CHIPPING AWAY

The Corvette C8.R fought a fierce battle at IMSA's Northeast Grand Prix.

- RICHARD PRINCE

Fresh off a convincing victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park two weeks prior, Corvette Racing traveled to beautiful Lime Rock Park for the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix presented by Liqui Moly on July 22. Lime Rock is the shortest track on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, and that, along with its narrow width in places, makes it one of the most challenging. "This is a very intense and physical race, usually," said driver Antonio Garcia. "It's so hard to pass, and if we are stuck behind GTDs, especially early, then it can be a long and frustrating day. This race is all about track position, so we need to arrive at the track with everything right on our Corvette so we can start fine-tuning immediately. That will be the easiest and best way to start toward the front and hopefully stay there."

Corvette Racing has a long and successful history at Lime Rock, with a total of six victories on the 1.474-mile, seven-turn course. The first came in 2004 when Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin started from pole, set the fastest race lap time, and beat their teammates Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell to the checkered flag. Corvette's most recent win at Lime Rock was recorded in 2021, by none other than this year's full-season drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor.