Fresh off a strong finish to their North American racing campaign, Corvette Racing confirms Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner as drivers for its single-car entry in next month’s FIA World Endurance Championship race at Shanghai, China.
Gavin and Milner will team in a special Redline-liveried Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with the familiar No. 64 – the same number on the side of the Corvette which Gavin and Milner drove earlier this year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro category. It was their only other FIA WEC appearance of the season.
The Six Hours of Shanghai will wrap up Corvette Racing’s 20th season of competition. The Gavin/Milner duo ended the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season by placing second in class at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans to take third in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver Championship; Corvette Racing teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen shared the Driver title.
This will be the first race at the 16-turn, 5.45-mile kilometer Shanghai International Circuit for Corvette Racing and its two drivers although Gavin has some experience with testing and other non-racing activities at the track. As far as FIA WEC experience, this will be the second appearance in the series outside of Le Mans for both Gavin and Milner.
Milner competed for Corvette Racing at the FIA WEC’s 2014 round at Circuit of The Americas, finishing seventh in GTE Pro. Gavin raced the previous year for another manufacturer at COTA.
The Six Hours of Shanghai will conclude Corvette Racing’s historic 20th season of racing around the world. Since 1999, the program has scored 107 global victories – including eight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – 13 IMSA Team championships, and 12 Manufacturer and Driver titles. It also has completed more than 280,000 racing miles in two decades of competition.
The FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Shanghai takes place Nov. 16-18.
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 64 REDLINE/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s fantastic to go to Shanghai and compete in the World Endurance Championship. The last time we saw most of those competitors was at Le Mans. We know it’s tight, it’s tough and very competitive. So we’re looking forward to it. It’ll be great to see the challenge of the race in China. Going back to the WEC gives us a great chance to stay sharp in what is the offseason for IMSA. We are going there to be competitive, to run up front and to go for victory. Whenever Corvette Racing goes anywhere, it’s to win. A victory would be very, very sweet. It’s a challenge but one we’re really looking forward to. It’ll be great to see the challenge of the race in China.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 REDLINE/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “We’re excited to challenge ourselves in the World Endurance Championship. Usually it’s at Le Mans but to do it at a place like Shanghai in more of a sprint format will be a lot of fun. It will be a big challenge – just like it is here in the U.S. But everyone in the FIA WEC is on top of their game as well. So it will be fun for us to challenge ourselves and see how we do with our Corvette C7.R.”
