The Trio Looks to Improve on This Year’s Third-Place Finish in the GTD PRO Class
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor plan to team for a fourth straight season in the No. 3 Corvette when the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign unfolds in January. Longtime Corvette Racing favorite Tommy Milner is expected to join them for three endurance races according to Tuesday’s announcement from Corvette Racing.
As it did this year, Corvette Racing said it will split its two cars between the WeatherTech Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023. Garcia, Taylor and Milner will pilot the No. 3 Corvette C8.R GTD in the WeatherTech Championship’s GTD PRO class, while Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg were named to drive the other Corvette in WEC’s GTE Am class.
“We learned a great deal this year about running dual programs in both IMSA and the FIA WEC – all of which will benefit the Corvette brand going forward,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “In IMSA, we will return to GTD PRO against a very competitive group of manufacturers while laying the groundwork for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Similarly, Corvette Racing’s FIA WEC program allows us the opportunity to continue growing the global presence of Corvette in a world championship.”
Between them, Garcia, Taylor and Milner have collected a total of 79 wins and 11 championships in IMSA competition. Garcia and Taylor drove the No. 3 Corvette to the 2020 and ’21 championships in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class before finishing third in the first year of GTD PRO in 2022, winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts with Catsburg as the third driver.
“I have to say that this season was very difficult and challenging, maybe more than previous years,” Garcia admitted. “Still, I think we learned a lot as drivers and as a team about a new category that we can use to make us better in 2023. Hopefully, Jordan and I can get back to winning races and being in the championship fight.
“I’m happy that Tommy will be part of that and with us for the big races in America,” Garcia added. “We were teammates in his first year at Corvette, and we’ve raced against each other in previous versions of the Corvette since then. I’m glad to be able to race with him again.”
Milner paired with another Corvette great, Oliver Gavin, to win IMSA titles in 2012 (GT class) and 2016 (GTLM). In addition to joining Garcia and Taylor for the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Milner will focus on developing the Corvette Z06 GT3.R that will be made available to customer race teams starting in 2024. He spent this season teamed with Nick Tandy in Corvette’s WEC entry.
“I’ve not driven a lot in my career with Jordan or Antonio, but when I have, we’ve had success,” Milner said. “I’m always excited to drive with those two guys. They’re obviously great drivers and great teammates, and they have been for a long time. I’ve raced against them quite a bit in my time so it’ll be fun to be teammates with them for a change.
“The process of developing the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be an interesting one. I did quite a bit of this with the C7.R and C8.R. It’s different from racing, of course, but it can be a rewarding process in its own right. … Having been part of testing many of the previous Corvettes, we’ve seen how fast and competitive those cars are. I’m excited and looking forward to keeping that lineage going.”