Delays with electrical issues and an extended penalty stop during the race could not stop the No.4 Corvette of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrooke from taking the GT victory today.

With strong pressure from Ferrari, SRT Viper and BMW – all of whom took turns in the race lead – the Corvette trio rose to the challenge with Milner chasing down the Risi Ferrari in the closing stages of the race.

“We obviously are off to a great start. I’m a bit of a loss for words,” Milner said.

“My first stint was really hard. We were about a minute behind. Seemed like the gap was a bit consistent, that I couldn’t get closer.

“Then we had two unbelievable stops, we gained 20 seconds on the first and 10 on the second. That gave me the adrenaline to keep pushing. They knew I needed to do my part and it was just an unbelievable finish.

While the sister Corvette struck trouble with contact with a PC class car and gearbox issues which forced it out of the race, the competition from the other brands proved the GT class battle throughout 2013 is going to be epic.

“We saw that the Viper was really fast today, and the Ferrari was quick. The BMW was quick at times. There was a lot of competition today. The Viper really stood out, they were super, super quick. I had a fight with the Viper who was leading and I really had to work hard to close the gap to him,” Milner said.

“When I got close I had to use the traffic to get around him. I snuck my nose in where I shouldn’t but he gave me the room to get through. Risi will be there all year, and I wouldn’t count out BMW either.

“This is the last year for the C6R so we are running on all cylinders. The car is at the end of its life, but the car is quick and the team is focused on pit stops and doing everything as perfect as possible.

“Some races where we aren’t the quickest car, the strategy will help us for the rest of the season.”