Corvette Racing update.

ALTON, Va. – Heading to VIRginia International Raceway for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, it had been a relatively quiet season by the usual standards of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Yet Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia led the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) standings of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R on the strength of a trio of second-place finishes.

The one thing missing from their season to date was a race win – Corvette’s last win came in July 2024 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – and Garcia and Sims ticked that box by taking the checkered flag at VIR 1.070 seconds ahead of Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoè in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3. Unofficially, Sims and Garcia now lead Costa by 53 points with two races remaining in the campaign.

It was the 117th IMSA win for Corvette Racing, with three of the last six coming at VIR.

VIR has always been a happy hunting ground for Garcia, and he credited the Corvette by Pratt Miller team for crafting an undercut strategy that helped him claim his fifth victory at the challenging 3.27-mile road course in southern Virginia. Garcia now owns 31 wins in IMSA competition.

“Qualifying showed we didn’t have the ultimate pace, but it seems like VIR is always good to us,” said Garcia, who started the race from fourth place. “But we definitely had the race pace, and that maybe let us roll the dice a little bit on strategy. It really paid off, we jumped them in the pits, and then we extended the advantage.

“I think we’ve been doing this all year long, but everything didn’t fall into place as it should,” he added. “But today was a flawless race, 100 percent. I think we’re in a really good position towards the end of the season.”

Costa in the Motul Pole Award-winning Ferrari overtook Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette for second place with a little more than 20 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute race. He kept the pressure on Sims but was never close enough to attempt a pass. Milner and Nicky Catsburg ultimately finished third in the No. 4 Corvette, 5.036 seconds behind their teammates.

“Costa was behind me pushing every single lap, and that was about as hectic as it gets,” said Sims, who now owns eight IMSA wins. “The Corvette was on rails, really working well, and we were able to keep the Michelin tires underneath us for the stint on a hot day. Fantastic strategy by Pratt Miller to aggressive on the first stop and then try to make something happen. And we did, honestly. We were able to control the race from the front.”

When he passed Milner for second, Costa briefly thought he had a chance to attack for the win. But he found the No. 3 Corvette was a tougher foe.

“When I passed the first Corvette, I thought, ‘Let’s go for the second one,’” he said. “But he was quicker than us. I’m happy because I gave my best, that was the maximum, and I’m happy about the clean and respectful race with Tommy. I’m proud of my team and I’m proud of Giacomo putting the car on pole position. We’re still in the fight with two more rounds.”

Klaus Bachler and Laurin Heinrich finished fifth Sunday in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) to remain third in the GTD PRO standings, unofficially 191 points behind Sims and Garcia.

“It’s lovely to get the wins, but our focus is on the championship,” said Sims. That’s the main aim, so we’ll enjoy the moment now and start to focus on the next one.”