Catsburg leads Corvette 1-2 to take first IMSA pole, first in series for Corvette Z06 GT3.R
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 11, 2024) – Nicky Catsburg led a 1-2 showing for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R on Saturday as Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports locked out the GTD PRO front row ahead of the Motul Corse de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Catsburg set a track record of 1:19.727 (101.054 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette that he will share with Tommy Milner in Sunday’s round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He was 0.311 seconds clear of teammate Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R.
It’s the first pole position for Catsburg in IMSA competition and the first for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the championship. Sunday’s race, which will air live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, is the first for GTD PRO since March’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and is the third of the season for the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller squad.
In GTD, the No. 13 AWA Corvette of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell will look to continue their run of strong performances from the seventh row of the class grid after Fidani’s lap of 1:23.294 (96.727 mph). The pairing is coming off a sixth-place finish in the last GTD race at Long Beach and has spent the weekend near the top of the time charts during the two practice sessions
It’s the first race for Bell and the team at WeatherTech Raceway, while Fidani’s lone Laguna start came in the 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge.
The three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs spent two days testing at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit in April to get a head start on car setup and understanding tire degradation levels with the increased grip level in the new blacktop.
The Motul Corse de Monterey is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET / 12:10 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 12. The race will air live on NBC with full streaming coverage also on Peacock. IMSA Radio will air Saturday’s final practice and qualifying plus Sunday’s race at IMSA.com along XM 206, 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: “The Corvette immediately felt amazing. We made some last-minute changes to the setup in order to put our emphasis on qualifying. We know that track position is going to be important here. This is a low-degradation track now, and we put a lot of effort into it and it worked. The car felt amazing. It was pretty much just doing some laps and letting the time come to me. It worked out, so I’m super-pleased.
“I think we have a strong car for the race. Everyone will struggle less with tire degradation here as in years before. We need to see, but at least we are on the front row and I have my teammate beside me. This is the best we could do.
“If I have to have anyone beside me, it’s Antonio. I’m not too worried about that. He’s a great teammate, a heck of a driver, so that’s going to be good. We knew track position was going to be important here so we put a lot of emphasis on the qualifying performance. Obviously doing the test here helped us a lot. I’m very, very, very pleased to be on pole.”
More on qualifying: “This does mean a lot to me. It was my first qualifying in IMSA, and I must say I was a little bit nervous before the session. It was very nice to come back with a good result. The guys had a very difficult day because they had to change the engine after practice for qualifying so they did an amazing job. We made some small changes to the setup as well to get it dialed in for qualifying. We knew that track position is going to be very important here because there isn’t so much drop-off. The track is much faster and the tires will last a lot longer. I think we managed things quite well to go 1-2. I feel that as long as we can stay ahead of everyone, it will be difficult for them to pass. So that’s the goal.”
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A 1-2 result for Corvette. You can’t ask for more. It should be what we need to aim for tomorrow. The car felt really good. I didn’t expect that laptime to be that fast. Our car actually kept improving and I didn’t really nail the lap when I had to. But overall we know where we are at, and this car can do it as Nicky has shown. We just need to focus on tomorrow and keep it a Corvette 1-2 or a 2-1.”
AWA POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Today’s qualifying session wasn’t quite what we aimed for, but I’m confident that Matt Bell and I will make up ground in tomorrow’s race. We’re prepared to tackle the challenges head-on thanks to our solid strategy.”
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