So Close

Following a nearly flawless performance, a pít lane penalty kept the C8.R off the top of the podium in the IMSA Sportscar Weekend.

- RICHARD PRINCE

The Corvette Racing team has a long and storied history at Road America, the beautiful Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, circuit, including eight class wins in the modern factory program era. However, a complete repaving of the track's surface following the 2022 season meant much of the data accumulated there would be of limited use going forward.

In past years, Road America's pavement was especially rough, which offered high grip in areas but led to very high tire wear resulting in traction loss over the duration of a typical racing stint. As expected, the new pavement is smoother, leading to more consistent tire wear, but also yielding lower grip in places.

With a fourth-place finish at Lime Rock Park on July 22, team drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor moved up to second place in the 2023 IMSA GTD Pro class. To close the gap, Corvette Racing had to at least finish ahead of the No. 14 Lexus, and of course the best way to do that is to win, which was the team's goal at the Aug. 6 Road America race.

Following extensive computer simulations run prior to arriving at the track, the C8.R performed well in practice, allowing the team to focus on fine-tuning its setup. The two 1.5-hour practice sessions also allowed Garcia and Taylor to get accustomed to the new track surface, which offered good grip on the racing line but surprisingly poor grip off-line.