DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring now complete, it’s worth looking at the list of drivers boasting the race’s most consecutive starts. One common denominator clearly emerges: Corvette Racing.
Jan Magnussen sits at the top with 21 consecutive starts at the most historic track in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, 16 of them with the Corvette program. Next up with 20 are Johnny O’Connell and Oliver Gavin, two more drivers with strong Corvette association. Gavin was in the commentary booth for NBC Sports’ broadcast of this year’s race after spending time on-site early in race week.
This year, Antonio Garcia joined Sebring’s “20 Consecutive Starts” club (18 in a Corvette), with his Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports colleague Tommy Milner right in his wheel tracks. Milner’s first Sebring appearance came in 2006, five years before he joined forces with Corvette, and he would have matched Magnussen’s mark had he not missed the 2022 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours - instead notching a second-place finish for Corvette Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 1,000-mile race during the same Sebring “SuperSebring Weekend.” This year, therefore, merely marked Milner’s 20th Sebring 12 Hours overall, with 16 consecutive – still an impressive record.
Garcia earned four class wins Sebring (2009 in his Corvette Racing debut, ’15, ’17, and ’22), while Milner added triumphs in 2013 and ’16. Sebring is one of only three tracks on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule where Corvette Racing has competed in every one of its 27 years, with 14 class wins the most it has achieved at any venue.
How has Corvette Racing amassed such a record of longevity and excellence?
“It starts with making the right choices for drivers,” said Doug Fehan, the longtime program manager for General Motors and Corvette from 1999-2020.
Fehan was on hand at Sebring this year as an ambassador for Mobil 1, which presented a patriotic red, white, and blue livery on the Nos. 3 and 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvettes competing in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. Mobil 1 (via an ExxonMobil brand) has served as the title sponsor of the Sebring 12 Hours since 1995, and Sebring recently announced a contract extension.
“If you pick the right drivers the first time, there’s no need for change,” Fehan added.
Garcia and Milner are ample proof of that. Garcia boasts no fewer than six class championships and 31 race wins in American sports car competition, the most recent coming in GTD PRO just last year with his current co-driver Alexander Sims. Milner’s record includes 21 victories and a pair of championships, including the 2016 IMSA Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) title.
And while both are in their 40s, neither shows any sign of slowing down. Milner, Nicky Catsburg, and Nico Varrone in the No. 4 headed Garcia, Sims, and Marvin Kirchhoefer in the No. 3 in a 3-4 finish for Corvette at Sebring, with Milner and the No. 4 holding down third place in the GTD PRO standings early in the 2026 campaign.
Garcia, 45, was teamed full time with Magnussen from 2012-19 before being paired more recently with Jordan Taylor (2020-23) and Sims (2024-present). He’s won championships with all three, and expressed surprise when told he was on pace to tie Magnussen’s consecutive Sebring start record next year.
“I did probably 12 or 13 Sebring races with him, and I think I won three with Jan,” Garcia reflected. “I learned a lot from him. Next year we’ll be tied, and hopefully I can make it one more than him!
“Twenty is just a number, but it’s definitely a good number,” he continued. “I’m glad that out of those 20 I was able to win a few – and lose quite a few others! But overall, I always have fun at Sebring. Every time coming to this race is special. It’s been a while since my first one, but I still learn something every year.”
With attention focused on Garcia’s consecutive Sebring start streak, Milner’s 20-start milestone received comparatively little fanfare.
“It’s crazy, I’d never really considered that I’ve spent half my life here racing cars at Sebring,” said Milner, who only hit the 40-year-old mark in January. “But obviously, that makes me happy. I’ve always said I drive race cars to avoid a real job, so I’m very fortunate to be in this position still racing at the top level of sports car racing here in IMSA with Corvette.
“Not that I’m at the end of my career - certainly at the latter little bit of it - I have a greater appreciation for these milestone moments to reflect on my career a little bit,” he added. “I hope to make some more good memories, obviously, but just cool to be a part of IMSA and sports car racing for as long as I have, and to see it grow like it has recently, is good to see. The car counts are up and the enthusiasm from the fans is incredible.”
With rare exception like at Sebring, Corvette Racing’s entries were always associated with a yellow livery. The car underneath the paint or wrap has advanced through four generations of production Corvette (from C5 to C8), but the driver lineup has undergone little turnover.
Garcia is in his 18th year with Corvette Racing, Milner’s 16 years match Magnussen’s tally, while Oliver Gavin tops them all with 19 (2002-20). Ron Fellows (1999-2007) and Johnny O’Connell (2001-10) were also key program anchors for Corvette.
“That tells you about the continuity of this team,” observed Garcia. “I think about loyalty and how much we grew up together – not only as drivers, but by whatever we could put in to make the team stronger – it definitely made a difference. It wasn’t only me; Tommy has been with us almost the same amount of time.
“I’m sure we brought to the team a lot of experience. With new guys that came in or with others before us, I just think we kept going and made Corvette Racing bigger and bigger and better and better.”
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has a bit of a break before its next race, with GTD PRO off until WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, May 1-3. That said, Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are expected to be in action from customer teams 13 Autosport, DXDT Racing and DragonSpeed in GTD at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 17-18.
