Corvette Sneaks Through for GTLM Win at Road America
Corvette Racing scored its 101st victory in a last-lap pass for the GT Le Mans class win in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America.
The No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner, who restarted in fifth on the third and final restart with five minutes remaining, got around Richard Westbrook’s class-leading No. 67 Ford GT on the back straight for the dramatic win.
It came following a frantic final few laps, which saw both the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE of Toni Vilander and the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy suffer spins.
Tandy’s attempt to go from third to first failed when the Englishman was turned around in Turn 5 with four minutes to go. It relegated the Porsche to a 7th place class finish.
Vilander, who pressured Westbrook for the lead, was then tagged by the No. 55 Mazda Prototype of Tristan Nunez in Turn 1 on the following lap, spinning the Prancing Horse, and ultimately giving way to the No. 4 Corvette.
Milner edged out Westbrook by 0.730 seconds for he and co-driver Oliver Gavin’s second consecutive class victory, following their historic 100th triumph for the team last time out at Lime Rock Park.
The No. 100 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GT3 of John Edwards and Lucas Luhr took a surprise podium finish in third, benefitting by the late-race drama, with the No. 912 Porsche in fourth after fading on the final restart.
With their fourth class win of the season, Milner and Gavin extend their lead in the title race to 13 points over Westbrook and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing co-driver Ryan Briscoe heading into the GT-only race at Virginia International Raceway later this month.
Riley Motorsports returned to victory lane in GT Daytona, with a dominant run by the No. 33 Dodge Viper GT3-R of Jeroen Bleekemolen.
The Dutchman edged out the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Joerg Bergmeister by 1.762 seconds for he and co-driver Ben Keating’s second class victory of the season.
Bergmeister made a late charge to second in the final restart, a position held by the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS of Robin Liddell, who dropped to fifth in class at the checkered flag.
The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of Alessandro Balazan and Christina Nielsen completed the class podium in third, extending their championship lead.
Original article by John Dagys: http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/corvette-sneaks-through-for-gtlm-win-at-road-america/
