The #3 Corvette Racing duo of Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia sit nine points ahead of the GT Le Mans class standings heading into this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale at Petit Le Mans knowing that a podium finish will give them a second consecutive title.
Twelve months ago, they just had to start the race to secure the title, but they have much harder work in front of them this season, with the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook breathing down their necks and ready to pounce on any error the Dane and Spaniard may make.
Magnussen says it is important Corvette head into the weekend knowing what to do, and it is imperative that they keep everything within their control.
“Last year was an easy Petit Le Mans for us; we basically took the green flag and won the championship,” said Magnussen on CorvetteRacing.com. “This year for sure will be different. It’s a tough race because you race throughout the day and into the night.
“Road Atlanta is a very tough circuit; it’s bumpy, super fast and very old school. If you make a mistake, you’ll hit something! There’s a lot of traffic and some new drivers because so many teams use three drivers.
“The important thing is that we know what we need to. No one controls luck, but we do the best we can and run the plan that we set out to do, we will be in good shape.”
Co-driver Garcia says there is extra pressure heading to Petit Le Mans knowing they are going for the title, and he will be aiming not only to claim that second consecutive crown but also his first victory at Road Atlanta, a track that Corvette have traditionally been strong at.
“There’s always pressure when you go to Road Atlanta, especially when you are fighting for a championship,” said Garcia. “We were in a perfect scenario last season where we only needed to start to clinch. It won’t be like that this year.
“I really like this track and the event itself. It’s very challenging. Hopefully we have a good chance to win the championship by scoring a good result. Road Atlanta has always been a good track for Corvette Racing, but it’s one race that I still haven’t won!
“So I definitely want to fix that. Hopefully we can fix that this year and win the championship, as well.”
The pair will be joined in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R by Swiss racer Marcel Fassler, who will do double duty as he is also the third driver in the sister #4 of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner.
