With all the fussing over the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, it seems like the spotlight has shifted from the Corvette Racing team and their C6.R racing machines. But Corvette Racing is not going quietly into the night with the outgoing model, but are rather raging against the dying light of their soon-to-be-replaced Corvettes.
This weekend the Corvette Racing team reminded us that they are still a very potent competitive force, capturing a last-minute 1-2 finish at the Baltimore Grand Prix. It’s their first 1-2 finish since last year’s race at Laguna Seca, giving the Corvette Racing team the top spots in both the Driver and Manufacturer standings.
The race came down to the wire, with Jan Magnussen jumping up from third place to first during the final restart, passing teammate Tommy Milner and a competitor’s BMW in the process. With just 20 minutes left in the Baltimore Grand Prix, Magnussen and Milner were able to hold off the rest of the field, enabling Magnussen to finish in first and Milner to take second.
The finish moved Magnussen and teammate Antonio Garcia up to second place in the driver’s rankings, right behind Milner and Oliver Gavin who occupy the top spot. It also helped increase Chevrolet’s lead in the manufacturer’s point standings, putting Corvette Racing in a prime spot going into the home stretch of the American Le Mans Championship.
With a new Corvette C7.R set to debut next year in the also-new United SportsCar Racing series, a merger of ALMS and Grand-Am, the Corvette C6.R is looking poised to go out on top, winning the GT class one last time. What a sweet retirement that would be.