Every Corvette driver has a standard to uphold this weekend in Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Four generations of Chevrolet Corvette GT racing cars run by the works Corvette Racing team have won at the course formerly known as Mosport a combined 13 times over the years, including a stretch of eight wins in nine years from 2001–2009. A 2016 victory for an Action Express Corvette Daytona Prototype makes it 14 for the brand in total, heading into the Chevrolet Grand Prix on Sunday.
The most recent chapter in that success story was co-authored by Alexander Sims. Sims and Antonio Garcia won GTD PRO last year at the course formerly known as Mosport, to give the newest Corvette Z06 GT3.R its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win – in a Corvette 1-2 finish – and his second career win at CTMP.
Sims and Garcia haven’t won this year in IMSA, yet the yellow #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R sits on top of the GTD PRO standings with three second-place finishes and another third. That’s been enough to edge out AO Racing’s Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler by 52 points (with a maximum 154-point swing at CTMP).
“Our points lead hasn’t been through race wins, but we’ve been there or thereabouts in most races. It’s been really nice,” Sims said after the first practice session on Friday afternoon. “It doesn’t change anything for us this weekend. We obviously come here trying to get the win, but it’s the same as always – maximise the package that we have on the weekend, and that’s all we can do.
“We’re always trying to tweak things and find some performance within the package. Maybe some of that wasn’t working as well today as I had hoped from a balance perspective. We’ve got all the learnings from the #4 car today and as well as last year. So I’m sure we can get our Corvette tuned back in and be better tomorrow.”
He did, in fact, turn things around by Saturday, going second-fastest in class ahead of teammate Tommy Milner.
Going into the weekend, Sims downplayed the notion that their points lead has come as a big surprise. “We go into every race as everybody else does, basically – trying to win. But there’s only ever one winner!” he said, light-heartedly. “We came third in the championship last year, and we’re leading now. So it’s not like the lack of a win has been because we’ve been uncompetitive the whole time.
“Pratt Miller and Corvette are a pretty good force together, so we hope we can get back to our winning ways this weekend. But as we’ve seen so far this year, I would probably take another second or third place as well.”
It’s a special weekend for Robert Wickens, too: Twice a winner at CTMP during his Michelin Pilot Challenge tenure, Wickens is back for his third IMSA WeatherTech series sprint in his hand-controlled #36 DXDT Racing Corvette, hoping to capture the first IMSA win for a privateer Corvette at Mosport.
“Obviously, it’s a home race for me, one that I’ve had circled on the calendar all season,” he said earlier this week. “I’ve had success in TCR in the past, winning there twice and finishing second in the other.
“The first two races that I’ve done this year in the WeatherTech series haven’t been amazing, to say the least. We’ve shown potential, but just at the wrong time. So hopefully we can put together a good, strong weekend, from first practice right through the checkered flag on Sunday.”
The DXDT Corvette timed in tenth-fastest in its class in practice, but improved to second in the second practice session with Wickens behind the wheel. “This place is a big wake-up call in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R compared to what I’ve driven in the past at CTMP,” he said after Practice on Saturday. “The biggest adjustment so far is that it has been a really steep learning curve for me.
The last time I was in this car was early May in Laguna, so I feel like I had to shake the rust off a little and try to get back into the swing of things, obviously being calculated with my risks as well to make sure that we progress and keep learning.
“It’s been great. For the second practice, I made a big step overnight. We made a good step with the car as well. DXDT Racing is doing a great job so we’ll see where we are in qualifying. We’ll have another calculated look between now and qualy and try to make another step forward.”
Wickens is hoping to channel the positive energy of racing in IMSA’s top series for the first time in front of his home fans. “I think since coming back from my injuries and racing in support series with IMSA, I’ve always been trying to get back to racing on Sundays, on that headline event. And to do it at home in front of a hometown crowd, it’s gonna be a really great feeling,” he said.
In his youth, Wickens looked up to countryman and Corvette Racing great Ron Fellows, which was one of the many reasons why he gravitated towards DXDT and Corvette for his step-up to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“What’s special is, I grew up with Ron Fellows being like a mentor of mine,” Wickens recalled. “Obviously, his history in the No. 3 Corvette that Alex drives, seeing all the success he had, and the role that Ron has at Canadian Tire Motorsport now and on the whole Canadian motorsport community… I think there’s an extra bit of pride for me, driving a Corvette around that track this weekend.
“The Canadian fans are always passionate, always super-loyal, and it’s gonna be awesome to see everybody out there.”
Images © Jake Galstad / IMSA / Lumen
