New Target for Garcia, Corvette Racing at Indy
Michael L. Levitt/LAT Images
By Dennis Krause
The old saying, ‘close but no cigar’ could very well have applied to the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Antonia Garcia and Alexander Sims in the Grand Touring Daytona [GTD] PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season.
The pair had been close to winning races and led the championship, but hadn’t been to victory lane until the recent Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, where they took the class and overall win. With two endurance races remaining, including this weekend’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Garcia says the target now changes.
“It felt really nice to really break through with how the last year or year-and-a-half has been going. I mean, we were very close to victory many times, but at some points we were kind of lacking that last part of the race we needed to. So to win that race I was so happy that we managed to do that and came up with a win at the last race.
“From now on,” Garcia added, “definitely the championship is the new target. And also winning at Indianapolis which is one of the few races that I haven’t won either. So I’m looking forward to [this] weekend and let's see how we compare to every other manufacturer and how competitive we are.”
Richard Dole/LAT Images
Knowing what’s at stake regarding the championship, do Garcia and Sims go for the win as at VIR, or do they just make sure they’re ahead of their championship challengers in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 and the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) at the end of the six-hour race?
“I mean, it's difficult,” admitted Garcia. “Obviously, the last few races we've been always trying to cover different strategies coming from especially the 77 or the 81. So you cannot really afford to lose a race because you did what seemed to be the right strategy, and then the other two guys you're fighting against in the championship end up winning. That's the difficult part of the championship now. So Indy probably won't be as critical. I don't think people will roll the dice as much as they would at Petit Le Mans, but that's the classic end of the season here. So when people are probably not feeling very competitive or not in contention and at some point they roll the dice and they kind of put everybody under pressure. I think we really need to be very prepared to counter that. Or, if it's something we can do like we did at VIR and be the first one to really make the move. It paid out there and I'm sure we can always do that and still go for the win.”
Michael L. Levitt/LAT Images
While Sunday’s race won’t have quite the same prestige and history as the Indianapolis 500, the 45-year-old Madrid native, who now calls Barcelona home, says a win at Indy would be special.
“Even as a European driver, I always looked at the Indy 500. Ever since my first time I raced there in GRAND-AM, I really loved it and loved to be there, even if we were going the other way around! But I really, really liked it. So it's a shame I’ve never been able to win there, but I had a lot of fun.
“Even last year was a fun race between all of us with all the changing weather conditions we had. It's a six-hour race, so there's also a ton of strategy playing out. In order to be in a really good place at the end of the race instead of a regular two-and-a-half hour race, you need to work it out a little bit differently. Last year at some point we looked really well and then strategy didn't go our way where we had to do an extra stop compared to the rest. At the end of the day we came up third so let's see how this race unfolds.
“Obviously we have to be smart and not just go for the win and maybe make mistakes on strategy or on track. Again, it's a very long race but it's going to be difficult. Traffic is very tricky there and you just need to play it smart and be up there in the last hour or half-an-hour. It would mean a lot for us if we come up with a win as it would mean that we are even in a better position for the championship.”
While that may be big picture thinking, standing on the top step of the podium at Indianapolis on Sunday would also have personal meaning for Garcia, a three-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I’ve seen so many drivers going up that podium. I've been lucky enough to be on the best podiums in the world, and Indy is one of the ones that I haven’t been on the first step to, so looking forward for that.”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.