(Richard Prince/Chevrolet photo).
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 6, 2017) – Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R posted the fastest GT Le Mans (GTLM) time on the first day of the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona International Raceway.
The 2015 Rolex 24 At Daytona GTLM co-winner set Friday’s best GTLM lap of 1:44.760 (122.3 mph) in the Corvette that he will share with Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller. The trio finished second in last year’s Rolex 24 – just 0.034 seconds behind the No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler.
The Roar Before the 24 continues Saturday and Sunday.
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “We had a good test in the middle of December and got to try some stuff that we thought might work here. Tomorrow and Sunday we are going to try and put all of that together to see if we can improve on the racecar. In the past the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R has been a good car, a fast car here at Daytona. Hopefully we can improve a little bit on that and see what that gets us. So far, the feeling is good. I think everyone in the team is quite happy with the progress that we are making and hopefully, we can make a little bit more even though tomorrow looks a little iffy weather-wise.”
ON SETTING FAST TIME IN THE MORNING SESSION: “I think this morning it was a little cooler and maybe there was a little bit more wind, which gave a better top speed across start/finish. That was the same for everybody. I got to go in the car right at the end of this afternoon session, but it wasn’t a real attempt; it was just a chance for me to feel the changes that had been made this afternoon. It’s difficult to say. It cooled down again but to me, the track felt similar. I think in general and also in the December test, the track did feel faster in the morning.”
ON THE COMPETITION IN THE GTLM CLASS: “It seems to me that every year we think it’s the toughest field out there and then the year after it just gets even tougher and that is also what has happened this year. The field is very close together. This time we are dealing with four Fords and they are all fast. This is early days. There are two more days of testing and then it’s the race week, but I do think that we are going to have a race like we have had in the last couple where the GTLM field is going to be right there with each other for the majority of the race.”
Connect with Corvette Racing and Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter @CorvetteRacing and @TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
