It may not have been the first track on which Corvette Racing competed, but there is no doubting the impact the team has made on Sebring International Raceway – and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts – during the past 19 years.
It’s fitting that as Corvette Racing continues with its 20th season of competition that we look at a venue that has been synonymous with the team’s success since the last 1990s. No track in America has seen Corvette Racing pile up the mileage and honors than Sebring. Here are a few to digest ahead of America’s oldest sports car race.
1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 years: Corvette Racing and Chevrolet.
3: Consecutive wins for Corvette Racing heading into the 2018 Sebring race. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen/Ryan Briscoe won in 2015, Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler in 2016, and Garcia/Magnussen/Mike Rockenfeller in 2017.
3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 19 years: Sebring, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta
4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows, tied for most in event history.
8: Sebring victories – a race record – for Johnny O’Connell, a Sebring Hall of Famer who drove for Corvette Racing from 2001-10. It includes one overall and seven class wins.
8: As in Chevrolet’s small-block V8. More than 100 million units have been sold worldwide and is the most successful engine in American motorsports.
11: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing. It’s tied with Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the most at any venue in team history.
12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
15: Number of GTLM wins for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. That is the most of any manufacturer and team in the category.
19: Starts at Sebring for defending GTLM race and Driver Champion Jan Magnussen. He will tie Johnny O’Connell’s record for consecutive Sebring starts in 2018.
21: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres and Utah.
24: Corvette Racing drivers at the Sebring 12 Hours through the years: – Justin Bell, Olivier Beretta, Ryan Briscoe, Emmanuel Collard, Kelly Collins, Marcel Fässler, Ron Fellows, Franck Freon, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, John Heinricy, Chris Kniefel, Robin Liddell, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Simon Pagenaud, Max Papis, John Paul Jr., Andy Pilgrim, Mike Rockenfeller, Scott Sharp, Jordan Taylor and Richard Westbrook.
106: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 98 in North America and eight at Le Mans
199: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
40,286: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing during the 12 Hours of Sebring. That’s close to two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).
271,560.90: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. That is enough to launch a shuttle from Earth to the moon with more than 30,000 miles in excess.
