Pair of Z06 GT3.Rs sweep GTD PRO front row in try for second straight race win
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 3, 2024) – Nicky Catsburg led a 1-2 effort in GTD PRO qualifying Saturday for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports at Road America with the team going for its second straight victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Catsburg qualified the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on pole position and bested teammate Alexander Sims as the pair of first-year cars swept the front row for the second race in a row. It’s the season’s second pole position for Catsburg, who will team with Tommy Milner in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute sprint race.
Five GTD PRO cars, including both Corvettes, went under the previous class track record as Catsburg posted a best lap of 2:02.198 (119.255 mph). He was 0.194 seconds quicker than the No. 3 Corvette and Sims, who claimed pole position and the race win with teammate Antonio Garcia the last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park three weeks ago.
It’s the fourth pole position of the IMSA season for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and its eighth globally in its debut season. Catsburg previously was on pole at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he and Milner finished third in class.
A victory Sunday would be Corvette Racing’s ninth class victory at Road America and would come in the program’s 300th all-time start – 255 of them coming in IMSA.
In GTD, the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell will start 15th in class after Saturday’s qualifying. Bell and Fidani – who leads the IMSA Aiken Award standings for Bronze-rated drivers in GTD – will look to rebound from a DNF in the last race at CTMP when Fidani was knocked off-track.
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 4. The race will air on CNBC from 6-9 p.m. ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio also will stream the call of the race at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO POLE-WINNER: “That was all I had! I have Sims as a teammate and the guy is crazy quick! So I really have to push hard. I feel
like we really nailed the setup. Tyler (Neff) my engineer did a great job and made some suggestions right before qualifying. The car was mega. I only had to drive it around here, and it was a good lap. We got everything together and I’m super, super glad.
“Road America is super challenging. I haven’t raced here but I did test here. So I know the track. It’s awesome and very old-school… one of the best in America. I’m super-happy to learn from my teammates. They are bringing me up to speed, so I’m very happy to be on pole.
“I hope it’s our turn for a win! It was an awesome lap. The Corvette was really dialed in perfectly. Our team did a great job with the setup. This was a very nice lap and I’m very pleased. It’s super-cool that we have a 1-2 again. We had a 1-2 finish in Canada a couple of weeks ago, so it’s great to build on that and hopefully we can do it again here. It’s been a new car for us and we are continuing to learn. It’s getting better and better. We found something in Canada that is working well for us, so we’ve brought it here and it’s gone very well.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “I’m very happy. The session was good fun and the car was working really, really well. I made a mistake on my first proper push lap and went wide coming out of the Carousel. The tires were dirty starting the next lap so that compromised me a little bit. The lap after that was my best, but Nicky’s lap was absolutely brilliant. That’s a special lap from him. Well done to the whole team. It’s great to be alongside our teammates on the front row. It’s a perfect way to start the race, and I think we have sensible race pace as well.”
