t use qualifying as another practice session but we certainly took a bigger step than we normally would. Third in class and fourth of the GT cars is pretty good. This will be a strategy race, for sure. It’s hard to pass here so doing smart things with the strategy is going to be big. The key will be to keep the car in one piece. Being such a high downforce track, aero is very important here. Keeping all the bits on the front is important, so that will be my job – not to hurt the car, keep in a good position and see what our guys on the pit wall can work their magic with.”
AWA POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED 11TH IN GTD: “Qualifying 11th here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, my home track, is a great feeling. The car’s handling was superb, and the team did an excellent job preparing it. While I’m happy with today’s result, I’m eager to push for an even better finish in tomorrow’s race. The support from the home crowd means a lot to me and everyone on the team, and we are ready to give it our all.”
