CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: What Might Have Been…
In-race contact impacts both DXDT and AWA Corvettes in tough street fight
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 12, 2025) – Two separate rounds of contact ruined the days of the two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday in a rough-and-tumble race on the streets of southern California.
AWA’s Matt Bell and Orey Fidani finished 13th in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) class with the No. 13 entry, the highest-finishing Corvette. Meanwhile, the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette of Tommy Milner and Robert Wickens placed 15th after a late-race pitstop to repair damage with the Z06 GT3.R running sixth at the time.
The DXDT Corvette – equipped with a hand-controlled electronic brake system from Bosch – was one of the biggest stories of the Long Beach weekend. It enabled Wickens to make his first start in the WeatherTech Championship, and for a while it looked like it could be a dream result.
Wickens began eighth but picked up a spot before what was to be the team’s only pitstop with a little more than an hour left in the 100-minute race. A quick exchange and full-service stop had Milner back out in 10th place. The Corvette factory driver wasted no time in moving through the field by advancing four spots in less than 15 minutes before settling into sixth place.
He made a clean pass on the inside of the tight Hairpin Turn that leads onto the front straight but appeared to get locked up with another car out of the corner, which pulled away the Corvette’s left-rear bodywork. Series officials required the DXDT team to pit the Corvette with 16 minutes left in the race.
AWA”s race took a big hit – literally – much earlier. Fidani started 11th after his best qualifying effort in his second year with the No. 13 Corvette and was solidly in 10th place before another GTD car tried to divebomb him, which pushed the AWA entry into the tire barriers.
The team lost a lap with a resulting pit stop to inspect the Corvette, which suffered minor bodywork damage that still impacted the balance of the No. 13 for the balance of the race. Undeterred, Fidani and Matt Bell drove their way back onto the lead lap by the end of the race.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s next race in IMSA is May 9-11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Not the race we were hoping for. Obviously Orey’s start and the first part of stint was phenomenal. I think that was his best performance in the car, and that gave us all a lot of confidence that we could go forward in the second half of the race. Unfortunately a rogue maneuver from one of our competitors put Orey in the wall and a lap down. That ruined our race. The team did a great job on the strategy to get us back on the lap, which in a 100-minute race is almost impossible. So great job by them reacting to that. We were still at the very rear of the field, and it’s hard to come through around here. I managed to gain one place but unfortunately that’s all I could do. It’s a shame, really.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Things started off well. It looked like it was going to be a positive day until it wasn’t. Unfortunately I got sent off into the wall which put us down a lap. We managed to get that lap back but it just wasn’t enough today. It’s tough but we’ll go onward and upwards into Laguna.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "A frantic first couple of laps there out of the pits. I was fighting with a lot of cars that came out of the pits with me and fighting with cars that did the one-lap overcut. So there was a lot going on there. Honestly, it felt like those first 10 laps felt like 50 laps with how much stuff happened, but we were able to come out ahead of them and then focus on the next two cars in front. The pace of the Corvette was strong, for sure. I think we had kind of what we thought from the beginning – we had a car that could compete for the win. Maybe we weren’t quite as quick as the Porsche but in any case we had a quick car. I caught the two Mercedes and all that was fine. Then I came up on the 96 BMW and it was just good racing. As has been the case all year long, we just don't have the straight-line speed and the drive off the corner that almost everybody else does. So racing is difficult for us.
"I think he got balked big time into Turn Eight and I had a nice run on him going into Nine. I stayed close to him through there and then just was peeking around in 10. We were strong there, I could tell already and was in pretty good position to make a difficult pass, no question, in the Hairpin. I thought my braking point was fine. My entry speed was okay. I think, as is the case there, it's hard to go two-by-two and he turned in because he needs to. I don't think he did anything wrong really. We just made side-to-side contact and I think we just kind of got hooked together. I'll have to see video to know for sure, but that's what my feeling is.
"Unfortunately, that was a big problem for us. We had to come in and fix it. It's unfortunate for the DXDT team... kind of seems like this is how their year has gone a little bit so far. They've been really promising for a good part of the race and then something kind of hurts them a little bit toward the end, and that happened again today.
"Removing that and looking back on the weekend, I think there's a lot of positives about what happened... getting Robbie in the car and comfortable in this hectic environment. There's no more hectic environment than a Long Beach Grand Prix weekend with one day of practice and qualifying and then racing. From my perspective, I think he did an excellent job this weekend in the most difficult conditions at the most difficult track that he's gonna experience this year. To me there was nowhere where he lacked anything. He had pace, he has the racecraft. He's for sure is gonna want more and more time and experience. I think he's going to have a darn successful year this season."
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm disappointed with the result, but I am proud of what we achieved. It definitely wasn't the end to the weekend that we wanted. Qualifying dictated the weekend for us, unfortunately. We knew it was going to be a track-position race. Qualifying was not what we deserved; we know we had more speed than that, but it is what it is. This is a competitive championship, and we did what we could in the race.
“I kept the car clean and gave it to Tommy, and he got out in P10. I think our driver change wasn't quite what it needed to be. We lost some track position, but then Tommy drove his heart out. He got us up to P5 and was making things happen. It was awesome to see. Unfortunately we had to come in and make a repair after Tommy took fifth. I think that was a little harsh, but there is nothing you can do when race control gives you a black flag for repairs.
“There are a lot of positive takeaways from the weekend. We proved we belong here, that we can be competitive. The Bosch hand-control system worked flawlessly, DXDT Racing gave us a great Corvette. The car was very good all weekend and I feel like we had one of the cars to beat. We just couldn't maximize it, and that is what hurts right now."
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 11, 2025) – DXDT Racing’s Robert Wickens and the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start from the fourth row in class following GT Daytona (GTD) qualifying Friday for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Wickens, driving the No. 36 Corvette equipped with Bosch’s new-generation electronic braking system alongside Tommy Milner, set a lap of 1:18.411 (90.354 mph) in the 15-minute session ahead of Saturday’s 100-minute race. That lap was 0.3 seconds slower than his fastest lap in qualifying, but that time was disallowed after the No. 36 brought out a red flag in practice earlier in the day.
Wickens’ Corvette also suffered contact from a slower car in qualifying that resulted in suspension damage that limited the performance of the Z06 GT3.R. It halted the positive momentum from the day’s final practice where Wickens and Milner had the fastest and third-fastest time in GTD, respectively.
Reigning Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD class winner AWA will start 11th in class Saturday after Orey Fidani’s qualifying run in the No. 13 Corvette. Fidani was the quickest Bronze-rated driver in the session at 1:19.387 (89.243 mph) – nearly seven-tenths of a second quicker than his qualifying lap from 2024.
He and Matt Bell finished sixth in class a year at Long Beach. It launched the team into a strong debut season with the Corvette program, which culminated in the Bob Akin Award for Fidani as the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD. The award landed AWA an invitation to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Long Beach weekend is Wickens’ first race in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R and the first running alongside the rest of the GTD field. He and Milner combined for 74 laps and 145.63 miles of valuable data – alongside AWA’s 67 total laps – for Corvette Racing engineers to analyze for Saturday’s 100-minute race.
In addition to the IMSA race, two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will contest a pair of 40-minute sprint races in SRO Motorsports’ GT America series. Ross Chouest qualified ninth in the No. 50 Corvette for Chouest Povoledo Racing, and Blake McDonald was 11th in the No. 11 Corvette for DXDT Racing.
Chevrolet and the Corvette brand have been a fixture at Long Beach since the Corvette Racing program first visited Long Beach in 2007. In 17 visits, Corvette GT cars have captured eight victories with two additional in the Corvette Daytona Prototype era. Combined with results from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chevrolet boasts a total of 22 victories in the Grand Prix’s two premier events.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 12. The race will air live on USA Network starting at 5 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock. IMSA Radio also will air the live call of the race at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH IN GTD: “Not great. Obviously, I'm learning the series, the drivers to be around, the drivers not to be around. I don’t know. I was on my first push lap, there was a yellow Ferrari in front of me, he aborted his lap in the exit of Turn Nine and went full driver’s right before Turn 10. I took my racing line on my push lap and he just drove into the side of my car, bent the right rear suspension, then I had to do the whole qualy with a damaged car. It sucks. Obviously on the first push lap, you need to get a strong banker lap in with these qualys. You don’t know if there is going to be a red flag or a yellow or anything. The lap was going to be pretty strong and the car felt great, and then unfortunately after the damage the balance kind of wasn’t there. We put an okay time in, then it gets taken away from a mistake that I made in practice. It sucks. We deserve better. I feel bad for Tommy, for everyone at DXDT Racing. I wanted to have a good, smooth qualifying session. I was just baffled with what happened with that Ferrari and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I was fully convinced he was letting me pass because he was in the marbles on the right-hand side. And I guess, he wasn’t. He turned in and drove into my right rear.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED 11TH IN GTD: "I'm very happy with qualifying. It just seems the more I get in this car, the better I seem to be doing, so I'm just going to build on the good results from today and push in the race and see where we get. So far everyone has been behaving pretty well with the traffic. This is a tough place to race at. It's very narrow and when you are on cold tires you have to worry about the car stepping out and hitting the walls. So the plan is to take it easy the first couple of laps, get some heat in the tires and then send it!"
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Robert Wickens & Tommy Milner
Friday press conference transcript following first IMSA practice session
Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner met with members of the media Friday morning after the first practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. The two recapped the one-hour session in DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, the preparations ahead of the race and the continued progress of the Corvette with Bosch's state-of-the-art hand-control braking system.
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
Rob, take us through the first session on-track for you.
“The first session was definitely not the session I had envisioned or dreamed. It was honestly a pretty shaky start. We had some issues on my installation check at the start of the session, which we got resolved, but we missed probably the first 20 minutes or so of FP1. And when you only have 60 minutes of the first practice, you want to try to utilize everything you can. So I think a lot of it was probably just myself, but I just felt like I was rushed kind of the whole time. I had a hard time kind of just settling down and finding a rhythm. But Tommy drove the car, put in a great lap. And then when I got in at the end of the session, I had a great reference lap on the dash to kind of understand how to extract lap time from this Corvette Z06 GT3.R around Long Beach. And it's kind of the exact reason why I was so happy to have a teammate like Tommy here this weekend. I know after this practice when we're done here we can look at some data and we can calm down and come up with a strong approach to try to find time and improve. It's my first time here in a GT3 car, it's only technically my third day and in the Corvette, so I feel like I'm still a little rusty. The last time I did a race was Road Atlanta last year, so a lot of my competitors here have already done the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring; they already have 36 hours of racing experience under the belt and I'm just still getting through rough stuff a little bit but we're going to keep pushing and keep working hard. I'm excited for the second practice this afternoon.”
Robbie, can you just talk a little bit, if you could, about how the systems are coming together for you with the Bosch system?
“This track is kind of the ultimate challenge for hand controls given how tight some of the corners are. The fountain and obviously the Hairpin, so something I've never experienced with racing with hand controls is kind of having to deal with so much like steering angles around these tight corners. I was relatively prepared to know what to expect into the Hairpin, but when you experience it in real life… I've done iRacing sessions and other stuff where you understand there's a lot of steering involved to get through the Hairpin, and I drove it in an IndyCar, so you also understand. But once you live it with hand controls going through the Hairpin, when you turn so much and you realize that you can't reach the brake paddle that I was initially using and I need to switch hands to continue to slow down the car, it's going to take some time to continue to get lap time. I think that's honestly probably one of my biggest time losses to Tommy that I could see inside the car in that session. But the Bosch electronic braking system is working flawlessly. It's giving me confidence. It's definitely not the reason why I was struggling for pace in that session. I think it's just going to take some time to get up to speed and hopefully get a good look at data, look at some on-board videos and do some self-coaching and with the help of Tommy beside me, we're going to find some more speed for second practice.”
Robbie, obviously you've had test sessions in the Corvette with the hand control system, but this was your first day on track, not in a testing capacity with others on track. How was that for you? Did that change your approach at all?
“It did. It was hectic. It's kind of like what I touched on. I felt like I was just kind of flustered the whole session. When I did my two days in Sebring, there were only maybe three other cars on track the whole two days, so we pretty much had the entire track to ourselves. This was my first time obviously experiencing the speed difference of a GTP versus a GTD car. Then with our issues that we had at the start of the session, when I finally went out for my installation lap I felt like everyone else already had hot tires and I was just like a nuisance on the track so that was an adjustment. Then once Tommy got in and set a good baseline time for the car and everything, I think we all settled down a little bit. It's a busy track out there when all of us are out there.”
Now that you've had some seat time in testing capacity and practice capacity, can you talk a little bit about the feel of the system? Obviously it's going to be wildly different compared to what it was in the TC car because it's a different beast, but you said you were happy so far.
“From the feeling of it, I know exactly where I feel like the threshold is on the brake and I feel like I understand how much I need to brake for each corner. I just need to try and figure out how to extract performance from the Corvette, and I think that's kind of the beauty of this Bosch EBS – it's just integrated into this car so well that I don't even really… there's no quirkiness or I feel like I'm not driving around any issues. It's just I hit the brakes and the car slows down, which is pretty much exactly what you want it to do.”
Can you maybe take us through the rest of today, what the schedule is, you know, the next practice session, maybe assume that you're going to get back to the bulk of the time?
“The rest of the day we're going to finish up here, get back to the truck, look at some data and some video, and harass my teammate Tommy on how to drive one of these cars quicker. Honestly, the car balance felt like it was going to be in a really good spot. With it being a temporary circuit with no room for error, I'll set up to err on the side of caution. I just need to figure out how much more I can push, if I need to brake later, harder, more entry speed, kind of stuff like that. Then, hopefully a bit of lunch. We get an hour and a half in FP2 instead of an hour, like we had this morning. So I’ll focus a little more on getting settled into the car and then keep working away on driving the Corvette.”
Can you give us a walkthrough of a lap at the Long Beach Grand Prix from your own perspective?
“First off, it's great just to be back. I've had the privilege of racing here in IndyCar in 2018 and then being here every other year that IndyCar's been here with the coaching roles that I do with Andretti Global and IndyCar. So I feel like I've experienced this culture for so many years, but to be putting on a fire suit and sitting in the car again, I feel like I'm home where I belong. It's just such an amazing event, the track obviously has so much history, the 50th anniversary this year… I think everyone wants to win to kind of be a part of that milestone. Regardless of the category, whether it's been Formula 1 races, CART races, IndyCar races, Champ Car races, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, I think every driver wants to win here because just being on the podium, it's just an historic place. The track is amazing. It's raw, it's unforgiving and you have to commit to put the lap in. For me, I think that's the next step, I felt like I got to a point in that first session, where without risking the car, I needed to kind of see a lap of data to understand how to go quicker. So I'm just really excited for Practice Two here coming up in a little bit and try to make it a big step forward.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
Now over to Tommy, a four time winner here at the Grand Prix. How much did that help you in this session?
“Certainly having been a racer helps me in situations when things are a little bit rushed, just to get settled in quickly. I’m very fortunate to have spent so much time with Corvette Racing over the years and spent a lot of time in the Z06 GT3.R. I know the last two or three years now I've missed this race but didn't feel like it hopping this Corvette and then getting comfortable again.”
Milner on Wickens’ first session…
“For somebody who's in his third day in this GT3 car, I know his standards for himself are super high, but to come here for the first time to Long Beach in a long time, driving basically a car new to himself and be a second off the pace in about 10 minutes of practice is quite impressive. He's talking from the position of who he is. He wants to be the fastest. And that's why, for me, I'm excited to be here this weekend with him and his journey. But also just having a teammate as competitive as Robbie is awesome, rewarding and exciting for me. It's been easy talking to him about driving this Corvette because it's like talking to any other teammate that I've ever had in my career. So he sounds a little bit down right now. But I can tell you for 10 minutes in the car here at Long Beach, that's a good place to start from, for sure.”
Robbie, so much of being a race driver is second-nature, instinctive feel. How long does it take for a lot of these things you need to do in the car to become instinctive?
“From a hand-control perspective, it's definitely instinctive now. I guess it is like using your feet… understand that, you know, your right foot applies the throttle and sometimes with race drivers your left foot applies the brakes. So I'm still trying to get up to speed with understanding the ABS system and if the car likes it a lot or less or whatever the case is. So I’m still trying to figure out a bit of that muscle memory of how hard do I have to squeeze my brake to kind of achieve that happy threshold for braking performance. I think definitely it's driving with my hands that has been second nature now for quite a while, but I've said it every time – I feel like every time I'm driving a race car, I'm continuing to learn something and continuing to perfect my driving ability with my hands. Obviously I’m jumping into a different car with a slightly different control system. There's going to be a level of adjustment but for the most part, I feel like I'm in a pretty good starting spot. I think that's down to a lot of the design work. It was such an evolution from what I used in my TCR car, and we needed to learn in TCR to be where we are now, 100 percent. The first time I drove the Corvette at Sebring, I was all blown away by how comfortable I was with the brake system straight away and how much feeling I had. Even here, I'm not worried of figuring out how to apply the brake or apply the throttle. I know all that, and it all feels great. It's just trying to extract pace from the car now.”
Can you give us a walkthrough of a lap at the Long Beach Grand Prix from your own perspective?
“It's such a high-commitment racetrack. Obviously, any mistake here typically ends in a concrete wall. So it's a place that requires a lot of comfort and confidence in the car. It’s one of the best street tracks that I've ever raced in my life. Just got a good flow and rhythm to it. It ends up being pretty good for multi-class racing with some passing opportunities to let the faster GTP cars go by. The first section has lots of character and has a lot of nuance to it to find lap time. It has the pretty unique corner there with the fountain in turns Two and Three. Then you go to two of the more difficult corners on the racetrack in turns Four and Five where there are curbs here at the apex in some places. For us it's quite difficult to use all of those. So for me, it's just a lot of fun. You know, it's a place where when the car gives you the confidence, you can really hustle around here, and I think that's what makes the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit so much fun for us as drivers. And then you add all that with just the atmosphere of the fans being on top of you and being close here on Shoreline Drive… the whole event itself is one of the races that I've missed the last couple of years. Now that I'm back, it reminds me of how special this place is.”
In your experience, how much does the track change and evolve from what was this morning’s session? What do you want to just see here when you go back out?
“Yeah, certainly it's a big part of this weekend. Typically we're one of the first series on the racetrack. So parts that are dusty and doesn't have a whole lot of rubber laid down... after our next session, once the IndyCar guys come on track a little bit as well, it just adds grip to the racetrack and makes the first session or two for us a little bit tricky because you start finding lap time as time goes on. It’s always not entirely clear if that's you making gains with your driving or with car setup or it's just the track itself getting faster. So this weekend is challenging. It's a compressed schedule, and playing catch-up with the racetrack and continuing to improve yourself in the car while the track is improving is just always a moving target. So that’s another aspect of this weekend and this race that makes it challenging but also rewarding when you have success.”
Do you learn anything from the way Robert approaches this racetrack? I realize you might have some differences in the car, but what about the way he looks at data? Are you able to pick up any things that will help do his driving?
“Certainly. I've been very lucky throughout my career with Corvette Racing to have very talented teammates, and with every single one of them, you learn something about their driving style, about their preparation, how they look at data, things like that. And this will be the most important thing for me. The first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to be the first one to take a look at data with Robbie. But already from the experience that I've had with him, we rode together after the first test that I did with this hand-control car in between the Daytona Roar and the Rolex 24. Just talking to him, understanding how his brain works a little bit, there's always things to learn and pick up, and someone with the talent that he has, I'm always keeping my mind and my ears open to understand what makes him as good as he is. So I'll be stealing as many secrets as I possibly can this weekend.”
April 11-12th, 2025 Track: Long Beach Street Circuit Race Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes Circuit Length: 1.968 miles Corners: 11 Entry by Class: GTP (11) GTD (16) Qualifying Friday, April 19th, 2024 WeatherTech Championship-live IMSA TV (GTD) 8:10 PM to 8:25 PM EDT (GTP) 8:35 PM to 8:50 PM EDT Watch Live on IMSA TV: http://imsatv.imsa.com/ Television Broadcast Saturday April 20, 2024 US: USA Channel 5:00 to 7:00 pm ET Online-Peacock Premium 5:00 to 7:00 pm ET
April 11-12th, 2025 Track: Long Beach Street Circuit Race Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes Circuit Length: 1.968 miles Corners: 11 Entry by Class: GTP (11) GTD (16) Qualifying Friday, April 19th, 2024 WeatherTech Championship-live IMSA TV (GTD) 8:10 PM to 8:25 PM EDT (GTP) 8:35 PM to 8:50 PM EDT Watch Live on IMSA TV: http://imsatv.imsa.com/ Television Broadcast Saturday April 20, 2024 US: USA Channel 5:00 to 7:00 pm ET Online-Peacock Premium 5:00 to 7:00 pm ET
CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: What a Weekend Shaping Up
DXDT set to debut EBS-equipped Corvette; AWA looking for season’s second win
DETROIT (April 8, 2025) – Corvette Racing has full weekend coming up with two high-profile entries for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – the third round of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
As part of the showcase with IMSA’s GTP and GTD classes, two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for Saturday’s 100-minute street race on the famous 11-turn, 1.968-mile street circuit in southern California. Both have their own unique storylines:
No. 13 AWA Corvette: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani
Reigning Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD class winner AWA and its drivers made their first appearance at Long Beach a year ago and finished an impressive sixth in class. The result served as a springboard for the rest of the season, which culminated in the Bob Akin Award for Fidani as the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD. The award landed AWA an invitation to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the momentum carried over to the Rolex 24 victory in January
No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette: Robert Wickens/Tommy Milner
One of the most followed and most unique entries in this year’s race, DXDT Racing’s Corvette is equipped with a Bosch hand-control electronic braking system for Wickens – who lost the use of his lower body in a racing crash in 2018 – and Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner, who did the initial shakedown and testing of the hand-control system. The No. 36 Corvette is a collaboration between Bosch, Chevrolet, Pratt Miller and DXDT Racing.
CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFO
Long Beach will mark Wickens’ first race in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R. His impressive resume pairs well with the Corvette Racing program, whose history of success includes 140 race victories around the world – 117 of them in IMSA competition – along with 14 Manufacturers championships for Chevrolet.
General Motors and Chevrolet have long been committed to accessibility for customers and employees. Upon hearing of Wickens’ interest in GTD, Chevrolet helped to bring Bosch, Pratt Miller and DXDT together to bring him into the Corvette family.
"Everyone within Chevrolet and Corvette Racing is excited to be part of this project," said Mark Stielow, director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Programs. "Chevrolet’s commitment to accessibility and innovation in motorsports drove investment in this project. We all support Robert's drive to compete at the highest levels of motorsport and are proud to partner with groups like Bosch, Pratt Miller and DXDT Racing to realize part of that dream.”
In addition to the 100-minute IMSA race, two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will contest a pair of 40-minute sprint races in SRO Motorsports’ GT America series – Blake McDonald in the No. 11 Corvette for DXDT Racing and Ross Chouest in the No. 50 Corvette for Chouest Povoledo Racing.
Chevrolet and the Corvette brand have been a fixture at Long Beach since the Corvette Racing program first visited Long Beach in 2007. In 17 visits, Corvette GT cars have captured eight victories with two additional in the Corvette Daytona Prototype era. Combined with results from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chevrolet boasts a total of 22 victories in the Grand Prix’s two premier events.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 12. The race will air live on USA Network starting at 5 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock, which also will stream Friday’s 8 p.m. ET qualifying session. IMSA Radio also will air Friday’s qualifying and the race at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m looking forward to getting back to Long Beach. It was my first time there last season and it was the surprise of the year for me. I loved the circuit and the event as a whole; it was a great experience. We had great pace too, as we have so far this year, so I’m hopeful and confident that we’ll be able to put together another competitive showing.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Long Beach is a very challenging but also really exciting track. It’s so narrow and unforgiving, and with so little room for error, you know you have to be precise and make the right decisions. It’s a change of pace from Daytona and Sebring, but we’ve shown our consistency and I’m looking forward to proving our competitiveness in the sprint races as well.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m excited to go back to Long Beach for a number of reasons. First off, it’s a really unique event with all kinds of history behind it – great drivers, great cars and fantastic races. I’ve been fortunate to win there four times… a couple under some pretty crazy circumstances! Second, it’s obviously a real privilege to be asked to team with Rob in this race. It’s such a big moment for him, for DXDT Racing, for Corvette, all of the partners and racing in general. We all have high hopes going into the weekend. The Corvette and the hand-control system have been solid in testing. Both Rob and I know the track very well. So we’re all optimistic of being able to race and challenge for a podium and hopefully the win.”
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "After finally getting my first taste of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in Sebring a few weeks ago, I have been counting down the days until Long Beach. My first race with DXDT and finally my first race of 2025. It is going to be a very steep learning curve, but I am thankful I have a strong team behind me and a great teammate in Tommy Milner to help get me up to speed. Hopefully when we look back on this event on Saturday night we can be proud of what we accomplished together."
• 1: As in one manufacturer and one model of car for the 18th year at Long Beach: Chevrolet and the Corvette
• 2: Number of wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R already in 2025 – the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GTD class for AWA and the FIA WEC’s 1812 Km of Qatar for TF Sport in LM GT3
• 4: Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in competition at Long Beach this weekend – No. 13 of AWA and No. 36 of DXDT Racing in IMSA and the No. 11 of DXDT Racing and No. 50 from Chouest Povoledo Racing in GT America
• 4: Long Beach IMSA race wins for Tommy Milner – the most among drivers entered in this year’s Grand Prix of Long Beach
• 7: Number of Corvettes competing this weekend around the world – the four at Long Beach, one Corvette for Steller Motorsport in GT World Challenge Europe and two from Johor Motorsports Racing in GT World Challenge Asia
• 8: Number of Long Beach victories in 16 appearances for the Corvette Racing program
• 10: Number of Long Beach sports car victories for Chevrolet. Throw in 12 IndyCar wins, and Chevrolet has claimed 22victories in the event’s two premier races
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 28: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 62: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Chouest Povoledo Racing’s Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo joined the list at the SRO America weekend at Sonoma
• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 140: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC and 10 in GT World Challenge America
• 313: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August 2024 at Road America in IMSA
• 4,353.19: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 16 previous trips to Long Beach. That represents 2,212 laps around the 1.968-mile street circuit.
• 418,207.46: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles
Corvette Racing at Long Beach (wins in bold)
2007
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O'Connell – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen fastest race lap)
CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Robert Wickens & Tommy Milner
Media conference transcript ahead of landmark Corvette entry at Long Beach
Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner met with members of the media via Zoom on Thursday afternoon. The pair discussed Wickens’ initial test and upcoming race debut with Corvette at the Grand Prix of Long Beach alongside Corvette Racing factory driver Milner in a DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with Bosch's state-of-the-art hand-control braking system.
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
GIVE US YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS ON YOUR FIRST TIME IN THE CORVETTE.
“So far I feel like a kid on Christmas. It’s been a lot of work so far. Yesterday I got my first taste of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R just before lunch. I got a couple of laps in, we stopped for a lunch break and then kind of hit the ground running in the afternoon. I felt like we finished in a good place yesterday and then thankfully a good night’s rest and a lot of planning ahead of today. So far today has been running super smooth. The biggest takeaway I have so far is that it feels like the Bosch EBS and the hand-control system developed by Pratt Miller belongs in his car. There hasn’t been a single hiccup. It’s like when they designed the Corvette Z06 GT3.R it was always in the plan. It looks like it belongs in the car. It feels like it belongs in the car. Immediately I felt way more comfortable with the braking feeling and braking sensation then I had in my past racing in TCR with the Bosch EBS. It was a massive step forward so hats off to all the men and women at Bosch, Pratt Miller, GM and DXDT Racing for collaborating in making this all possible.”
HOW DOES THE CORVETTE COMPARE TO THE FORMULA E CAR YOU TESTED LAST YEAR?
“Quite a bit different. The Formula E car was pretty much a temporary hand-control solution where we repurposed the re-gen paddles at the bottom of the steering wheel so one side was for throttle and one side was for braking. It worked but it wasn’t effective. Here, everyone put their heads together and we have a very well-integrated hand-control system where the paddles and everything… the sensation and feeling that I have, whenever I embarked on this journey to race with hand controls, I was always envisioning that hydraulic sensation with my hands when I’m applying the brake. Everyone involved made it happen. When you take a look at it, you’ll see there’s a damper on the top of my brake paddles. We’ve evolved and evolved, and now we’ve changed spring rates… it’s basically like you’re changing suspension settings. We have bump rubbers and packers. It’s teeny tiny things like surgeon work. It’s amazing the feeling that I have and I feel like I’m extracting a lot of pace because of it. The fact that I was straight away comfortable… frankly internally I was concerned that it might take me a little bit to get up to speed. But thankfully that wasn’t the case so far. There’s a lot of work to be done but so far the signs are positive.”
HOW MUCH HAS YOUR TIME ON YOUR HOME SIMULATOR COME TO GRIPS WITH THIS NEW CHALLENGE?
“I think racing on my home simulator is not only very fun, but it made my dexterity and kind of my resolution of my hand for throttle application in particular just stronger and stronger. After driving this Corvette Z06, I feel like the next step for me is actually to start doing more throttle application with my right hand just to build that muscle memory. Because for people that don't know, I pretty much do like 98 percent of my throttle application with my left hand. So that way I can freely upshift with my right hand and then brake with my right hand and downshift with the left hand. So with this car, like with Turn Seven at Sebring... there's a few corners here where I feel like I need to start practicing using throttle with both hands a little bit more. But yeah, the home simulator, it definitely didn't hurt. Not only is it a lot of fun, but my brake that I use on my home simulator is very different to what we have in the race car. But for throttle purposes, I think it's very helpful."
ON DRIVING A REAR-WHEEL DRIVE CAR AND USING PAST EXPERIENCE IN SINGLE-SEATERS AND DTM WITH THE CORVETTE GT3.
"Yes and no. I feel at home in a rear-wheel-drive car. You know, I feel like I never left in a way. That being said, a TCR car with it being front-wheel drive, a lot of your instability moments it's all kind of corner entry and mid-corner. By the time you apply throttle, you're not really fighting the car. So it's been an interesting adjustment here, trying to maintain a consistent throttle position while the rear is starting to slide or step out a little bit. So that's taken some getting used to, and I still need to learn that. Sometimes I'll get a snap oversteer, and I'll accidentally lift off the throttle completely and just bleed loads of lap time. So, yeah, a lot to work on. But the biggest thing for me is understanding the traction control system that's in this Corvette Z06 GT3.R because I haven't really felt traction control for all my career. I've done some testing in GT3 from my time at Mercedes and some other stuff in a couple other race cars here and there. But in terms of extracting lap time from a proper traction control system and all the aids and assists that we have inside the car. Still trying to understand kind of what makes it click, because I think when I'm applying throttle, my resolution is not spot on yet. So I think I'm applying like 10 percent throttle, but I'm actually more like 30 percent, 35, 40 percent throttle. And I'm immediately getting traction control intervention, and the car is coping and handling it great and there's no dramas. But I feel like it's still catching me by surprise and it's still something I need to keep working on."
DO YOU KNOW APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY MAN HOURS HAVE GONE INTO DEVELOPING THIS SYSTEM?
“More than I'm sure I can imagine. It was a very motivating experience. But every time I was on weekly calls with Pratt Miller developing the controls, the physical paddles and the shapes and the ergonomics of everything, it was some of the busier Zoom meetings I've ever participated in. They’re all just all such intelligent people. With Bosch on it, DXDT all on the call, (team owner) David Askew with his engineering background and all being integrated into this build, it didn't take one person. It took an army. And I think everyone just collaborated perfectly. And every single time I went down to Detroit to Pratt Miller Engineering to see the next 3D printed prototype of the ergonomics of everything, everyone I felt was just very motivated for the challenge. What made me feel great was I could tell that it was a motivation and not a distraction. You know, I feel like when I've been trying to get into these categories and trying to make a step into another race car… race teams are efficient operations. It's not like there's just a surplus of engineers to just take people and move around. So I was very grateful for the opportunity and, frankly, the timeline that they got it completed on was pretty astounding from start to finish.”
ON TOMMY MILNER’S ROLE AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R.
“I'm going to be leaning on Tommy exclusively! I think once I finish here today, I'm probably going to try to book him in for a half-day Zoom call or something just to pick his brain on every nuance of the car. From getting to know Tommy a little bit and watching him shake down the car at The Firm around Daytona… he actually drove me from Daytona up to The Firm and back. So I was chewing his ear off and asking loads of questions about the car already then and that's just going to carry on.
“Hopefully he doesn't get tired of me too soon, but I'm definitely going to be leaning on him for a lot of support because even now it's this fine line where we're trying to evolve the brake system and get the braking sensation, the spring rates and also the software side with Bosch and the EBS all dialed into the car. But in parallel I'm also still trying to learn what the car likes and how the car likes to be driven. When I did this in the TCR car, I had driven the TCR car for two years so I knew how to drive it and how to get laptime out so it was just solely trying to get the brake feel to what I wanted. Now it's kind of a much more foggy experience because I feel like I'm learning both at the same time. We only have basically a day-and-a-half and we're on to the launch. So there’s only an afternoon left before that's all I get going into Long Beach. We're getting through it quick. I did my first full just before lunch hence the sweatiness! But yeah so far so good. I got to kind of feel what a double-stinted Michelin felt like here at Sebring with mid-80s ambient temperature and stuff. These are all things I need to learn for my database because you don't get an opportunity to test very often. So I'm trying to make sure I have as much information before I start the season.”
WAS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CAR OR ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY OR ABOUT LONG BEACH THAT MADE THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO RETURN TO THE SERIES?
“I guess all of the above. Frankly, for me, I wanted to get into the car as soon as possible. If there was a way to have driven the car in (Petit Le Mans) last year, I would have been all over it. The same for Daytona and the same for last weekend in Sebring. But good things take time. I think in the moment, I was frustrated but obviously I respect that you can't rush something like this. It has to be done properly because also this is the product that I have to now use for the entire 2025 season. If you don't have a strong foundation, you can just kind of set yourself up for failure. Although I was pushing and pushing and pushing to try to bump the timeline up as much as possible, it was very clear that we weren't going to make the first two endurance races. With that said, the original plan was to debut at Laguna Seca, and we were able to bump it up to start in Long Beach. So I feel like that's already a win in itself.
“In terms of the car, it just took a group of people to believe that this is possible. I feel like when I was speaking to other teams, everyone thought it was a good idea. But it took David Askew at DXDT to take the leap of faith and say ‘You know what? I want to do this.’ And then we aligned with Pratt Miller, Bosch was already on my side, and they were fully supporting it, and then the fine people at General Motors all basically pulling together and saying ‘You know, let's give this a shot and see what it can do.’ And I understand, I have a pretty small sample group of races in 2025 to try and prove myself, but my goal is to be a full-time staple in the IMSA WeatherTech Series for 2026 in the future.”
THESE COMPANIES ARE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF RACING SERIES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE WHAT YOU'RE LEARNING NOW CAN BE APPLIED POTENTIALLY TO OTHER SERIES?
“One hundred percent. What we're learning here today can transfer into any race car and then hopefully down the road what we're developing with the electronic braking system from Bosch, opportunities are endless that maybe this can evolve into road safety and into everyday road vehicles and accessibility in road vehicles. I feel like the opportunities are endless, but short-term we need to perfect this system here in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. We'll have to wait and see. The way Pratt Miller developed the actual brake control that I apply, it mounts to the steering column independent of the steering wheel. The steering wheel that Tommy will be driving or any other teammate that I drive with in this Corvette, it's the exact same steering wheel that they always know. There's just a bit of luggage on the backside. What's great about it is in theory it can mount to virtually any steering column as long as you have the right bolt pattern. It actually fits the space of a steering spacer that would be on the steering column to change how close or far away the steering wheel would be to the driver. It was a very intuitive design and honestly sets up for future-proofing. If there's other car opportunities where my paddles that I use could actually be transferable from car to car. That way I'm not learning the ergonomics of new controls every time I drive something different.”
AS EACH STEP HAS COME FOR YOU IN THIS PROCESS, WHERE DOES THIS RANK FOR YOU IN TERMS OF YOUR GROWTH AND YOUR COMEBACK? DO YOU HAVE THINGS LEFT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO TRY?
“I think there's a lot of things left. My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again. I've always seen that the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America. Aligning myself with someone like General Motors and DXDT Racing, it was just the perfect fit. It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here in the IMSA WeatherTech series racing against the best drivers in the world and one of the best series in the world.
“In terms of what's left, there's always opportunity. But my goal is always to get to the highest levels and I feel like I'm here. So the next step is to become a week-in, week-out staple of the series and make sure I can get myself to a full-time position for 2026 and then start fighting for championships. Hopefully we can challenge for race wins and podiums here this year. There's no Sprint championship in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, so we're going to have to wait a year, hopefully go full-time and then try to make a full run at it. In terms of what's left, I don't know. It's kind of a fun part of my career right now. With the help of Bosch, I feel like there are more opportunities than I thought I would have 12 to 24 months ago.”
THE WAY YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT IMSA, DO YOU CONSIDER THIS LIKE YOU'VE MADE IT AND YOU'VE COME BACK?
“I think this is a big step. For me to officially get that fulfillment, I want to be a full-time contender in the WeatherTech Series. Honestly taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels. Basically you could say ‘We did it. We're racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry’. So I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT. There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return.”
ON THE WORK DONE DURING THE TEST AT SEBRING.
“It's been a lot. It's been a long 36 hours. The big thing is getting acclimated into the car was kind of job Number One. Honestly, Bosch did so much preparation ahead of this that there wasn't a whole lot. The first run with the system… if that was all I had and there was no tunability, I wouldn't have been upset about it. We started off in such a great window where I kind of just got to figure out the race car.
“We’re not doing a whole lot of setup work, but thankfully with the Sebring 12 Hours just finishing, the car feels great. We're in a great balance window. DXDT was so quick on the weekend. They nearly had a shot at a podium there at the end. Yesterday morning, we had Spencer Pigot shake down the car and do some initial tests and installations because this was actually the first time that the Bosch EBS was integrated into the DXDT Corvette. We wanted to make sure that everything just worked according to plan, and they wanted an able-bodied person to do the initial shakedowns and the initial baseline run just to make sure that if there was an issue, they had the ability to apply brakes to get the car back safely. I got my first run in just before lunch yesterday… a little six-lap run to get a taste and then look at some data over lunch and hit the ground running in the afternoon.
“Today's been a lot more intense. An 8:30 start and basically never got out of the car for most of the morning. I got my first taste of a long run with double-stinted tires to see what the car behaves like. Like we talked about, this is my only test for the whole year and we want to make sure that I have as many tools on my belt as possible so there's no surprises once we get into Long Beach or further down the road. The best thing about Sebring is a lot of these apex and exit curves are not super friendly. So you can kind of treat them like walls. So in terms of getting used to Long Beach, that's been good. The apex at Turn One is a wall, so that's pretty good too. So I feel like there's a lot of stuff that we're learning here that I can take with me to Long Beach. But then also the high-speed corners here in Sebring, like Turn One, I’m trying to think of how the car wants to act when I think down the road for Laguna Seca or Road America or Canadian Tire Motorsport Park where it's a fast-flowing, committed track. We're getting through it. We have another busy afternoon ahead of us with a lot of work to be had.”
WHAT ARE YOU ANTICIPATING BEING THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AT LONG BEACH FOR YOU?
“I don't know yet, to be honest. I think I won't know until I'm in there. I mean, best-case scenario, I do my first runs and I'm only a handful of tenths off of Tommy and we're in a window where we can keep chipping away. Until I'm in that environment, it's hard to tell. For me, I'm just continuing to get used to the car here in Sebring and try to do as much preparation as possible and then just kind of see where we are.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
TELL US ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU AND ROBBIE HAVE HERE TOGETHER AND WHAT YOU'VE SEEN OUT OF HIM.
“It's super exciting for me to be a part of this effort with DXDT Racing and with Robbie in his first race in the Corvette. As Rob mentioned, I had the opportunity to drive The Firm after The Roar in the kind of initial shakedown of the Bosch EBS system in the Corvette. I obviously know who Robbie is and I followed his career for a long time. He had raced Formula BMW just before I had a long time ago. So I knew the name and kind of followed his career as time went on. You can tell that he's still a racer at heart. And like he said, he was picking my brain about the Corvette constantly. More than anything, I’m excited to go back to Long Beach to join DXDT Racing again and then help Robbie here in his first race get up to speed with the Corvette.
“From what I've heard already from some of the team down there, he's already quite quick. If the team has put him on some double-stint tires and full tanks, he's already kind of experienced probably the worst of what the Corvette is going to feel like, just based on our experience this last weekend at Sebring. Super-excited for him and super-excited for DXDT. It’s a cool opportunity for me as well to be a part of that with him and to go back to Long Beach again and go racing there again.”
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS PROGRAM TO SOMEONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT IT, AND HOW DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR ROLE?
“In Robbie’s case he has to do all of his driving with his hands, with him being paralyzed from the chest down. So he has no use of his feet. So this system is basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself. There's a brake ring and there are throttle paddles that take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box. Those are some of the common questions that I've heard about this system when I've told people who know a little bit about racing but not this situation.
“The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports car racing where we have driver changes. It'll be especially important at Long Beach as we’ve always talked about the driver change being a pretty important part of the race because that typically ends up being kind of the limiting factor in the pit stop. The tires and the fuel typically take a little bit less than that time (to do a driver change). Robbie obviously comes from a place where he has the sports car racing experience, where he's had to do those driver changes. From that side, there's no real limitations, so to speak. He knows what he needs to get out of the car.
“But fundamentally, everything happens on the wheel. And it's a system that took me initially a little while to sort of understand in my own brain… how it is supposed to work, how to find laptime out of it and things like that. But the system is set up quite well to where by the end of the second day of testing that I had in the car to prove the system a bit, I was able to find quite a bit of lap time and get closer to what I was capable of with the normal able-bodied setup. So for someone like Robbie, who has as much racing experience as he does, as good as he was and still is, you can tell just from talking to him how focused he is on doing what he's always done, which is drive race cars very fast. The system is designed to allow that to happen for him. His drive and determination are pretty incredible. It's pretty inspiring to see that and I’m excited to go racing with him at Long Beach.
ARE THERE ANY CHANGES TO HOW YOU TYPICALLY CLIMB INTO THE CAR WITH THE MODIFICATIONS?
“No. The car will, for me, feel as if it's the same Corvette that I've been in for many years. Like Robbie talked about, there's a little bit more going on behind the wheel. But when I'm driving, I basically won't even know that it's there. Obviously that was done on purpose and done with the intention of making it as easy to use for Robbie, but also as easy to use for myself, essentially. So in practice and in reality, there should be no obvious signs other than an extra button box, that this Corvette is any different than any other Corvette that I've driven.”
WHEN YOU WERE PRESENTED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY, HOW DID YOU LOOK AT IT? WAS IT A CHALLENGE? WAS IT AN OPPORTUNITY? WAS IT AN HONOR?
“All of those things. More than anything, I would say an honor because I've met Robbie a couple of times over the years in the past and now have spent a lot more time with him recently just after Daytona. You can tell why he is successful in racing, why he was so successful prior to his incident as well. He’s just super focused on getting the most out of himself, out of the car team, that kind of thing. For me to be part of that story and that process, and hopefully give him a good foundation to do the next four races in IMSA this year, I do look at it as a challenge as well. I want to help him as best as I can, give him as much of the knowledge and information that I've gathered over the years driving this Corvette to give him the best opportunity to be successful.”
ON THE BRAKE SYSTEM SETUPS.
“When the car is in the able-bodied mode, it will feel just like every other Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The way that the system is set up – I'm not as technically advanced as maybe I should be with the system, and Robbie probably knows a lot more than I do – they're essentially sort of like separate systems. When the able-bodied system is active, the pedal feels the same, throttle pedal and all that feels the same, and the steering wheel feels all the same. When the hand-control system is activated, then it goes through the EBS system, and then Robbie has his own brake bias, so the system will function slightly different in that way where if he needs a certain brake feel or brake distribution then it can be custom tuned so to speak for him. He can adjust that on the fly just like I would be able to with the normal hydraulic system. So when I'm driving the car it feels just like every other Corvette that I've driven before and when he's driving it, it's tuned for what he needs.”
YOU SAY THE CAR IS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CORVETTE, SO DOES THAT MEAN THERE'S REALLY NO WEIGHT DIFFERENCE IN WHERE WEIGHT IS FOR THIS SYSTEM?
“I'm sure there's more weight in the car. I don't know how much more the system actually weighs, but I was talking about the sense of my experience when I sit in the car, when I'm driving the race car with the normal controls. It all feels just like the car that I currently race in IMSA. The pedal feels the same. The steering wheel feel is the same. There's an emergency hydraulic brake that sits on the center tunnel there. That would be different. But again when I was doing my testing with the normal controls, there was nothing about that experience that I was driving that was something different about this car.”
ON GETTING TO KNOW ROBERT WICKENS MORE.
“For him to go through what he went through and with his drive and determination to get back in a race car again and be competitive and win races, that's something that can be an inspiration for anybody. Anybody who's gone through some sort of hardship like he has it's what you make of your life and that situation. You can tell that it does change parts of his life. But the one thing that he doesn't want it to change realistically is him driving race cars and driving them as fast as he does. To see that in person, that drive and determination and just never-give-up attitude that he has, it’s inspiring. I'm excited to race with him and see on a race weekend that part of him that I can tell that he has. To see that really come out, is going to be something exciting.”
GOALS FOR THE LONG BEACH RACE.
“I can probably answer for myself and for Robbie. I'll bet you a win is going to be the goal, and I certainly think that's possible. The Corvette has been fast in the past at Long Beach. His time in the car here at Sebring is going to be super important, and he knows the racetrack at Long Beach. He knows how to go sports car racing now, that's for sure. It'll certainly be a lot to take in. It's a lot happening. It's a short weekend. There's not a lot of practice. From that side, you know all of the obstacles that are in the way of making that happen. Like I said, I have no doubt that he has the drive and determination to get the most out of himself fundamentally too. There’s still a bit of learning, of course. It'll be new for him in some ways, first time in the race with this car. I also think the weekend goals-wise will be to help set himself up and the team up for a successful rest of the season as well. It’s not a checkers or wreckers kind of thing. It's definitely going to be about getting the best result that we can, but I'm certainly not counting out a win.”
ON FAMILIARITY WITH DXDT RACING AND INTEGRATION INTO IMSA.
“I know this was a goal of David Askew's for a long time. It’s a big accomplishment from his side and from the team side to be here in IMSA this year and prove to themselves and obviously everybody else in the paddock that they're a team that belongs here, that can be successful and can win races.
“From my side, on race weekends you do keep some touch with other teams and other drivers. I would say more so for me with DXDT than others just because of having driven for them a little bit last year. My sister is the team manager there, and I'm good friends with Bryan Sellers, as well. So there's lots of reasons for me to kind of check in on them. My brother-in-law is crew chief, so there's a lot of people there that I'm close with and want to see succeed. Based on Sebring, they put themselves in a great position to potentially win the race. The podium, I think, was really on the table for them. So there was some heartbreak to see that all kind of fall away in the last five minutes or so of the race. But I think ultimately that's motivating for them to know that they're doing all the right things and even more motivating to finally get that big first result for them when it comes.”
CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: From Hopes to Heartbreak
Late-race dramas bite Corvette contingent in 12 Hours
SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s quartet of Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams suffered cruel ends to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday with misfortune ruining chances for GTD PRO and GTD victories in America’s oldest sports car race.
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette was the highest-finishing Z06 GT3.R with a seventh-place GTD PRO finish for Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. The result marked an unfortunate turn of fortunes for the group of four Corvettes – all of which led their respective classes on multiple occasions.
The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone – also in GTD PRO – ran a clean race for the first three-quarters and ran second when it had to stop for a repair to the IMSA-mandated scrutineering logger. It cost the Corvette three laps and dropped Varrone to 10th in class. Catsburg made up a spot near the end to move himself, Varrone and Milner to ninth at the end.
DXDT Racing appeared set to challenge for its first podium in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. However a late-race mechanical issue knocked the No. 36 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell and Salih Yoluc – who drove a triple-stint to start – from the top-four in GTD down to eighth at the finish.
AWA’s hopes of a second straight GTD victory took a huge hit with damage to the right-front of the No. 13 Corvette on a restart with a little less than three hours remaining. Orey Fidani drove three of the first four stints, and Lars Kern and Matt Bell steadily worked their way forward and into the class lead on multiple occasions.
Subsequent stops for repairs dropped Bell from seventh to 12th but the Corvette remained on the lead lap up until being hit late by the leading LMP2 entry. It relegated AWA to 10th in GTD.
Perhaps the Corvette in the best position late in the race was the No. 3 of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. After a strong run through the day and some clever strategy, Sims worked his way up from sixth to fourth inside the final 90 minutes and was on a fuel strategy that likely would have had him challenging for the victory.
However, the Sebring circuit bit the Corvette as Sims had to pit for a rear with a little more than an hour with a broken right-rear suspension component. It knocked him from third in class and in the podium fight to seventh and two laps down.
Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Long Beach Grand Prix from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on April 11-12.
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“A bit of a bummer, this one. Our Corvette had pretty good pace to be honest. Going into the night, it seemed to come alive a bit. We had good pace and I was able to get up to third before we had the rear suspension problem. It did seem the leaders at the end had pace that we didn’t, to be honest. I don’t think we would have gotten any better than that. Even holding on to third would have been a struggle. Full credit to the Pratt Miller guys for getting it turned around quick and salvaging what we could. We didn’t give up and still managed seventh place, which could have been worse if they weren’t as quick in the pits as they were. On to the next one.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “An unlucky race. I think we had an OK Corvette but not fast enough to challenge for the win. I feel like we are on a bit of an unlucky streak at the moment. It’s not anyone’s fault. We have to take things as they come and ride those waves. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a great race. We got a little unlucky with the second-to-last yellow because we had a good fuel advantage and it got wiped out. We hung in there and crept from eighth to third. It was very enjoyable being in the middle of the fight. We just got very unlucky at the end when what we thought was a comfortable P4 – which turned out would have been a podium with the Ferrari boxing on the last lap. I’m gutted for the team. They’ve worked so hard since Daytona. We just didn’t have the pace there and came here with a lot more. They deserved more, unfortunately. They worked tirelessly between now and then to make sure we had the Corvette that we had in the race. Such a shame but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side and we’ll be right there.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We were having a good race once again up until we had the little incident in the final stages. We had a very strong car, and I’m proud of the team and their efforts. We know what we're capable of. We’ll take this finish and move forward to the next one.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: That Winning Momentum
Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries aim to continue strong start to 2025 season
DETROIT (March 11, 2025) – Following on from a highly successful start to the 2025 season – first at Daytona and then in Qatar – the Corvette Racing program and its teams now move on to America’s oldest sports car race: the Mobil 1Twelve Hours of Sebring and the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for the 73rd running of the Sebring 12 Hours – an event where Corvette Racing has claimed 14 class victories dating back to 2002. Two GTD PRO entries come from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports with single-car GTD entries for Rolex 24 At Daytona class-winner AWA along with DXDT Racing.
· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella(No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
· AWA – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern (No. 13 Corvette)
· DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc (No. 36 Corvette)
The momentum of the second-year Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is sky-high even after only two months of racing. At Daytona, AWA captured a landmark first 24-hour win for the Corvette in GTD, the No. 3 Corvette from Pratt Miller Motorsports finished second in GTD PRO and the No. 4 sister Corvette led seven times in class.
In addition, the Corvette GT3 won in FIA World Endurance Championship competition for the first time with TF Sport taking the LM GT3 class victory with Juncadella as part of the driving lineup.
Corvettes were busy at Sebring in 2024. Both Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA posted top-10 class finishes in a rough-and-tumble 12 Hours – with the No. 3 Corvette running as high as second in the final 10 minutes before being pushed off-track in the closing minutes.
Meanwhile, DXDT Racing returns to racing Sebring for the second time in less than a year. Although this is the team’s first 12 Hours, DXDT Racing debuted with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the circuit last spring in GT World Challenge America.
A Mobil 1 and Corvette Celebration!
Long-time Corvette technical partner Mobil 1 will again be prominently featured on special race liveries of both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports at Sebring. Following its 50th anniversary celebration in 2024, Mobil 1 is placing renewed emphasis on the timeless red and blue colors in its primary Mobil 1 logo. As the design has become synonymous with sports car racing and Sebring, the Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette liveries incorporate this classic theme while also paying homage to a variety of historic Corvettes adorned with the same colors.
For more than 25 years, the Mobil 1 brand has been an integral part of the Corvette Racing program. It was the only lubricant used by the factory racing effort dating back to the first on-track tests of the Corvette C5-R in 1997. The Mobil 1 brand continues as a primary sponsor of the Pratt Miller-run Corvette Z06 GT3.R team, and since 1993 has been the factory fill for all new production Corvettes.
Chevrolet Motorsports on Display at Sebring
In addition to the many happenings on the racetrack at Sebring, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. The Chevrolet’s Motorsports Display – located in the Sebring Midway – will be full of Chevy vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend. The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday plus 8 a.m. Saturday. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include:
• The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 plus a cutaway chassis and engine display
• Additional Chevrolet products such as Corvette Stingray Coupe, Blazer EV SS, Equinox ACTIV, Traverse RS, Colorado ZR2, Silverado 1500 RST and Silverado EV RST
• An opportunity to receive a 2025 Chevrolet Motorsports t-shirt
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15. The race will air live flag-to-flag on Peacock in the United States and YouTube outside the U.S. beginning at 10 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along with the race call on XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996, 99.9 FM in Sebring and 107.9 FM at the circuit.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “After big wins at Daytona and Qatar, it’s exciting to continue the early part of our season at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Year in and year out, it’s a race that attracts the top manufacturers, teams and drivers for one of sports car racing’s ultimate tests. What makes it even more special for the Corvette Racing program is the long history of success our program has experienced during the last 20-plus years. We're looking forward to working closely with each of our teams over the course of the event to deliver the best possible results."
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm looking forward to another year at Sebring. It was my first race in America so it means a lot to come here every year, especially with Corvette. There isn't another track like it which always keeps things interesting. I think this year we want to win this one more than almost any other given our pace last year. The ending was really unfortunate but we know that this year we will have another strong package. Daytona was a near-miss so hopefully we can fix that this time."
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I always look forward to Sebring. There was clear progress that we made at Daytona this year versus last year, so we’re going into this race with a good package. Our pace a year ago was pretty strong through lots of the race. We did some testing there in November where things went really well and it was very successful. I love driving Sebring. It’s a great track, an iconic one and unique with its characteristics. It makes things interesting so I’m looking forward to a fun race. Hopefully we can make it to the end like we didn’t last year unfortunately. We were in a good spot and in a podium position. Hopefully we can replicate that sort of form again, fight at the front and finish a clean race.”
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We are in a much better place than we were a year ago going into Sebring. We have made some really big steps throughout last season. We nearly won last year at Sebring and had a big chance for a podium on the last lap before I got pushed out of the race. I’d say it’s a track that suits us nicely. The Corvette should be strong there, and the track suits us nicely. As a driver, you can really make a difference because it’s bumpy and difficult. So I look forward to racing again there. I love IMSA, and those three big races that I’m doing are probably the most fun of all. It’s a cool weekend.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm ready and looking forward to Sebring this year. Everyone knows about the history of this place and what this event means in the sports car world. It truly is a test of car, driver and team to survive what I think is one of the most physically challenging races in the world. That's what I look forward to every year I come back to Sebring with the Corvette. We know we have a great car and a proven car compared to where we arrived a year ago. After seeing a potential win disappear for us at Daytona, I know our guys are eager to make it right this weekend and get back to the top of the podium."
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We are coming off a strong Daytona even though on the No. 4 car the result wasn’t great. But for me the performance all around – the car, the drivers, the whole team – was super strong. It gives me great confidence compared to where we were one year ago. I think we can win this race. We did quite a lot of testing at Sebring in the winter, and I think we will have a very good car for this track and this event. I hope the focus will be on the race and not too much on what happened at Daytona. We want to focus on just doing a good, clean race. Unfortunately Sebring in the last couple of years has turned into a bit of a crashfest at the end of the race. I really hope to avoid that happening again and that we can all use our common sense a little bit more because even at Daytona it was a bit too much. But it is a very positive outlook for me. I’m looking forward to being back with Tommy and Nico. They were mega at Daytona, and the team is in a much better place than one year ago with the Corvette and everyone working with each other. I can’t see a reason why we won’t be good at Sebring.”
NICO VARRONE, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Sebring is always special because of the history and the track itself. It has a lot of character. Every 12 Hours of Sebring I would define as chaos. You go into the night at such an iconic track with the bumps… you put one wheel in the wrong spot and you are off the track. So you pay for your mistakes, which is the characteristic of IMSA and the American tracks, which I like. GT racing is really aggressive. I think at Daytona it was too much but I expect the same for Sebring. At Daytona we were in a good spot; we were just missing top speed versus some of the other manufacturers, which made it really difficult to race against them. Sebring has always been a great track for Corvette, and the cars always work well there. I’ve had success there with Corvette as well. The cars always felt really nice. I think we will be in a good spot but other cars will be fast as well. I expect it to be a super fight until the end.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m excited to get back on track with AWA after our amazing weekend in Daytona. I’ve always loved that IMSA has so many iconic race tracks and events, and we go straight into another one this weekend! I’ve wanted to win the Sebring 12h for as long as I’ve had Daytona on my list too, and we are obviously going there with a lot of confidence after the win at the 24H. The test we did last month went very well, I think we will be very competitive again.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Winning at Daytona was definitely the best way we could have started the season. We were firing on all cylinders and all the hard work the team put in during the off-season really paid off. We have no intentions of slowing down, we’re all motivated and want to keep the momentum going. Sebring is one of the toughest races on the calendar, but we know we have what it takes to fight at the front and that’s exactly what we’re setting out to do.”
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a great race at Daytona and we’ll have the same approach for Sebring. We should be in the mix for a good result again, especially after a great test we had at Sebring recently. But this isn’t just any championship where you rock up and win every race. IMSA is the most competitive series in the world. Our target is to maintain the championship lead and finish the race in the highest position possible.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “GT racing at Sebring is always one to watch if you’re not involved. The GT fight last year over the last 30 minutes was crazy. The Corvette was strong there last year and hopefully it will be the same again this year. Obviously Daytona for us didn’t go the way we wanted. To keep our Endurance Cup championship hopes up, hopefully we can give the team back something because they worked so hard pre- and post-Daytona. We need to find a way to piece all the bits of the puzzle together so we can show the performance the car has, which has been shown by others also, and get a good result for DXDT Racing.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm looking forward to the race coming up at the Sebring 12 Hours. The track itself is one of the more physical circuits we go to on the IMSA calendar, and from that standpoint I'm happy to be behind the wheel of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The platform is great over a long run and allows the driver to guide a lot of the balance through the run. The DXDT crew has been putting in a lot of hard work in the shop since Daytona and the test a few weeks ago, I think we're going to be ready for the condensed schedule on the weekend. I expect this weekend will continue to be growing and gelling for the team."
SALIH YOLUC, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I am looking forward to Sebring after a disappointing Daytona. Hopefully we will get a good result to kick start a good momentum for the remaining 2025 season which we desperately need for our championship hopes as well. I can’t wait."
2025 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points
GTD PRO Drivers Standings
1. Christopher Mies/Dennis Olsen/Frederic Vervisch – 382
2. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia/Daniel Juncadella – 348
• 1: As in one manufacturer and one model of car for the 27th year at Sebring: Chevrolet and the Corvette
• 2: Number of wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R already in 2025 – the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GTD class for AWA and the FIA WEC’s 1812 Km of Qatar for TF Sport in LM GT3
• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 26 years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
• 4: Sebring race wins for Antonio Garcia – the most among drivers entered in this year’s 12 Hours
• 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
• 14: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing – the most of any venue in program history. Twelve of those have come in the 12 Hours, including 2022 in GTD PRO
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 28: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 60: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar joined the list at the FIA WEC”s 1812 Km of Qatar in a race-winning effort
• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 140: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC and 10 in GT World Challenge America
• 311: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August 2004 at Road America in IMSA
• 59,092.16: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries at Sebring since 1999. The program will eclipse the 60,000-mile mark when the four Corvettes combine to complete 243 laps
• 410,323.38: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles
Corvette Racing at Sebring International Raceway (wins in bold)
1999 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 4th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Scott Sharp/John Heinricy – 7th in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)
2000 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 6th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS
2001 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Chris Kneifel – 3rd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS
2002 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 4th in GTS
2003 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS (Gavin pole)
2004 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: In Their Own Words
Media conference comments from Antonio Garcia, Matt Bell ahead of 12 Hours
Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Antonio Garcia and Matt Bell met with members of the media Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Garcia will pilot one of the two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entries with Bell part of the lineup for AWA – GTD winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season.
ANTONIO GARICA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT GOING TO SEBRING?
“First of all, part of the season is that it’s almost my 20th 12 Hours. So that makes it easier to win four times! But I always love going back to Sebring. I have a lot of good memories from Sebring… good closing stints and fun racing all over the years in different cars and classes. I think Corvette has always been very competitive there and successful. The last two years, I think, we came close to winning. Especially last year we were leading quite a lot of laps and in the closing stages got mixed up in some incidents. Let’s see if we have a clean race this year. That’s key at Sebring especially at night when the sun goes down, everyone gets excited and at times the racing gets a little crazy.”
HOW DO YOU CONDITION YOURSELF FOR SEBRING?
“Sebring definitely is hard, and you need to be very prepared. Last year we had A/C problems from Hour Three, and it was very hard for us. You need to be as good as possible because anything can happen. There is no time to fix anything if it’s a big change or a big repair. Last year Dani (Juncadella) did two-and-a-half stints without A/C, and then we kind of cycled through just to minimize that. If it’s a hot one – and looking at the forecast it looks to be very hot – it will be hard for everyone… the car, the tires, us and for sure the crew.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“We have another year of experience this year with this car. Last year even if the car felt pretty decent, we found a few other things over the course of the season and at Daytona. We didn’t get to test (at the sanctioned test) but the AWA guys were there and we have their data to see. That will help the whole Corvette development program. Some of our guys also have been going to the simulator. I hope we’ll have a really good pace for this race again and let’s see if we nailed the direction in which the car should go. Now with the new power curve and how we use that, I think it will be a challenge for us. It will be the first time we will run it at Sebring, which seems very particular with the bumps and everything. But I think we have a really good strategy and I hope everything runs smooth.”
WHAT DO YOU TELL YOURSELF TO TRY AND AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE NIGHT AT SEBRING?
“Last year I think we cycled twice to the back (during pit stops). By the way the GTD and GTD PRO progression worked last year, we cycled to the back of the group. That didn’t help in order to get back to the leading pack. At night on every restart If you are at the front, the chances that you’re going to get hit or get into a big mess is a lot less. I think that’s the biggest thing at Sebring. At night you need to be up front on every restart. If you’re able to be in the top three positions, you are way more safe. Now that GTD PRO and GTD are split (on restarts), I think it’s going to be better. At night you don’t know who is behind you; you just see lights. I know the GTD lights are yellow but it’s very difficult to know who was following you. Now that things are split, I think it will make things easier for both classes. We know we are going to be fighting our class on the restart and not get in the mix with (GTD) or them with us. So I think that was a good call, and at Daytona it was a big upgrade.”
REACTION TO THE MOBIL 1 LIVERY THAT PRATT MILLER PRESENTED.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have different liveries. It feels strange not to see a Corvette painted in yellow. In traffic I don’t know if people will spot who we are! But it is very cool to have this Mobil 1 new livery. I didn’t get to see the actual car it was related to in real life. But when I get to see it at the track, it will be very cool. Hopefully we can get it to Victory Lane because that’s even better – a special livery there with some photos looks even better.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
RACE OUTLOOK FOLLOWING THE WIN AT DAYTONA WITH CORVETTE.
“We’re still riding on Cloud Nine, I have to say, from a little over a month ago. It was a dream start to the season and a race that we all wanted to win for quite a long time, as most drivers do. We’re coming into this race with a lot of confidence. I know my way around Sebring a little bit now too, so it’s a race event that I love and a track that I love. As Antonio said, Corvettes have always seemed to go pretty well around Sebring. I’m feeling just as confident and coming into here with just as high hopes as I did for Daytona. We had a good test at the IMSA sanctioned test. We all feel pretty well prepared. The GTD field is pretty deep with talent so it’s going to be extremely competitive again but we are looking forward to taking everyone on.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“Antonio has been a big part of the past development on the factory side. From the AWA side, there have been a lot of refinements going on and a lot of learning with the car for a customer team. We come into this race with a lot more knowledge than at any point last year. We put a lot of that into practice at Daytona and it seemed to go well. The good thing was that the performance of the car all last year seemed very strong and there were a few things to get on top of on the reliability front, which is a usual new car challenge. Everybody seems to have those under control now but you never quite know in racing. The most established car on the grid can always have an issue. Sebring is the hardest track in the world on any racecar. But we’ve taken some big steps. Sebring will test us but we think we’re going in the right direction. We’ve always got the support of the Pratt Miller and Corvette guys. We lean on the likes of Antonio, as well, if things aren’t going well and that worked out very well last year. We’ll be going at it the same this year again.”
LATE AT DAYTONA YOU HIT A SKID PLATE OFF ANOTHER CAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT INCIDENT?
“There were always some quite intense battles going on in GTD. There were always noises coming from the wheel well every now and then, but that one felt a little bigger than normal. As I came out of Turn Six… I think it was a lap or two before I managed to get past the 27. Heading toward the Bus Stop, the right-hand side of the cockpit started filling with smoke quite quickly. As a driver we have all experienced the smell of tire smoke or the smell of oil smoke or whatever. It didn’t smell like oil so that was an immediate checkbox that made me a bit more confident. I just radioed in ‘Smoke in the cockpit. Please check tire pressures’ because I was a little busy dealing with the competition around me. They came back and said no punctures showing up. I gave the wheel a little wiggle, it felt alright. I sent it into the Bus Stop and it still felt OK. At that point in the race it was do-or-die. We were 20 minutes to go and if it was going to go wrong, it is what it is. Just had to keep my foot in it and it cleaned itself up.
“It turned out that a wooden block, we think off a GTP car, had come off. The Aston in front of me ran over it and fired it up into the bonnet of our car. It got stuck in the wheel well and was rubbing on the tire. It took a couple of millimeters of rubber off and didn’t go deep enough to give us a puncture worry. Everyone has always told me in these big 24-hour races that there is that moment of luck that you need to get over the line. That was a close call and could have been race-ending. Thankfully it didn’t happen and behaved itself the last 20 minutes.”
THE 13 FROM DAYTONA HAS BEEN RETIRED. IS THIS ONE AT SEBRING BRAND NEW?
“Yes, it will be a new car. We had already planned to be running a new car to Le Mans, fortunately. So the team having a second car available to us was already in the works, and we managed to speed up the delivery of that and the prep of that in order to get it turned around for the IMSA test. So the AWA crew had a pretty long Daytona 24 Hours, a night or two to celebrate and then a lot of hard work to get the new car prepped for the IMSA test. So it has done some running. It’s not run in competition yet so this will be the car’s first race. When we jumped into the car it felt exactly the same as the previous one that we had. There’s always that little worry in the back of your mind – especially when you have a good result in a car – and the superstitious part of you doesn’t want to change the set of gloves that you’ve got. But we jumped in it, and it was like being in the original car. No differences whatsoever. Great consistency from the Pratt Miller and GM guys on the construction side of things in our experience so far. The concern is as low as it can be going into a race like Sebring. It’s the hardest race on a racecar in the world. Could it throw something up? Of course it could, but it could do that for anyone’s car. It was nice to retire the Season One car with such a big win. Hopefully we can start another bit of the team’s history with this new car.”
CORVETTE RACING AT QATAR: Another Corvette GT3 Win!
Juncadella, Edgar, Keating drive No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R to first FIA WEC victory
LUSAIL, Qatar (March 1, 2025) – TF Sport delivered the first FIA World Endurance Championship victory for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating won the Qatar 1812Km on Friday to open the season.
The trio drove the No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R to a remarkable victory as they came from 13th in class at the start to win by less than a half-second. It’s the second win in as many 2025 races for the Corvette GT3 racecar as it also won the GTD class of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the hands of customer team AWA.
The victory was the first in the FIA WEC and in a Corvette for both Juncadella and Edgar, and it was the eighth in the championship for Keating – including four in a Corvette.
TF Sport won its eighth race in FIA WEC competition and for the first time since the 2022 Six Hours of Fuji.
The three drivers and the No. 33 TF Sport team worked their magic in the race’s opening half. Keating drove from 13th at the start to sixth in a little more than three hours in his first WEC race since winning the 2023 GTE Am title in a Corvette.
Keating completed his required driving time and handed off to Edgar for his first laps in FIA WEC competition. The progression up the order continued through a double-stint as the race went into darkness and the Corvette up into third place.
Juncadella drove a double-stint of his own and moved the Corvette into the class lead for the first time just past the halfway point. Another stellar run by Edgar kept the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R in the thick of it heading into a climatic final hour.
Juncadella got back in the Corvette with a little under 90 minutes to go and made his last pit stop for fuel and left-side tires to counter a full-service stop with four fresh tires for the second-place No. 59 McLaren. The two cars ran nose-to-tail for the final 30 minutes as Juncadella withstood the immense pressure holding off his pursuer and navigating the faster traffic.
Things didn’t work out as well for the No. 81 entry. Tom Van Rompuy began the race ninth in class and steadily moved toward the front and inside the top-five in his opening stint. Disaster struck with a mechanical issue shortly after Van Rompuy’s first pit stop in the form of a broken alternator pulley shaft that forced the retirement of the No. 81 less than an hour into the race.
TF Sport and the rest of the FIA WEC field moves on to its next race at the Imola Circuit in Italy on Sunday, April 20.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: "Congratulations to TF Sport on its thrilling first victory with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Winning at Qatar with the No. 33 Corvette continues the strong start to 2025 for our Corvette GT3 program following on our results at Daytona. Thanks go to Dani, Jonny, Ben, the TF Sport team and our Corvette Racing engineering group for delivering this landmark victory in the FIA WEC."
TOM FERRIER, TF SPORT OWNER: “There’s no denying that it was a big move for us to join GM and Corvette. We knew it was going to be a challenge the first year, and it was to start with. We gathered momentum as the year went on. Bahrain ended fantastically with a second and third, which was really exciting. We went to Daytona this year and everyone saw the reliability and how much it had improved on the Corvette and that gave us a bit of confidence. We had a great Prologue, struggled a bit earlier this week but knew we had a good car for the race. We executed perfectly today. I’m sad for the 81 but absolutely over the moon for GM, Corvette Racing and ourselves. It’s a huge result for us.”
TF SPORT POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For the whole stint, for sure that was a lot of pressure in the last 30 minutes. At beginning I didn’t think I could hold (the No. 59) off. I just focused on hitting my marks. I could see where he was stronger in places. There were a couple of places where he could have gone for it and I think he was unsure. So it was good to keep him behind. At some point I was thinking we were going to finish second but I was focused on myself, my driving and not making mistakes. I don’t recall ever being in this situation where an unexpected win comes up and the last 40 minutes I have to defend for it. And here we are!”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Going to bed last night, I didn’t expect that we would end up here. To be honest I was hoping for top-eight or top-six… just a clean race and some points. In the Prologue we were happy with the car but in Free Practice and qualifying we seemed to struggle. A few small changes we made really helped the car today. We still weren’t the fastest but we were good enough, the strategy was amazing, the pit stop and everything… nobody made mistakes. It was just a very good race all around, and I’m very happy to win my first WEC race.”
(On early run): "Those first two stints went quite well. A couple of small changes we made for the race seemed to have helped. Ben felt much more confident, and I was happier with the car than where it was in practice so that was nice. I lost a little track position with a drive-through but then managed to overtake a couple of cars on track. Until I got out of the car, I didn't know where we were. It was a nice surprise to see we were third.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I couldn’t have imagined this. Even if you look at the way the race unfolded, we didn’t have the speed to win it. We had to let others take themselves out of contention, and we’ll take it any way we can get it! We ran a clean race and a hard race. We did everything we could to stay up front. The last 30 minutes of Dani staying in front of the McLaren was just epic. To start 13th and end up in first place after 10 hours of hard racing is not easy. And it’s great to have Keating Chevrolet in Victory Lane!”
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We started the race quite well. I was able to drive from ninth to fourth. We had a strong car and were climbing up the order. When I came into the box and started my second stint, shortly after that we had a technical issue and had to retire the car. The team did a really, really good job. I hope to come back stronger at the next race at Imola."
Press Release CORVETTE RACING AT QATAR: TF Sport Nabs Hyperpole Spot
No. 81 Corvette to start on LM GT3 fifth row to kick off FIA WEC season
LUSAIL, Qatar (Feb. 27, 2025) – TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start the Qatar 1812 Km and FIA World Endurance Championship season from the fifth row of the LM GT3 grid following Friday’s two-stage qualifying.
Rui Andrade qualified the No. 81 Corvette ninth in class after teammate Tom Van Rompuy advanced the Z06 GT3.R from the full-field first qualifying session. Van Rompuy, the 2024 Qatar pole-winner in LM GT3, was the ninth-quickest driver in the 12-minute opening qualifying run at 1:56.248 (104.266 mph). Teammate Andrade went faster to 1:55.424 (105.012 mph) in the 10-car Hyperpole session.
The duo will team with Charlie Eastwood in the No 81 Corvette for the second consecutive WEC season. Van Rompuy starts two rows ahead of Ben Keating in the No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which just missed moving into the Hyperpole contest. He will drive with Jonny Edgar and Daniel Juncadella.
The 3.37-mile, 16-turn Losail International Circuit was the site of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s WEC debut a year ago. Armed with the lessons learned from the venue at year ago plus a win and runner-up finish to start 2025 in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, TF Sport is hoping to continue the momentum from last year’s double-podium finish at the season finale in Bahrain and spring ahead to championship contention in a stacked 18-car LM GT3 field.
TF Sport and the rest of the FIA WEC field will open the season with the Qatar 1812 Km at 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 28.
TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I feel like our weakness so far has been the low-fuel, new-tire runs. We’ve struggled with it since the Prologue. Besides that, our car is super-strong on the long run with full fuel. We showed it earlier today. Charlie had mega pace in FP3, which is the part of the race where it counts. It’s a long race with a lot of time to move up. Obviously I’m frustrated and wish I could have done a bit better. But we have something to work toward for the next race to see if we can improve a little bit the single-lap balance. Other than that, I’m happy with the balance for this race. There is a long time to go and anything can happen.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’ve been up at the pointy end of things since we got here. The difference from this time last year is astronomical. We are in a pretty good spot. I’d say we’re slightly better when it’s hotter. The weather change hasn’t hindered us but I think it’s brought some of the cars that are using the tires too much closer. The pack actually seems close together, which is nice for the racing. From our side, it’s been seamless the last three or four days. Coming back with Rui and Tom, it’s good that we all know the car and we’ve all driven the car here. You kind of get into the business end of the performance way earlier than you would expect. With that we’ve been making some good steps forward. As always, I think long runs and tire deg are in our wheelhouse so we should be in good shape.”
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It has been straight-forward for us. Last year we were trying to understand the car and what we could do with it in certain scenarios. Now we are fully focused on performance, and that makes a massive difference. Every season we have learned things about setup and trying to go forward. That is what makes such a difference from last year. We have a fully reliable GT3 car that we can push forward as a team.
“Hopes are high. The weather has changed quite a bit since the Prologue. The wind has picked up and the aero sensitives are something that is tricky in the Corvette. It’s such a well-made GT3 car with a big aero platform, and that has set us back a little bit during free practice. We were a bit caught by surprise with how much the wind was affecting our performance in some of the corners. We’re trying to assess those little issues and try to set up the car in a different way. Where we were in the Prologue, we were very confident and now we need to find a way around some of those wind gusts that pick up in some high-speed corners. But we have a strong lineup, a strong GT3 Corvette and a strong team. I’m confident we can score big tomorrow.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT QATAR: A Positive Prologue
TF Sport Corvettes show strong form in testing ahead of WEC opener
LUSAIL, Qatar (Feb. 22, 2025) – TF Sport’s six drivers expressed satisfaction with the team’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs following the FIA World Endurance Championship’s two-day Prologue test ahead of the Qatar 1812 Km and the opening round of this year’s season-long LM GT3 title race.
The two Corvettes collectively completed 602 laps for 2,028.74 miles across the four Prologue sessions at the 3.37-mile, 16-turn Lusail International Circuit, which plays host Friday to the WEC’s first race of the year for the second consecutive season.
TF Sport was well-represented at the top portion of the combined LM GT3 time sheets following four sessions across Friday and Saturday. Corvette newcomer Jonny Edgar led the Corvette charge with the fifth-fastest time among all 54 LM GT3 drivers - a 1:55.132 (105.428 mph) lap during Saturday’s final session in the No. 33 Corvette that he will share during this season with Ben Keating and factory driver Daniel Juncadella, who was a little more than a tenth of a second off his teammate’s time.
Fellow factory pilot Charlie Eastwood wasn’t far off Edgar’s pace with a 1:55.174 (105.210 mph) lap in the final session, as well. He finished the Prologue as the 11th-fastest LM GT3 driver in the No. 81 Z06 GT3.R that he will share for the second year in a row with Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy, last year’s Qatar pole-sitter in class.
The 3.37-mile, 16-turn Losail International Circuit was the site of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s WEC debut a year ago. Armed with the lessons learned from the venue at year ago plus a win and runner-up finish to start 2025 at Daytona, TF Sport is hoping to continue the momentum from last year’s double-podium finish at the season finale in Bahrain and spring ahead to championship contention in a stacked 18-car LM GT3 field.
TF Sport and the rest of the FIA WEC field will open the season with the Qatar 1812 Km at 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 28.
TF SPORT POST-PROLOGUE QUOTES
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s a big difference from last year and a massive step forward. Not that we weren’t prepared last year; I think we were in a good place but unfortunately with not enough mileage in the car, the team was new… so we had to focus too much on solving little hiccups, which are expected in a brand new car. Now we are focusing 100 percent on the performance. This is the second year of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in this championship. It’s great to see also in terms of team preparation and driver lineup… everything has taken a step forward and that’s very exciting to see.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’ve been enjoying things so far. Everyone seems pretty happy with the car. It’s enjoyable working with TF Sport again. Most of the people I’ve already known but I’m also getting used to working with some of the new people. Ben and Dani I’ve gotten to know more over the last few days and it’s been nice working with them. They’re obviously both very quick. It’s mine and Ben’s first time here so it took us both a little bit to get used to the track but I feel we’re both very comfortable at the end, the car was nice to drive and the days went smoothly. We tried a few things but if we had to race as we were now, we would be in a pretty good position. Now we are just trying to find the last few things to see if we can make the car even better. But it’s nothing big or major. We’re overall pretty happy.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was great to get back in the Corvette and with TF Sport. There are still some tweaks to come but I feel like I’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in two days of testing. TF Sport clearly knows what they’re doing. It feels more comfortable and at home. I love running with TF Sport. I love racing in the Corvette. It’s easy to drive, and I know I will continue to improve throughout the week. I’m still making improvements in the comfort level and ergonomics of the car in learning about it on this track. I’ve never been on this circuit so it’s been nice to have time to get up to speed during the Prologue.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “There is close to no comparison to where we were a year ago. Everyone is in a much better place… with the continuity between us as drivers, we know what we need to do. Also the team is way more well-versed with the Corvette and with the steps forward with the Z06 GT3.R since this time last year, it’s hard to compare. Ultimately we seem to be in a pretty good spot at the minute. The lineups between the two cars is going to help a lot. If anything, we (on the No. 81) were stronger last year and now the No. 33, at least on paper, is on paper the strongest lineup on the grid. We have extra data use and more people doing faster laps times that will give us a really good idea of where we are in that regard. At the minute, it’s all clean sailing for us.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I feel really good. We have the sense as drivers that the team and Corvette Racing really put a lot of effort into the car throughout the end of last year and in the winter. The improvements are clear in both performance and reliability. There is a lot less guessing and more confidence in the package. We know we are quick. Now it’s more about maximizing things and putting those together. I wish we were at the point last year where we are now! Everything is going much more smoothly, we have a lot more control on the torque sensor side and the cars are running faultlessly. No issues and no reason to stop. Things feel really, really good. Having the kinds of drivers that we have inside the team makes us all improve.”
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For myself and the team, we go into the season more confident because we have a year under our belt. We went to some tracks where I had never been before, and having the miles and progression on the Corvette makes us more confident and hungry to go for nice results this year. The entire team is a nice step up from last year. We will have two really competitive cars, which is good and keeps everyone on their toes. You can learn from each other and help each other. It’s nice.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: AWA Corvette Wins The Rolex!
Win for No. 13 Corvette is first in a 24-hour race for Corvette Z06 GT3.R
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2025) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R started its second season of competition by winning one of the biggest races the world as AWA and drivers Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern and Martin Kirchhöfer captured the GT Daytona (GTD) victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The No. 13 Corvette crossed the finish line by 1.454 seconds for the 21st victory for Chevrolet in the Rolex 24 and the fifth for the Corvette Racing program since 1999. AWA’s victory was its second in three seasons at Daytona, also the first in a 24-hour race for the Corvette GT3 and 12th since debuting at the Rolex 24 a year ago.
Five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs entered the race with two making the podium. Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella placed second in GTD PRO in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Z06 GT3.R.
GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results
· No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – Runner-up in class
· No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone –– Seventh in class
· No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – Ninth in class
GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results
· No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – First in class
· No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 20th in class
AWA’s victory began to take shape past the halfway point. Both Fidani and Kern completed the minimum drive time in the first 13 hours to set the stage for Bell and Kirchhöfer to drive most of the remaining 11 hours with Kern giving the pair a stint’s worth of a break before going the rest of the way.
The GTD race swung in favor of AWA inside the final seven hours when Bell stopped for fuel and tires and retained the class lead. The class running order went back and forth the rest of the way with Bell taking the lead for good with 20 minutes left and running as low as fourth after a restart with 40 minutes to go.
As joyous as the win for AWA was, the fate of the No. 4 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports was just as heartbreaking. After cycling up and down in the GTD PRO order, Tommy Milner moved into the lead inside the final two hours but his attempt to extend his lead over the second-place No. 1 car was repeatedly blocked by that car’s team entry. That allowed the No. 1 to get to the back of Milner’s Corvette, which suffered rear damage that required multiple stops to repair.
Despite that, the No. 4 squad remained in contention with Varrone racing his way up to second before the trio eventually finished seventh. The wild late-race chaos also saw Sims go from seventh to second inside the final hour.
The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch took the fight to the GTD PRO regulars and consistently ran in the class’s top half for the majority of the race.
DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette was on pace for a solid result in its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut before retiring at the halfway point with Charlie Eastwood moving toward the front.
The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is 1812KM of Qatar – the opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship – on Friday, February 28. The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 15.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: "Congratulations to Andrew Wojteczko, drivers Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, Lars Kern and Marvin Kirchhöfer and all of AWA for their incredible victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. What this team has achieved in one year with the Corvette is nothing short of phenomenal. Thank you to AWA and every person and partner who contributes to Corvette Racing's success. There is no better way for AWA to start the season and the team's road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans."
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "This means absolutely everything. To me, to my teammates Orey and Lars and Marvin. Everybody on this team has worked so hard. To think where we were this time last year and how far we've come to now... it's so much hard work to do this. From the minute the checkered flag fell at Petit Le Mans, no one took a rest. No one took a break. It's been 24-7 since then to get a car that is capable of winning the Daytona 24 Hours. AWA gave the four of us car to do it. IMSA is the hardest championship in the world. Our competitors gave us a hell of a run. I had to work so hard to get on top of those guys but we managed to make it work and bring it home in the last 10 minutes. Thank you to the competition for making it this hard, and thank you to AWA and my teammates to get us over the line."
The winning pass: "Honestly, I can't remember a thing. There were PRO cars, there were GTD cars... I don't remember that. I'll have to watch the video later! Every time there was a car in front of me, I was trying to overtake it. I asked the guys to stop giving me updates on the radio. I just a GT car and wanted to pass it. That's all I was focused on. I can't thank my teammates and everyone enough. That's one beat up Chevrolet Corvette but they make them tough in Detroit!"
More on the win: "That was so tough. The competition here in this series is the best in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. I couldn't have asked for a better Corvette to take on the best here. There was some hard, hard racing... really hard but fair all the way. I have to give credit to our competitors. That was proper racing and why I love this race series. I hope the fans enjoyed it as well. I can't thank AWA, Corvette, GM and my teammates. Everyone did such a good job giving us a car to go to work in."
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "This was always a dream, but I didn't think about it before coming here two weeks ago. I think I drove my best-ever race in this one, the car was hooked up, my teammates drove really well and everything just came together. This is huge boost for the team and myself heading to the 24 Hours Le Mans. If we can this one, I think Le Mans also is a possibility as well. We'll take that energy from here and roll it forward into that. But first, let's try going for the 12 Hours next at Sebring!"
LARS KERN, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I thought this is something that would never to happen to me. I lost out on a big win on the Nurburgring once where I was pretty sure that we had it. So I kind of thought I’m just the unlucky guy. Today, we all did our job but then at the end, we were discussing who was going into the car and I put my money on Matt. And we were all like ‘yeah, he can do it.’ What he did at the end and how the car performed over the whole race was just incredible. We knew on pace that we had an edge on everybody because the car was just absolutely epic to drive. Loved it. That’s why all of us had great pace in the race. But then at end it was just pure carnage and chaos. The way he managed it was incredible. The team with so many hiccups and so many gremlins with refueling and stuff, we always found a solution for it. It’s unreal.”
What does this do for you and for the team going to the other 24-hour race…
“We were laughing a couple of days ago that if we win this, it’s a good test for Le Mans. So we can continue like this. I think that’s our approach.”
MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “How I’m describing this one, I don’t know. I’m lost for words. What an amazing race. I mean the result is one thing, but if you look behind the scenes, AWA, GM, Chevy and everyone, the amount of work everyone put in to have a great race and then actually winning the race in the last 30 minutes, I mean it's absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone for the support...to Chevy, to AWA, they welcomed me in the best possible way. As we said, quite nice way to start - one race, one win. Hopefully, there’s a few more coming. Amazing result, and just very, very thankful for everyone on the team involved to win the Rolex 24."
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “All race we were going everywhere, basically. We solved a wiring problem during the night, and the car got back to being alive. We were lucky our crew could fix that, and the car was back in contention and fast. Ever since I drove it at night, we at least had a chance. I don’t think it would have made a ton of difference, but it’s a shame that penalty that I had, which from my point of view, was a little bit on the edge and avoidable from both sides. Such a shame. That put us on our back foot, and no yellows for three hours, at least. That was painful because if there were a yellow, we could have made our way to P1 and P2. I think we were both fast enough to be P1 or 2 or be up front on regular strategy instead of gambling on our strategy. Here you only want to win, but the good thing you can take is championship points for manufacturers, drivers, and teams. We’ll go up from here. And congratulations to the AWA guys on their win in GTD with their Corvette.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Right at the end for the last few hours, things really chopped and changed a lot for everyone in the field, really. But our Corvettes were working really well. We maybe didn’t have the pace overnight, but during the day things really came to us and we had the laptime. It was just a little bit difficult to race in a pack with a couple of the other manufacturer cars who were particularly fast on the straights and weaker in the corners, which is where we made our laptimes. Honestly, from where things looked like a few hours from the end, second is pretty good. But when you’re fighting super close for the win, you can’t help as a sportsman to feel disappointed not to get the win.”
Considering where you were a year ago…
“I thought that exactly too. Here we had a near flawless race. Our Corvette held up really, really well. The whole team did a fantastic job to execute so much of the race so well. It was a good start for the year.”
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I've had some time to cool down and to be honest, it’s an amazing result to finish second. A great start to the year. Really thankful to the team. They made us believe in winning, and we ended up just short. Alex is an absolute legend. That last 30 minutes gave us the shivers and made us dream about the victory. We just came short. It is what it is. Tomorrow will taste way better and I think looking at the overall performance and where we’re coming from one year ago, it’s fantastic. So really happy for the Pratt and Miller guys, everyone at Corvette Racing. They gave us a fantastic Corvette GT3 car and that was good fun.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (on incident with No. 48: “That’s not what IMSA is about, sports car racing is about. First and foremost, the driver should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed... with that kind of racing. It is team racing here but not like that. They have a car that’s laps down out of the race whose only job is basically only to help the teammate, and not like that. Lap after lap, blocking, blocking, blocking, waiting for me. It’s just like I said, not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing. I don’t have an issue with 1 car. Those guys are in their own race. It’s just the sister car that’s out there just to be a nuisance. Poor sportsmanship, poor driving, just embarrassing on their part.
“It sounds like they timed their pit stop to come out in front of me. On their previous stint, they waited for me until I got close, then held me up for a bit but for whatever reason, either he pit or got the black flag, then came out and did it again. Their only goal is to race dirty. Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go. I was content for a while just to sit behind him. I’m not a big believer in spirits and those kinds of things, but if karma was going to work, it would be a good time today.”
More on the incident...
"Basically that's not what IMSA and sports car racing is about. Hard racing between competitors is totally fine. I have no issue with the 1 car. At the end of the day the driver of the 48 should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed... a car that's only out there to slow us down isn't what this race is about. I have no issue with the 1. They're still in the hunt. We'll continue to race them clean as we have."
"In the end what hurt us the most was to continue to stay out after they had a blocking penalty to block more. Whoever was in the 48 really slowed me up in (Turn) Three and got me a little bit crossed up and put me into the 1. The car isn't totally right for sure. There's lasting damage from all of that for sure, not to mention the problems we had with the bumper. Hopefully that is fixed now. It's just disappointing. The team at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has done a great job all race long. I'm really proud of our guys. Nicky and Nico have done a great job all race long. It's a shame for us to work that hard to put us into contention to have a good result and for it to be spoiled like that was pretty pathetic."
CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It's been so much fun bringing Trackhouse to IMSA and run the Rolex 24 with this team. All my teammates were a blast to be teammates with and hang out with off the track. Ben brought so much expertise to the team, and Scott and Shane - with all their experience racing V8 Supercars, IndyCar, NASCAR - I had a lot to learn from. I'm grateful that I got this chance to race with all those guys and race with them. I'm frustrated with how the race ended but looking back at the last two weeks, it was so much fun that I don't sweat the result too much."
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Six-Hour Report
Corvettes work their way forward in opening hours of 2025 opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 25, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s contingent of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs found their way toward the front of their respective classes in the opening phase of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
All five Corvettes were on the lead lap of their respective classes to first race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, an encouraging start to the second year of the Z06 GT3.R program.
Both of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ pair of Corvettes ran in the top-three of the 15-car GTD PRO class in the first six hours of the race. Alexander Sims was as high as second in class in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R, followed by Tommy Milner in the No. 4 sister Corvette during their opening stint.
The two yellow Corvettes were second and fourth at the six-hour mark. Nico Varrone led the charge in the No. 4 with Daniel Juncadella completing the opening driver rotation in the No. 3.
The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R was on the GTD PRO lead lap with Shane van Gisbergen in the middle of his opening stint and running 10th. Connor Zilisch drove a double-stint to start with Ben Keating following in a two-hour triple stint.
In GTD, AWA’s No. 13 Corvette ran as high as fourth as the race went into dark to start its second season with the Z06 GT3.R. Orey Fidani started the race and was in the middle of his second time through and was 18th after six hours.
DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette climbed its way up through the order in its WeatherTech Championship debut. After stints from Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Alec Udell to start, Pipo Derani was just outside the top-10 in 12th place but also on the lead lap.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It was pretty standard racing out there. In the first couple of stints at Daytona, you want to take it easy and start to get a feel in terms of where we're strong and where our Corvettes are working well around the track so we can build a picture of later in the race."
Avoiding an opening-lap spin by a P2 car...
"I was being told to go outside by my engineer. He could see the screen at the moment, and I was like, 'Nope, don't think so!' at the last minute. But thankfully all was safe for everyone."
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Early on it was pretty uneventful, which was good. It looked like most of the field there at the start was nose-to-tail. Even after the pit stop cycle, it seemed like most of the GTD PRO field was still pretty close together. I just followed Simsy around for awhile and did some racing a little bit toward the end, but so far so good."
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “All good so far. Car is doing well. We’re trying to not take any risk and not do too many crazy things. It’s easy to kind of get mixed up in GTD stuff which is unnecessary, but so far so good. Car feels great, so let’s try and make it to the end. Some of the others cars, I mean the Lambo, is incredibly quick. That’s going to be tough. I think they already had some issue, so let’s hope they have some more. Then we’ll see what happens later in the race.”
On tire degradation versus other cars.
“To be honest, I don’t know about the others, but these tires now, did qualifying, ten laps, and a double-stint. If the car feels like that with those tires on, I’d sign for it. It’s all good.”
CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was good. We just got a drive-through as I got out of the car for pit protocol which puts us back a little bit. The car hangs on really well through the double stint. We lack a little bit of raw pace, but I think we make it back on the long runs. It’s going to evolve a lot through the day and night. We’ve got definitely some work to be made and some ground to be made up ahead of us, but it’s not a bad start. It’s early, so anything can happen.”
You had to avoid a spinning car on the opening lap….
“Yeah, the LMP2 for me on Lap 1, and then one was passing me in Turn 4 one lap in. It came from way back. It was a bit sketchy. Between the GTD cars, we’re all just in a line in the draft until the prototypes caught us and we got split up a little bit. Pretty calm so far.”
Are you having more fun considering your teammates with pretty big personalities? What’s it been like to have Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen as teammates?
“It’s been really good to have Scott (McLaughlin), SVG and Ben (Keating) even. Ben’s got some character and a lot of experience in this sport, so it’s been really cool to learn from all those guys. We’ve definitely had a lot of fun together racing. They’re teaching me a lot which is super beneficial for me. It’s not often you get to team up with a team like this and learn from guys like that. I’ve been very fortunate to have all them supporting me and pushing me in the right direction, and keeping our team straight. Shane’s obviously done this race in GT cars a lot before and has a good bit of experience. We’ve been definitely learning on him to kind of ask where you think we are and how do you think we’re doing. He definitely understands GT racing a bit more than me and Scott, but Ben and Shane definitely have a ton of experience and it’s been a lot of fun learning from those guys and hanging out with them off track as well.”
Is there anything fun you’re learning or they’re teaching you?
“Majority of good things. I’ve definitely learned some Kiwi slang that I probably didn’t need to know that I know now.”
Do you feel like you’re being a little bit of a Freshman being hazed by them?
“I said that before. Yeah, it’s fun though. I bring them coffee in the morning, and we all have a laugh together. It’s been really cool to have them picking on me at times, but they feel like big brothers to me and that’s been really cool.”
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "No issues. The car is running perfectly. I feel like we are in a really good position at this point. I basically double-stinted the tires and we still had good pace at the end. So the car feels really, really good. It's enjoyable. always gets wild at the restarts but you have to keep your head down and relax because we know the car has pace throughout the stint to move up the order."
MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was great. Honestly, AWA, I think we did a good job as a team. The car, our Corvette, honestly, we’re feeling good out there. I think we’ve got some good pace. We’re not as strongest on the straight, I’ve got to say, which makes overtaking quite hard, but I think on the pace-side, we are very competitive. But we’re only in around four hours into the race. A bit of the race is done but still a long way to go. We’ve just got to keep it clean. I’m enjoying my time. Honestly, I’m really enjoying being out there, enjoying the race, enjoying being in Daytona.”
Close calls on track?
“Well there’s some guys there I think they believe it’s like the last lap of the race, so they make your life quite difficult to get past them. Had a few nice overtakes into the Bus Stop around the outside of the Ferrari. We all love to pass a Ferrari on the outside, so that was good. Not bad, just mainly fun, and just have to keep it nicely together now for the rest of the race.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The car felt pretty good. I feel like we were moving forward a bit. There was a lot of energy saving trying to maximize the amount of time that we can spend on the racetrack. So it's a little bit of balance of if there is an opportunity to make a pass, push and try to get past that car in front of you. But you're also trying to keep in the draft of another car so you can get that top speed because that's worth a lot here at Daytona."
SALIH YOLUC, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The car felt nice to be honest. It’s just for some reason because of straight-line speed issues, it was a bit difficult to race others. But all in all it was a great stint.”
PRESS RELEASE CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Toward the Front in GTD PRO
Three Corvettes in top-eight after qualifying; AWA, DXDT eager to go forward in GTD
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 23, 2025) – The three Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sped toward the front of the class Thursday in qualifying ahead of this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entry led the way for the Corvette camp by qualifying fourth in the 15-minute session for the 15-car GTD PRO field with a lap of 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) – less than a half-second off the class pole-winning time.
Sims had another half-second in hand over Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports squad that will see both of its cars on the second and third rows for Saturday’s start.
The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the next row after Connor Zilisch’s effort that saw him qualify eighth in class and barely a tenth-of-a-second off Milner’s time.
In the GTD ranks, the DXDT Racing and AWA Corvettes qualified 16th and 17th respectively in the massive 22-car field in class. Charlie Eastwood did the honors in the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for DXDT’s maiden qualifying run as a full-season WeatherTech Championship team. His lap of 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) was about eight-tenths clear of Orey Fidani in the No. 13 AWA Corvette.
GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Qualifying Times
· No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) – fourth in class
· No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone – 1:46.445 (120.400 mph) – sixth in class
· No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – 1:46.579 (120.249 mph) – eighth in class
GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times
· No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) – 15th in class
· No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – 1:48.334 (118.301 mph) – 16th in class
The Rolex 24 marks the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the second season of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program.
This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with live television segments on NBC and USA plus flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First of all, low fuel run here. You’re getting a load of laptime on the straights, and the car is pretty alive. Qualifying at any point is quite exciting when it comes down to two or three laps of the tire peak where you’ve got to try and nail a lap, which is always tough in itself. Simply the fact I was doing qualifying, it was exciting. These conditions, it was really hard to switch the tire on and I didn’t get it. It was just challenging to switch the tire on compared to normal. The car was feeling nice. This Corvette is lovely. It’s great in loads of phases but it’s really exciting when you’re driving it on low fuel. The team gave me a really nice car. We did the best with what we could in terms of the balance of the Corvette out there. It was really nice to drive. Quite a big delta to the Fords. I can imagine where the laptime is gained on that, but well done to those guys, and we’re looking forward to the race. We’ll know more, honestly 12, 14, 16 hours into the race. It seems like the car is working well, and that’s all you can ask for now.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Glad to be at the pointier end of the class. Obviously, P1 is a little bit out of touch there, but otherwise, we’re generally pretty close. We’ve worked very hard in the offseason. The engineers have – based on last year’s data and the car we’ve had – to try and improve our Corvette and I think we’ve done a great job in improving the car. Hopefully, that will translate to a good race for us. So far, reliability-wise, we’ve been very good which is I think is another important part to make this race successful for this team. From that side, all good. It’s been a great week so far with my teammates Nicky and Nico. We’ve got a couple more practice sessions here to work on it a bit more. I think we’re in the hunt. I don’t think we quite have the fastest car, but like I said, we still have two more practice sessions to work on it. I think more than anything, we’ve gone down a good path with the car so far all through the Roar, practice and qualifying as well. Good car balance, so we’ll just continue to tweak on it.”
CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It definitely feels good to get qualifying out of the way. It doesn’t mean too much in a 24-hour race. There are a few cars out there that are going to be tough to beat. We’re going to need some help, but overall the car is driving well, and I think we’ll have a good car for race runs and longer stints. I feel like that’s one thing we were really good at in practice. Just hoping we can keep that up in the race and keep our car driving well, and I think that will pay off for us.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Not what we expected. Just didn’t seem to be able to generate a lot of grip. It’s a very different condition than what we had in the Roar, and we seemed a bit more comfortable. Both in FP1 and there in qualifying, we just didn’t seem to be able to gain enough grip. We need to look at the data to see where we’re missing it. Ultimately, if it heats up again for the weekend, we might be in a better window but we still need to understand why we’re not there at the minute. Bit of work to do, for sure.
“Ultimately, we still had the same opportunities as everyone else to be up front and we’re not. For sure it’s not a be all to end all with 24 hours to go to the front, which is very straightforward if we have the pace. But we definitely seem to be missing a bit at the minute. It’s going to be a case of working out where we’re missing that, and go from there.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Qualifying went well. The car felt amazing out there, and it just kept getting better and better with every lap. Huge credit to the team for their hard work dialing it in. I’m feeling confident and excited heading into the race!”
Rolex 24 at Daytona January 22-26, 2025 Daytona International Speedway Circuit Length: 3.56 miles Entry by Class: GTP- 12 LMP2 - 12 GTD PRO - 15 GTD - 22
Qualifying: Thursday, January 23, 2025 (GTD) 2:10 PM to 2:25 PM EDT (GTD Pro) 2:35 PM to 2:50 PM EDT (LMP2) 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM EDT (GTP 3:25 PM to 3:40 PM EDT Qualifying Online Coverage for everyone: IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers) http://imsatv.imsa.com/ IMSA MOBILE APP IMSA YOUTUBE CHANNEL PEACOCK STREAMING Television/Online Broadcast: (ROLEX 24) SATURDAY JANUARY 25, 2025 (All times ET) USA: 1:30 pm ET- 11:59 pm ET Peacock Streaming 1:30 pm ET -2:30 pm ET NBC 2:30 pm ET- 6:30 pm ET USA 1:35 pm ET-11:59 am ET IMSA youtube
International: 1:35 pm ET- 11:59 pm ET IMSA TV 1:35 pm ET-11:59 pm ET Rev Canada
SUNDAY JANUARY 28, 2024 (All times ET)
USA:
12:00 am ET- 2:00 pm ET Peacock streaming 12:00 pm ET -2:00 pm ET NBC 12:00 am ET-1:40 pm ET IMSA youtube
International: 12:00 am ET- 1:40 pm ET IMSA TV TBA REV Canada
PRESS RELEASE CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Stage Set for Rolex 24
Group of five Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs wrap up three days of Roar testing
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 19, 2025) – The group of five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs set for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona completed their three days of testing at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday with the four teams focused ahead to next weekend’s twice-around-the-clock classic.
The Rolex 24 marks the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the second season of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program. After claiming 11 race wins and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturers Championship in GTD PRO during 2024, optimism is high heading into Daytona.
The five Corvettes combined to complete 980 laps for nearly 3,500 miles – valuable track time considering there are only three practice sessions and qualifying across Thursday and Friday of the coming week before the green flag falls Saturday.
The gaps in both GTD PRO and GTD were razor-thin with all five of the Z06 GT3.Rs well entrenched in the top-10 of their respective classes.
Antonio Garcia set the pace among the GTD PRO Corvettes with the fourth-fastest time across the weekend – 1:48.242 (118.401 mph) during Saturday afternoon’s running.
In GTD, AWA’s Matt Bell put the No. 13 Corvette fifth class with a 1:48.169 (118.481 mph) in Friday’s opening test for the quickest Corvette lap of the weekend.
GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times
· No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – 1:48.242 (118.401 mph) – fourth-fastest in class
· No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone – 1:48.515 (118.103 mph) – 10th-fastest in class
· No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – 1:48.435 (118.190 mph) – ninth-fastest in class
GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times
· No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – 1:48.169 (118.481 mph) – fifth-fastest in class
· No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 1:48.389 (118.240 mph) – 10th fastest in class
This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.
Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.
The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23. The race will feature live television segments on NBC and USA and flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “From our side, things throughout the Roar were as positive as we could have hoped. All five Corvettes ran without any significant issue during the three days in a variety of conditions. The feedback from the teams has been good and valuable for our collective group. Our goal now is to take that input and what we saw in the data to help the group be in the best possible spot for Thursday’s practice and qualifying, and then ultimately the race.”
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The most important thing from this weekend is definitely miles. You need miles and go toward your program for the race. For this race as always, it doesn’t really matter where you start. At some point, you’re going to cycle to the back of the field and then back to the front with the yellows. Unlike Le Mans where you have to be up front from Lap One, here you can sit back a little bit and stay out of trouble. But you need to know as much as possible your setups, how to react to track changes and different approaches. That was the goal last year, and we learned more about that this year.
“The GT class splits will be something that helps the overall racing this year. It was always a strange feeling where you were mixing fights in two different classes. I don’t think the GTD cars wanted us in that, so it’s nice that we are split now so we can have our own race and not interfere with each other. This is a good step forward.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This is the first opportunity in the offseason after the guys have had a chance to look at everything, to come with some new setup options and ideas. There were things that can be tidied up through the experience of last year. It’s the first chance to prove those things. Then it’s about miles, getting all three guys in the car and getting new guys who are on the team comfortable in their positions. You try to get yourself as prepared as possible not just for the Rolex but for the season. With Nico joining the team, it gives him a good chance to get comfortable again with the team and engineers, do some driver change practices and all that kind of stuff. It’s all a little bit of housekeeping things that you need to do and an opportunity to work on the car to make sure we have our Corvette as strong as we can have it coming into the race.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It's like a different planet compared to last year. The team is a better spot, the Corvette is in a better spot and the team is in a better spot with the car. It's hugely positive on that side of things. I feel like we feel as well-prepared as we have been coming here, even the year we won it. From a preparation standpoint, I think we are as good as you could possibly get going into the Rolex 24."
MARVIN KIRCHÖFFER, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m still figuring out the car a little bit because it is still new to me. But I’m generally quite impressed with it. The team is really helping me along, and my teammates are giving great advice to help me get up to speed. Overall I’m very impressed by AWA. They are doing a great job giving me all the information and also from the operational side. From Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller, I’ve found it very interesting and very professional. I’m not really used to that, having these kinds of meetings. It’s very good for the teams, very good for the brand and very good to have everyone on the same page. Obviously this gives you the best ingredients to have a strong Rolex 24.
“Confidence is one of the most important things – feeling confident with the car, feeling confident with the procedures. This race is about minimizing mistakes and errors. So it’s not ultimately about having the fastest car and fastest drivers. It’s about minimizing those errors and mistakes. I can see here that this is down to Chevy as the manufacturer, Pratt Miller and obviously the team side with AWA. All these three are working very, very well together and the communication is very good.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re on-track with things. DXDT Racing, although its their first full-season IMSA race, they’ve got a lot of great people that have done a lot of IMSA races, especially this one. One of our guys, this is his 42nd Daytona! But then we also have the likes of Bryan Sellers, who has been amazing to work with and is teaching us a lot. We’re on top of the strategy side and are trying to put us on the right side of all the scenarios of what can potentially go wrong in the race or lose you the race… whether that’s doing tricky pit stops, managing the tires and managing the race itself. Twenty hours of the race will be making sure we have a clean car for the end. Hopefully we have enough pace to be there at the end.
“You definitely wouldn’t think this their first race in IMSA, I’ll guarantee you that. It’s a really, really nice bunch to work with, which helps because there are no egos or wrong-doings within the team. To have that attitude in that we’re all still learning in individual ways. Everything is going as well as it can at the minute.”
PIPO DERANI, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Having the test in November was very useful for me so I got here knowing what to expect. It had been more than five years since I last drove a GT car. You don’t know what to expect. Then you have your first day in the car, then you second day and then things start coming back. You tweak your driving a little bit and start getting better and better. We’ve gone through that phase now. The team has been very supportive and especially Charlie with his experience in the Corvette. I got up to speed quicker than I thought I would, so that’s positive. It’s all about learning the maximum amount for next week.”
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Things have been pretty simple so far. Learning the ABS and electronics has been the biggest thing. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve driven a car with electronics like this. Understanding and putting your trust in those is difficult, especially for myself. But you get into a flow reasonably quickly. So yeah, it’s all been good.
“The simulator session (before the Roar) was incredible. Having that opportunity to do that work, I’m very thankful for that now. The way that Chevrolet has integrated us from a part-timers perspective, they’ve treated us like we are full-time. They’ve been great and the Corvette drivers have been great. I’ve texted back and forth with Dani Juncadella a couple of times, and he’s been awesome. It’s what I’m used to in IndyCar. The Team Chevy family is full of good people.”
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This event hasn’t changed a lot since I was here last. It’s still the same and has got a nice vibe. It’s awesome to be here with such a cool car. The Corvette is really easy to drive, but of course we want to make it faster which makes it harder to drive. So it’s been great to be back here. I wouldn’t say the race is about luck. It’s about getting all the little things right… preparation, making sure all the drivers are comfortable, making sure the team gets everything right. There are so many factors that go into getting a good result at a race like this. We just have to make sure everything is right.”
Five Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs set for three days of testing ahead of Rolex 24
DETROIT (January 15, 2025) – The second season of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R kicks off in a big way this weekend with the annual Roar Before the 24 – the stage-setting event for the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Five Corvette GT3s from four teams dot the 61-car entry across two of the four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The quintet of Corvettes each will test Friday through Sunday on the 3.56-mile Daytona Road Course ahead of next weekend’s season-opening round:
· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella (No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
· AWA – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Mavtin Kirchhoeffer (No. 13 Corvette)
· DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Pipo Derani (No. 36 Corvette)
· Trackhouse by TF Sport – GTD PRO: Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Corvette)
This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.
Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.
The Roar Before the 24 is set for January 17-19 with seven sessions scheduled across the three days. The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Everyone at Corvette Racing and our Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams is excited and optimistic heading to Daytona. After our initial season of racing and development, we feel confident going into this year’s Roar with a group of Corvettes that are both quick and reliable. The engineering teams across the whole Corvette Racing program have spent a considerable amount of time and effort making sure our teams are set up for success this year at Daytona and the rest of our 2025 schedule. With five Z06 GT3.Rs across two classes in this year’s Rolex 24, Corvette fans aren’t going to want to miss it.”
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We have a whole season under our belt now with the Corvette. Quite a few of the issues that we had last season are ones we’ve ironed out along with understanding the platform and understanding the car better so we can extract more performance from it more often. We understand the strengths and weaknesses of the package, of which there aren’t many weaknesses thankfully.”
“For Daytona, it’s always a huge challenge to complete the first race of the year. I would hope that this year it will be a step better than last year. Already last year we had good speed during the race, but with it being the first race of the ZZ06 GT3.R it was understandable that we were still finding out some areas that needed to be improved. Firstly the priority would be to finish the race with both cars on the Pratt Miller side on the lead lap without any reliability issues. If we are able do that then we’ll be able to fight for the places toward the front.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For me going into my second season in IMSA, it will make things a little bit easier. There will be track where I have now been to once instead of not having been there at all. One other very positive thing is that my 2023 teammate Nico is joining us as a third driver, which is something we are very happy about. He clearly was very good and a good teammate to have when we won the World Championship. I’m glad he is in our car instead of being in another and racing against him! He’s incredibly fast so I’m looking forward to working with him again. It’s a very positive outlook for the season.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I have been with this team since 2019, and I have grown so much with them as a driver over the years. I’m looking forward to another season in the GTD class with the Corvette. This year has been so important for us and we’ve learned a lot about the car throughout each round, with the help of GM and Chevrolet. We’re getting more and more competitive as we continue to progress, and I’m confident that 2025 will be even better.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm excited to get back to action with DXDT Racing at Daytona. We’ve got a very talented group of drivers, first-class engineers, crew and team leadership. It’s all an exciting combination. I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am of the efforts across the board to put the team in the best position to compete at the top here in GTD. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R treated us superbly last season and I’m pumped to tackle the IMSA challenges behind the wheel of the Chevy this year."
BEN KEATING, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I'm really excited for this. I've won Le Mans in a Corvette and won a World Championship in a Corvette. I'm thrilled to be back with TF Sport, a team that I know very well and one where we won a lot of races and a championship together. I'm teaming with some phenomenal Chevrolet drivers in Shane, Scott and Connor, which should be a lot of fun. This will be a big challenge but one that I know we are all up looking forward to and are up for.”
Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: Two Podiums to Close 2024!
TF Sport’s No. 81 Corvette second, No. 82 Z06 GT3.R third in LMGT3
SAKHIR, Bahrain (Nov. 2, 2024) – TF Sport and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R climbed on the class podium to close the FIA World Endurance Championship with second- and third-place finishes after the Eight Hours of Bahrain.
The No. 81 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Tom Van Rompuy and Rui Andrade were runners-up in the LMGT3 class, just ahead of the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R trio of Daniel Juncadella, Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud. Not only was it the first podium result for the Corvette GT3 program in this season’s championship, but it also is the first double-podium finish for the Corvette brand in FIA World Endurance Championship competition.
"Congratulations to TF Sport, team owner Tom Ferrier, the drivers and all the members of the team on today's double-podium to close the FIA WEC season in Bahrain - the first in this championship for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R,” said Mark Stielow, Director, GM Motorsports Competition Engineering. “It has been exciting to watch the team continually work and extract more and more from their Corvettes at each event this year. This is a great way not just to end 2024 but also use this as a springboard to bigger and better things in 2025."
After having potential podium finishes taken away in the previous two races, fortune finally went the way of the TF Sport squad in Bahrain. Both Corvettes led at one point, and the No. 81 ran in front six times for a race-high 121 laps.
The runner-up Corvette raced its way from eighth to first twice in the race – once in the opening hour and again following the race’s second safety-car period with less than two hours. Van Rompuy charged and passed six cars to go from eighth at the start to second by the end of his first stint. Eastwood emerged from the pitlane in the lead following the class pitstop cycle.
Both Eastwood and Andrade drove single stints to firmly establish the No. 81 Corvette by as much as 30 seconds at the end of the first driver rotation. Van Rompuy and Andrade drove double-stints in the middle of the race, but the first of two safety cars sent the race way from the No. 81 as it went from first down to eighth due to competitors behind the Corvette being on fresher tires.
Andrade survived and handed over to Eastwood with an hour, 45 minutes to go and the No. 81 Corvette in eighth place to set the stage for Eastwood’s charge.
The No. 82 Corvette had a thrilling drive-back of its own from early in the race. Koizumi picked up a spot from 10th at the start but was assessed a five-second, stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact in the opening 20 minutes. That dropped Koizumi down to 16th but he, Juncadella and Baud clawed their way back toward the front over the next four hours.
While the safety cars hurt the chances for the No. 81, the opposite was true for the sister Corvette. Juncadella found himself in 10th with about 90 minutes to go. He worked his way forward just as rapidly as his factory teammate Eastwood and gained two spots coming out of a full-course yellow period to fourth just ahead of the seven-hour mark.
Juncadella made his final stop two laps after Eastwood and emerged from the pitlane just ahead of the sister Corvette with 40 minutes to go but ceded the position on colder and newer tires than the No. 81.
The 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship starts February 28 in Qatar.
TF SPORT POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "The race was great from start to finish from us. We got super-unlucky with the first VSC and the timing of it. We weren't able to change tires and most of the class were. We dropped down the order by the time of my last double-stint. Our pace on the first set of tires was really strong, and the same with the second set as well. I just came out close to the No. 60 Lamborghini who ended up passing me on the outlap then we got to the back of the 54 who hadn't boxed and had a drive-through. So maybe a little bit of team owners to slow us down. We didn't give up until the very end. We got it down to three seconds but it wasn't enough. But ultimately for the team to finish with a double-podium is a fantastic result."
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We started the season on a high with pole position at Qatar. In between we had some dips but we have finished on another high – two podiums today. I'm a very happy man. There has been great progression that we have made with the team. It was a great effort by everyone, my co-drivers and the team."
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It kind of sums up our season again – a story of what could have been without the safety car. We were ahead by about 40 seconds and the race for us was in a good place. We were in a good rhythm and good pace. Tom, myself and Charlie did a really good job and I’m proud of what we did. I was kind of in no-man’s land because we didn’t take tires on my second stint. We were hoping the strategy would pay off, and Charlie got new tires and back into the lead. I’m really happy to finish the season with such strong races back-to-back-to-back. Since COTA, the car has been super-strong and the team has done a great job making it faster and faster. It’s good to end the season on a high.”
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s great to finish the season on a high like this – second and third for the team. This is incredible and I’m happy for TF Sport and Corvette Racing. This is the best way to finish the season with two cars on the podium and third for myself, Hiroshi and Seb. This has been a long time coming and I think we deserve it. It was a hard race at the end. The Lamborghini behind me was flying and I had good duel with him for 25 to 30 minutes. It was a tough one but we made it and I’m really, really happy and proud about that.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "This is a great finish and great way to finish the season. I'm really happy with my race throughout. It was my first time at this track, and during practices I feel I did very well. So I'm very happy with the result and weekend."
TOM FERRIER, TF SPORT OWNER: "I feel like this has been a long time coming. I think at COTA we could have had a podium and at Fuji we could have had a win were it not for some contact. So it's really nice to finish in this way. To get both cars on the podium is a massive team effort. I'm incredibly happy for all the guys and girls who have worked so hard. It's been a dry year for podiums but we've been getting better and better. Everyone at GM and Corvette Racing have been working tirelessly in the background. It's a lovely result for everyone involved. It sets us up for next year with a good starting point. We should come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders."
Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Plenty at Stake
Corvette teams aim for first Petit Le Mans win since '10, Endurance Cup and Akin Award
DETROIT (October 8, 2024) – Corvette Racing and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams are set to close the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar season with the annual 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in a highly anticipated finale.
Three of the first-year Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will race in the series for a final time in 2024 – the No. 3 and No. 4 from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO along with the No. 13 GTD entry from AWA, each sporting talented lineups for the day-to-night race around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit:
Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 3 Corvette Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern in the AWA Corvette
There is plenty at stake at this year’s Petit Le Mans. For starters, Corvette Racing entries haven’t tasted victory in the event since 2010, the longest drought at any venue in the program’s 26-year history.
Of the nine Corvette drivers in this year’s race, only Sims (2018 GTLM), Bell (2014 GTD) and Juncadella (2023 GTD PRO) have won Petit Le Mans. Among those that haven’t are Corvette Racing veteran stalwarts Garcia and Milner.
Nevertheless, hopes and confidence is high going into this year’s running. A victory in GTD PRO would go a long way toward securing the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturers championship, which Chevrolet leads by two points going into Road Atlanta.
The Pratt Miller Corvettes have displayed strong performance at each of the four previous endurance rounds this season – Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. For Petit Le Mans, points will be awarded at the four-, eight- and 10-hour marks.
One of the biggest prizes at the end of Petit Le Mans may await AWA. Going into Saturday, full-season driver Fidani leads the standings for the Bob Akin Award, which goes to the highest-finishing, Bronze-rated driver at the end of each race and at the end of the season. Fidani, Bell and Kern scored maximum points in the last round at Indianapolis, and the No. 13 Corvette did the same in the race before that at VIR.
Should AWA retain its hold on the lead position following Petit Le Mans, Fidani and AWA will earn an automatic invitation to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT3 class.
DXDT RACING ADDS TO CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R LINEUP IN 2025 IMSA GTD
Fresh off ending its GT World Challenge America season with 10 victories and second place in Pro points, DXDT Racing will enter a Corvette Z06 GT3.R for the full 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GTD class.
It adds a fourth Corvette GT3 to the grid with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (GTD PRO) and AWA (GTD) already confirmed.
"We are thrilled to see multiple Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in IMSA's GTD class for 2025,” said Mark Stielow, Director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Engineering. “DXDT Racing proved itself this year in GT World Challenge with double-digit victories across the Pro and Pro-Am classes in the first year with our Corvette GT3. We're proud to support David Askew and DXDT Racing as they continue pursuing their goals in becoming a well-established and successful team across multiple series in sports car racing.”
Petit Le Mans is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12. The first three hours will air live on NBC starting at noon followed by USA’s coverage from 6-10:30 p.m. Live streaming starts at noon ET on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Thursday’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This is going to be really crazy with the traffic but good for the show! I’m looking forward to it. I think we are coming into it in strong shape. It’s nice to have Dani back so Alex and I can have a little bit of a rest in the race! Let’s see how it comes out. I’ve been racing a Corvette at Road Atlanta since 2009 and haven’t won this one yet. It’s time to make it up and fix that!”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “With the number of GTP cars and the pace differences they have on the straights and not so much in the corners – plus the P2s – it’s going to be interesting among the different classes or cars, but the GTD PRO field is stacked in itself. It’s going to be super-hard from a driver point of view. There’s always mayhem. It’s the last race of the year and everyone is out to try to win championships or get the best positions they can. The racing is always pretty hard and fraught, but I love it. It’s an awesome place and really good fun with the undulation and nice, long backstraight for some overtaking opportunities.”
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s pretty crazy that I have not been back in IMSA since Sebring. It’s good because I feel like I am way more prepared ahead of Petit Le Mans with my experience in WEC with Corvette. It goes without saying that I want to defend my title there from last year, and it was an amazing experience. Being back in the car with Antonio, who is such a successful Spanish driver in the U.S., but hasn’t won Petit Le Mans, I hope I can be part of that success that he deserves after so many years racing there. That’s the goal and dream for that weekend. It should be an exciting weekend because of the race, the track, the atmosphere… everything that involves Petit Le Mans has always been exciting to me. So I’m really excited to get back and race again with the Pratt Miller guys in our Corvette.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s exciting to go to Petit Le Mans. We had a strong car in the IMSA race at Indianapolis. Road Atlanta is a track that I really enjoy and a place where the Corvette has gone well. We just don’t seem to have Lady Luck on our side there. I’d say we haven’t had a lot of luck this season in IMSA, so maybe we’re saving all of that for this race. We’ll have to work for it, that’s for sure. We’ve seen that all year long and know what it’s like in this championship. I haven’t won there, Antonio hasn’t won there, and Corvette Racing hasn’t won there in 2010. I can promise you without having to be asked the question that every man and woman at Corvette Racing is eager to have a good result there. We’ll put our absolute best effort forward to make that happen.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Petit Le Mans is a race that everyone looks forward to but also a race that not many of us in the team haven’t won before. So everyone badly wants to win but unfortunately for us so does the rest of the field. This race is similar to Sebring where things at the end of the race get slightly crazy. Hopefully things will be a little bit calmer than they have been. We need to focus on executing everything, not making mistakes and not getting any damage early on in the race. It’s always a bit crazy in terms of traffic, so I think we need to focus on being there for the end. It’s nice to have Earl as he is a very experienced driver and someone who fits in very well with our team. Hopefully we can finally get that well-earned win in the No. 4 Corvette this year! To do it at Petit Le Mans would be unbelievable.”
EARL BAMBER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I can’t wait. I did some simulator work a few weeks ago for the Corvette guys. It was really good to be back with the Corvette Racing guys back at the shop. I love the Z06 GT3.R and am looking forward to rounding out the year in it. The car has been quick. We had the pace and potential to podium earlier this year. It’s certainly quick. I hope we can achieve something cool at Petit Le Mans.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I love the Petit Le Mans event. It really is one of the hardest sports car races in the world. It’s a super intense race with one of the most packed fields of the season, but I always relish that challenge. It’s what makes it such an amazing event. We are coming here after an extremely competitive performance in the Battle On The Bricks, and our focus remains firmly centered on securing the Bob Akin Award and booking some plane tickets to France next year!”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re ready to give one final push this year. Petit Le Mans is such a great race, the track is fast and technical, and it really puts you to the test as a driver. We know we can do well here, we finished on the podium in last year’s event and we had a successful couple of days of testing here recently. The car feels good, and I think we’re all extremely motivated and hungry for another great result to finish off the year and accomplish the goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season.”
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Petit Le Mans is one of the best IMSA events of the year, and obviously we want to end the season on a high. We had a great test at Road Atlanta and we feel well prepared for what will be a pretty busy 10-hour race. Our Corvette showed great reliability and performance at Indianapolis, so I’m confident for what’s up next. The team started the year being new to the Corvette itself and to the GTD class as a whole. You can only imagine how difficult and intense this route has been, but we’ve built such an amazing, talented group within AWA. It’s an absolute pleasure being a part of this team and I have great confidence for 2025. Here’s to hoping we can cut out the ‘Petit’ for one of the 2025 races.”
2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points
GTD PRO Drivers Standings
1. Laurin Heinrich – 2887
2. Ross Gunn – 2788
3. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow – 2668
4. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2659
5. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 2646
7. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 2452
GTD PRO Teams Standings
1. No. 77 AO Racing – 2887
2. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2788
3. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 2668
4. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 2659
5. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2646
6. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2452
GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings
1. Porsche – 2950
2. Aston Martin – 2828
3. Chevrolet – 2761
4. Lexus – 2730
5. Ford – 2681
GTD Drivers Standings
1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 3006
2. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 2784
3. Mikael Grenier – 2513
4. Parker Thompson – 2213
5. Loris Spinelli/Misha Goikhberg – 2213
7. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 2088
GTD Teams Standings
1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 3006
2. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 2784
3. No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsport – 2513
4. No. 78 Forte Racing – 2213
5. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 2204
6. No. 13 AWA – 2088
GTD Manufacturers Standings
1. Mercedes-AMG – 3217
2. BMW – 2646
3. Lamborghini – 2608
4. Porsche – 2607
5. Aston Martin – 2518
7. Chevrolet – 2360
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: By the Numbers
• 1: As in one program, one manufacturer and one car model for 26 years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette
• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its 26 years: Sebring International Raceway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and as of this weekend Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
• 5: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road Atlanta since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019), Corvette C8.R (2020-2023) and now the eighth-generation Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which made its Road Atlanta debut at September’s six-hour IMSA race in 2020
• 10: Number of Road Atlanta victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2000 – eight of those at Petit Le Mans
• 10: Petit Le Mans wins for Chevrolet – eight in GT and two in Prototype. That ranks third among manufacturers in event history
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 28: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Barber Motorsports Park, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 53: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. DXDT Racing’s Patrick Liddy and Blake McDonald joined the list at Indianapolis in GT World Challenge America
• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 138: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 116 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and 10 in GT World Challenge America
• 307: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August at Road America in IMSA
• 42,306.48: Racing miles by Corvette Racing entries at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta since 1999. That represents 16,879 laps and more than 661 trips around Atlanta’s Interstate 285.
• 394,354.20: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
CORVETTE RACING AT MICHELIN RACEWAY ROAD ATLANTA (wins in bold)
1999 - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 5th in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Scott Sharp – 4th in GTS
2000 - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 3rd in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS
2001- No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Scott Pruett – 9th in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS (Pilgrim pole)
2002 - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)
2003* - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 3rd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS
2003 - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS
2004 - No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTS
MOTUL PETIT LE MANS RACE INFO October 9-12, 2024 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta DURATION: 10 Hours Circuit Length: 2.54 miles Corners: n12 Entry by Class: GTP (11) LMP2 (10) GTD Pro (13) GTD (20) Tune-in Details: Qualifying: Friday, October 13, 2023 (GTP) 4:15 PM to 4:30 PM EDT (GTD/GTD Pro) 3:25 PM to 3:40 PM EDT (LMP2) 3:50 PM to 4:05 PM EDT Qualifying Online Coverage for everyone: IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers) http://imsatv.imsa.com/
IMSA mobile app Peacock Streaming Television Broadcast: Saturday, October 12, 2024 NBC TV: 12:00 PM-03:00 PM EDT USA TV: 06:00 PM-10:30 PM EDT
CORVETTE RACING AT INDY: Third in Pro Race, Second in Points
Pace deficit too much for No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R to overcome at Indy Eight Hours
INDIANAPOLIS (October 5, 2024) – DXDT Racing’s trio of Tommy Milner, Alec Udell and Alexander Sims placed fourth overall and second in the GT World Challenge America Pro class Saturday at the end of the Indianapolis Eight Hours in the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
The result meant that Corvette factory driver Milner and teammate Udell finished second in the Pro Drivers and Teams championship standings, despite missing the first four races of the season. The two set a class record by winning their first eight races – some on pace, the others on making no mistakes.
A substantial pace deficit throughout the Indianapolis weekend was too much for the team to overcome in the championship case. The No. 63 Corvette needed to win the race to give itself the best chance of claiming the title, and things looked good in the first hour Saturday.
After starting fifth in class and 14th out of all 23 cars, Udell drove to the front in the first two hours before the Z06 GT3.R fell back into the clutches of the faster Pro cars. Sims drove for an hour before handing off to Milner with a 26-second lead but the eventual race-winning Porsche used its performance advantage to erase that deficit in the next hour.
The two cars made contact in the pitlane on the subsequent pit stop just prior to halfway with the Porsche hitting the side of the Corvette, which was in the fast lane and was entitled to remain in front. The hit damaged the right-front of the Corvette and left it aerodynamically hindered with no penalty to the Porsche.
The No. 63 DXDT Z06 GT3.R ran the remaining four hours – and the full race – without penalties, mistakes or going off-track.
In the Pro-Am class, the No. 64 Corvette of Bryan Sellers, Patrick Liddy and Blake McDonald weren’t so fortunate. They lost multiple laps early after having to replace part of its front suspension after contact from another Pro-Am competitor inside the first three hours.
The trio soldiered on to finish sixth among the 13 Pro-Am runners.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE POST-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We can’t let one weekend cloud the season we’ve had with DXDT Racing and Corvette. It’s a great team, a real pleasure to drive with Alec and work with everyone at DXDT Racing with some help from Corvette Racing. Today stings a little bit, but that will go away quickly when we look back on the year and all we achieve. I’m very, very proud of how good this team is, how good this car was and how impressed I was with Alec all year long. It was excellent on all sides. Today was a great example of that. We kept putting ourselves at the front of the field with great strategy, not making mistakes, doing all the right things and giving ourselves the best chance possible. It just wasn’t going to happen for us today, unfortunately. We did everything we could to give ourselves a great opportunity.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “From the start in May, it wasn’t supposed to be possible for us to contend for the championship. That speaks to the platform of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, DXDT Racing, Corvette Racing and everyone coming together to put such a competitive program together. I think that turned some heads and put us on the map. I’m happy with everyone’s performance today. I think we extracted the maximum that we could have from the racecar. I’ve learned a ton from Tommy and got to learn a lot this weekend from Alex as well. I’m really happy with everyone on the team – Bryan (Sellers), Erin (Gahagan, team manager) and David (Askew, team owner). It’s been a great program with so many people that are behind the scenes. I don’t think it has set in right now because there is still the frustration of the day. But everything that was in our control we maximized this year.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We knew we didn’t have the ability to race at the front on pace. It was difficult in the sense that we were up front at times, and that gives you hope. You start to wonder whether the situation might resolve itself and you might be able to hang on. But we couldn’t unfortunately. That’s the reality today. The Porsche guys did a good job and were really fast; well done to them. Huge credit to the DXDT team. For their first season in this new Corvette and the amount of wins they had and the only race they didn’t win was still a third place, that’s an amazing season. I’m proud to be a small part of that.”
CORVETTE RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS: Time for the Title Tilt!
DXDT Racing, Corvette Z06 GT3.R on eight-race win streak heading to SRO finale
DETROIT (October 1, 2024) – DXDT Racing and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R are on the verge of making history at the final race of the year for GT World Challenge America. The first-year effort between DXDT Racing and Corvette will try for its ninth consecutive race win in the series and in the process claim the Pro-class championship in Saturday’s Indianapolis Eight Hours.
A pair of the DXDT-liveried Corvette GT3s are part of the 25-car field for the season’s lone endurance race, which also doubles as a round of SRO Motorsports’ Intercontinental GT Challenge. The event is a true race-within-a-race with the regular GT World Challenge America field joined by a number of IGTC entries for a grid of 25 cars.
The GTWCA portion of the Eight Hours will pay double-points, which will be critical for DXDT Racing’s duo of Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell. With class victories in all eight of their races this year, Milner and Udell can take the Pro-class Drivers and Teams championships with a ninth win in the No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R alongside endurance teammate Alexander Sims, also a Corvette works driver.
In the Pro-Am class, Bryan Sellers will drive with new teammates Patrick Liddy and Blake McDonald in the No. 64 Corvette, which is a two-time winner in the class this year. The Pro-Am class is the race’s most populated with 16 entries.
The Indianapolis Eight Hours will be the second long-distance race for the Corvette GT3 in three weeks. Three Z06 GT3.Rs contested a six-hour IMSA enduro on September 22. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports placed third in the GTD PRO class, and AWA was sixth in GTD. Each team also had the fastest race lap in their respective classes.
There will be a number of findings that Corvette GT3 customer support engineers can apply this weekend based on lessons taken from the IMSA round. Despite a difference in tire suppliers between the two series, suspension and other points in chassis setup – with validations from Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator – should provide a solid baseline for DXDT’s opening sessions of the weekend.
DXDT Racing will take the green flag for the Indianapolis Eight Hours at 12:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 5. Live coverage of both races plus timing & scoring will be available at gt-world-challenge-america.com and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE PRE-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s pretty unbelievable that we are one more good result away from winning the Pro championship. I’ve been in racing long enough now to know that you can easily have highs and lows in a certain span of time. When things are good, you try to take advantage of them as long as you can because there is no guarantee that it will continue on. So for that reason, and others, the Indianapolis Eight Hours will be a fun event. There’s more competition coming from some really stacked manufacturers and teams just for this one. All of the things that we worked on and prepared for the previous sprint races should hopefully have us prepared for this final race. We know the team is good, my teammates are obviously proven and we know we have a great Corvette. Now we just need to execute and put ourselves in a good position like we have in these last eight races.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I am super-excited for Indy, and even that is an understatement. We’ve shown the strengths of the car in a sprint format. We’ve had quite a bit of success, and a lot of that is down to great execution and great preparation from all sides of this team. For me, it’s awesome to have every opportunity that I can to get in the car, learn from Tommy and Alexander, learn from the engineers and soak up everything I can about the Z06 GT3.R platform. Eight hours… yeah, I’m super-excited definitely and really jump in with a chance to win an endurance round. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t compete for an overall podium. Other manufacturers will come with their IGTC top guns that have been running for the full season. Let’s see how we fare on American soil with American power!”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It will be cool to slot into a new environment with DXDT Racing. I know some of the team members, which is nice, and obviously I know Tommy very well. The run they have had is just phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that happening – eight wins in a row – in any sports car championship. It piles on the pressure for me joining! In all seriousness, this team and Corvette obviously have the capabilities to score a top result. The first priority in any endurance race is to make the finish with the cleanest car and be in the fight in case there are any safety cars or anything like that. The pace has been phenomenal, and hopefully we can continue that and deliver a race win and championship.”
2024 GT World Challenge America Championship Points
CORVETTE RACING AT INDY: No. 3 Corvette Fights Way to Podium
Garcia’s late charge sends him, Sims to P3; AWA wins second straight Akin Award in GTD
INDIANAPOLIS (September 22, 2024) – Corvette factory drivers Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims climbed back on the podium in GTD PRO on Sunday in the six-hour Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to lead the contingent of three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the next-to-last race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Garcia drove the final three hours in the No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and went from fifth to third in the final two laps to secure third place. It was the first podium for the Garcia/Sims duo since their victory in July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Rain dominated the first half of the race, which saw three separate full-course yellow periods in the first 100 minutes. Sims and the No. 3 Corvette went toward the head of the class as the first GTD PRO car to take wet tires during the first yellow. A steady rain settled in not long after, with Sims taking the lead following a short pit stop during another full-course yellow.
A third caution period, this one for almost an hour, kept Sims out front until the rain stopped for good in the third hour. The No. 3 Corvette did lose some time having to make two stops 30 minutes apart to switch to slick tires just before the halfway mark.
Garcia drove the rest of the way in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R, including a hard-fought battle during the final hour with the No. 14 Lexus and No. 23 Aston Martin for the final podium position. A restart with 55 minutes remaining set the stage for the finish with Garcia falling from fourth to fifth inside the final half-hour. He fought to regain the spot with five minutes left and gained another to third and the podium with two laps to go.
The GTD PRO pole-winning No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg finished 11th in class after losing four laps due to contact and subsequent repair with 75 minutes to go.
Catsburg led the first 15 laps from pole before making the team’s first stop during the initial full-course yellow. The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R was assessed an avoidable contact penalty near the one-hour mark before Milner was hit from behind by a prototype, which necessitated a lengthy stop to repair damage to the right-rear of the Corvette.
In GTD, the No. 13 AWA Corvette moved closer to securing an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with a sixth-place class finish and winning the Bob Akin Award competition for the Indianapolis round. Both Orey Fidani and Lars Kern kept their Z06 GT3.R on the lead lap throughout the 90-minute stints, allowing Matt Bell to drive from 14th in class and into the top-five late in class.
It was the third Akin race win for the AWA Corvette and second in a row. The award goes to the highest-finishing GTD entry featuring a Bronze-rated driver for each race as well as the full-season championship with Le Mans as the ultimate prize.
Both Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA close the IMSA season with the 10-hour Petit Le Mans on Saturday, October 12 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Those last laps were tough. We had a good call to pit before a yellow, but the way things unfolded it kind of helped the ones that stayed out. So we lost a little track position to some of the cars that were ahead of me when we got to the last restart. The restarts with these guys and being so close is not easy. I made up a few places but with how hard the race was for everyone, there were times where I got caught in traffic and lost some spots. I thought we were done when the (No. 23) Aston Martin passed me, but somehow I regrouped and put everything together to get back up there to them. Maybe I had a little more than them with the tires or made some good choices. With two or three laps left, that’s it. It’s time to go! It was either a podium, fourth or fifth. I went for it, and it worked. It would have been nice to win, but I’m happy with where we finished.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was very happy that Antonio was in the car! He did a really, really good job. I really enjoyed the wet laps at the start of the race, so it was probably the right way around for the both of us. Antonio did a great job to keep in the fight. From the outside, I thought once Antonio got held up and passed by the Aston, I thought it would be hard for him to get back past with the pace situation as it was. Thankfully he stayed with them and kept fighting with them to the end… quite literally! It was great to watch.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think parts of the race we did things really well. Nicky did a great job at the start to keep us in the lead. There were some tricky conditions that were tough for both of us. The class interactions with the prototype cars weren’t ideal for us. He had an incident, and so did I with a P2 car. I don’t know what happened there. It’s one of those days where you feel like sometimes things are going your way. The cautions were getting us back into it, but there were just too many ups and down for us today. It’s unfortunate. It was a good little fight for the 3 guys to get on the podium there at the end. So now we’ll go to Petit Le Mans and try again.”
AWA POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I have absolutely no idea what happened in my three hours! I got updates every now and again from the guys on the pitbox, so I was trying to get by every GT car I could. We had a really, really good car especially early in the stints. I was able to be pretty aggressive, attack and go forward early in the stints. That put us in a great place for the team to be able to call some great strategy, and they called this race perfectly again. There’s been such good teamwork all year in the pitlane. There’s been so much hard work that’s gone into that. My two teammates did a great job in the first part of the race. An insane race! I absolutely love IMSA racing and GTD. It’s always so hard. I had some great fights out there and won more than we lost. We made great progress, and I’m really happy with the result.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "That was the first time I've driven the Corvette in wet race conditions. We did a little bit of wet-weather testing earlier this year at Carolina Motorsports Park. It actually handles pretty well in the rain. It was awesome, and I think we're in a good spot. At the start, there were a couple of cars in front of me that as the track came in, they were a little in the way a little and holding me and the cars behind me up. I needed to find my way around those guys but didn't get to do that with the rain. But it's fine. I'm pretty happy with things."
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “At the end of the day, we can be happy with the result. The team did a mega job. In my stint, I was struggling a lot when there was still a lot of water on the track. Once it dried, the car was rapid but we couldn’t really recover from this loss. So we could have finished better but I couldn’t activate the tires in my middle stint. I’m super-happy with what Matt did at the end. At one point I don’t think we really believed we could win the Akin Award today. Orey did great at the beginning and kept it clean. This was a big step toward our target of getting to Le Mans next year.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Season-Best Finish for TF Sport
No. 81 Z06 GT3.R takes fourth place in LMGT3 despite late-race contact
GOTEMBA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 15, 2024) – TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R posted its best result of the FIA World Endurance Championship season Sunday with a fourth-place LMGT3 finish in the Six Hours of Fuji for Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy.
The Corvette spent a significant amount of time out front in the class and showed the best pace in its first season of WEC competition. Despite the positive result, the team was left wondering if it could have been more as contact from another competitor knocked the No. 81 from contention for a landmark race win.
Following excellent stints from Van Rompuy and Andrade – each of whom led in class during their time in the Z06 GT3.R – factory driver Eastwood was running fourth inside the final 75 minutes when he was hit and spun at the final corner by the No. 35 Alpine Hypercar.
The race start couldn’t have gone much better for TF Sport. Van Rompuy grabbed the lead at the first corner from his second-place starting position and led twice for a total of 50 laps in his two-hour-plus stint. He handed over to Andrade, who also led toward the end of his time in the Corvette before Eastwood climbed aboard with a little less than two hours to go.
The race’s second safety car period with 1:45 left jumbled the LMGT3 field and swung the advantage away from TF Sport. Eastwood restarted fourth but quickly mounted a challenge for the podium before contact sent him around and down to 11th place. Undeterred, Eastwood gathered himself and the Corvette back up and made up seven positions in the final 75 minutes including a leap from eighth to fourth in less than 25 minutes.
For his performance, Eastwood received the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, which goes to the LMGT3 driver who achieves the best stint average at each race.
A spate of bad luck also did in the No. 82 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella, Sebastien Baud and Hiroshi Koizumi. After Japanese driver Koizumi had his best stint of the season and made his first pit stop from fifth place, the Corvette wouldn’t refire in the pitlane and the team lost 10 laps changing the starter. The No. 82 also stopped on-track with a loss of power inside the final hour and was forced to retire once it returned to pitlane.
TF Sport and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program closes the FIA WEC season with the Eight Hours of Bahrain on November 2.
TF SPORT POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “What could have been, once again. We were in a really good spot the whole race. The Corvette was really flying and we were in the podium spots. Unfortunately a Hypercar missed his braking into the last corner and spun us around. He got a drive-through for it, but it was no real consolation to what it did to our race. The positive is that we came back from P11 to P4, chased down the podium cars and didn’t give up until the finish. The whole team at this point deserves a great result. A podium at a minimum and probably a win today got away through someone else’s mistake. It’s a frustrating one but we need to keep taking away the positives of the steps we are making and how fast the Z06 GT3.R has become so we can close the season in Bahrain on a high.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s a two-edged sword, isn’t it? On one hand, the car was really good. I believe myself, Tom and Charlie ran a really good race. We were there the whole time with really good pace. Safety cars didn’t really help us and brought some of our competition back into it. Even so, Charlie was so on it and so quick. We were incredibly competitive. Unfortunately the contact from the Hypercar ruined our chances at a win. Charlie did amazing going from P11 to P4. We were so close to the podium. So on one hand, I’m really upset because I think the win was there. But in the end, we’re taking big steps. At COTA we took big steps. Today we took big steps. We just have to give everything we have to finish on a high in Bahrain.”
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a really, really strong race and were in contention to win the race but had contact from one of the Alpine Hypercars, which touched us in the back. We fell back to P11 but it was a fantastic recovery drive from Charlie to bring us back to P4. We were about two laps short to get back to podium position. It was a really strong car and a strong performance by the team. We know it’s there. We just have to grab it in Bahrain.”
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Very frustrating weekend because I think we had a really good package. The car was really fast, my teammates were really spot-on and we had a real shot at winning. Hiroshi did an amazing job all weekend. After the first stint, we were P5 when we boxed and all was looking great for a top result but unfortunately we had an issue with the starter at the stop so he couldn't restart it. We kept driving because it's good to continue to learn new things. You always take all the experiences for future races and next year. The car was absolutely great. I did one stint and it was fantastic. Then toward the end with Seb back in the car we had to retire the car after he stopped on track. We don't know what happened yet. It's an unfortunate result but a lot of positives today." .
Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Front-Row for TVR, No. 81 Z06 GT3.R
Koizumi starts seventh as both TF Sport Corvettes make Hyperpole for first time
GOTEMBA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 14, 2024) – Tom Van Rompuy and TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the front row of the LMGT3 category for the Six Hours of Fuji as both of the team’s Corvettes made the 10-minute Hyperpole session for the first time this year.
Van Rompuy posted the second-fastest time in Saturday’s 10-minute Hyperpole session that set the top 10 spots on the grid ahead of the seventh round for the FIA World Endurance Championship. He set a best lap of 1:40.975 (101.097 mph) in the Corvette that he shares with Rui Andrade and factory driver Charlie Eastwood to miss the Z06 GT3.R’s second pole position of the season by just 0.082 seconds.
The biggest story, however, was both TF Sport Corvettes making Hyperpole, thanks to Hiroshi Koizumi’s strong performance in the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R. The Japanese driver advanced for the first time while Van Rompuy finished in the top-10 for the third straight event and fifth time this season.
Koizumi’s best lap at his home track came on his final effort – a 1:41.310 (100.724 mph) – in the Corvette that he will drive with Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella. It equaled the best starting spot for the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R of the season, matching the position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Both Corvettes were within 0.3 seconds in the first 12-minute qualifying session ahead of Hyperpole, showing the continued strength in pace and performance of the Z06 GT3.R.
TF Sport is coming off a strong showing two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, where the No. 82 finished eighth in class – thanks to Juncadella’s strong performance in the final three hours – and the No. 81 ran as high as second before being hit by another LMGT3 competitor.
As evidenced by qualifying, momentum is on the side of TF Sport heading to Fuji Speedway. It’s a track the team knows well, having scored two race wins, a runner-up and a pair of pole positions in its previous four trips to the 2.84-mile, 16-turn circuit less than two hours outside Tokyo.
The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japanese Standard Time (JST) on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage from 9:30-11 p.m. ET on Saturday plus 3-4:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Full live streaming coverage of the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Sunday’s race.
TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R - STARTS SECOND IN LMGT3: “It’s a very good starting position. Thanks to the team for keeping on working on the setup to give me a really good car. It felt really good and felt good on the lap. It’s really tight, but we’re on the front row. It’s a good position from where to start tomorrow, and hopefully we can gain one more.
“It was a really tight qualifying session, and everyone was bunched tight together. We have a really strong car especially for the race tomorrow. We are in a really, really good window. So I’m really happy with the result today, and we will fight for a podium and try to go for a win tomorrow.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Things are really good so far. FP1 was a little tricky for everyone because the track was pretty dirty. As it cleaned up and into FP2, I think the car balance shifted a lot. For us, we learned the car is still quite strong. From the changes we made already for COTA, we saw that we had a lot of pace and were happy with the progression things had taken. We’ve maintained that for Fuji. It’s a completely different track with different characteristics, but the Corvette still seems quick and strong compared to our competition, so I’m happy with that.”
(Race prospects) “It’s hard to say. Everyone always has a little bit left in the bag. The most important thing is the feeling that we have in the car and the car balance. We were quite happy at the end of FP2. There are still some small tweaks to be made, but it’s always good when you can end a Friday on a high note and you don’t have so much left to do on setup with Free Practice Three and qualifying. Now it’s about fine-tuning things. It was warmer today and closer to race conditions so it was good to see for our race setup.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R - STARTS SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “I was happy to get into my first Hyperpole! I was aiming for pole position but ended up with P7. In tomorrow's race, we will win it! This is my first race at Fuji in a year but in a new car with the Corvette and my team at TF Sport. So I'm feeling both excited and nervous! I haven't had very good results so far this year, but I'll do my best to achieve a slightly better result for the Japanese fans here at my home track. Our aim is for the podium and hopefully the top step."
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Since COTA, we have been very competitive. The Corvette has been very nice to drive, and we have been up there for every session. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a result in the COTA race due to some penalties. Now here for Hiroshi at Fuji, he can really feel it’s his home race and he has some extra performance in him! This is a great starting position, and we have high expectations for tomorrow.”
Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Rising Sun, Rising Corvettes
Confidence growing at TF Sport after strong pace for Z06 GT3.Rs at COTA
DETROIT (September 10, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will make its debut in Asia this weekend as TF Sport moves to the Six Hours of Fuji and the seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Coming off a strong performance two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, hopes are high for a podium finish – and maybe more – in a deep and highly competitive LMGT3 class.
Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella led the No. 82 Corvette, which he shares with Sebastien Bourdais and Hiroshi Koizumi to an eighth-place finish in class.
Both of the team’s Z06 GT3.Rs showed impressive pace with the No. 81 Corvette of factory driver Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy running as high as second before being hit by another LMGT3 competitor and eventually retiring from the race.
Despite that, momentum is on the side of TF Sport heading to Fuji Speedway. It’s a track the team knows well, having scored two race wins, a runner-up and a pair of pole positions in its previous four trips to the 2.84-mile, 16-turn circuit less than two hours outside Tokyo.
Eastwood was part of a GTE Am victory (2019) and runner-up finish (2018) with TF Sport. In addition, Juncadella contested the GT World Challenge Asia weekend at Fuji last season and scored an overall pole position. His Japanese teammate, Koizumi, is set for his home race and will make his second career WEC start at the circuit having debuted in the series at last year’s event.
From an engineering perspective, TF Sport can lean on learnings from the Corvette C8.R’s previous two appearances including last year when the program finished second in GTE Am after claiming pole position.
The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japanese Standard Time (JST) on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage from 9:30-11 p.m. ET on Saturday plus 3-4:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Full live streaming coverage of Free Practice 3, qualifying and the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Saturday’s final practice and qualifying, plus Sunday’s race.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Fuji is a track and a place that I absolutely love, as was Austin to be fair. I’ve had some good success at here in the past, and my first win in WEC was at Fuji. Both the track and the place are really nice places to be. Car-wise, we were so strong at COTA. It shows the commitment and work that both the team and Corvette Racing are doing in the background to keep this car moving forward. So I’m really hopeful again going into Fuji. Although we haven’t a result we wanted so far this year, I feel one is just around the corner. We’ll be going for that. I think this type of track will suit our Corvette. We just need to start putting the weekends together.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Fuji is a special place. It’s always a pleasure to go to Japan and such a beautiful country. The culture is incredible. A lot of drivers that I know always takes a few days to explore Tokyo, drive around and go to Mount Fuji. It’s that kind of place where you take things in. It’s such a beautiful place. As far as the track goes, it’s incredible and amazing. It has a good complex and combination of corners with a super-long straight and then a really fast first sector. It’s pretty high up on my list of favorites.”
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was at Fuji last year in GT World Challenge Asia. It’s a track that I really love. I was on pole, and it was just about the time I was having my meetings with Corvette Racing to finalize my contract! So I have a pretty good memory of that weekend because I didn’t have a lot of sleep because I was excited for those new prospects. But those are really good memories from Fuji because it is a track I really enjoy. On top of that, Hiroshi is a Japanese driver and if there is one track where he is going to be very competitive, I think Fuji is the one. He’s going to be excited, and I’m massively pumped. I love Japan. We’ve had a very competitive car the last couple of races. The Corvette has been getting better and better. We seem to be improving reliability-wise and pace-wise. Everything has been going in the right direction. I’m really excited. There has to be a race where we have a chance in the last two hours, and I hope it’s Fuji.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It is very exciting for me to race at Fuji Speedway, my home track, with TF Sport and our Corvette. I feel confident for this race because I know the track and our car is very fast. I am hopeful good performance from myself so that we can have our best finish of the year."
SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was my first time racing in America at COTA and this will be my first time in Japan. It’s very nice because we have had a lot of driving and racing in a lot of countries. It’s great because I get to do this in a Corvette as this is my dream to do this in a World Championship. It is the home race for Hiroshi, which is good. I hope we can visit some places with him! But for me it is very important to have a good result at Fuji. I’m a competitor and I think we are better as a team as we have learned more about the Corvette. The car is good, and I think we can definitely be on the podium.”
21. Daniel Juncadella/Hiroshi Koizumi/Sebastien Baud – 14
23. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 11
LMGT3 Teams Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing – 118
2. No. 91 Manthey EMA – 90
3. No. 31 Team WRT – 84
4. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team – 81
5. No. 55 Vista AF Corse – 50
16. No. 82 TF Sport – 14
17. No. 81 TF Sport – 11
CORVETTE RACING AT Fuji: By the Numbers
• 2: Previous appearances at the Six Hours of Fuji for the Corvette Racing program
• 11: Victories in the first year of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• 13: Hours difference between Fuji and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone. That means this weekend’s race will begin Sunday morning in Japan but late Saturday night Eastern Time
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 28: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Barber Motorsport Park (the latest), Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 38: Hours of racing left in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R season covering WEC, IMSA and GT World Challenge
• 51: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. DXDT Racing’s Bryson Morris joined the list at Road America in GT World Challenge America
• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 138: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 116 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and 10 in GT World Challenge America
• 304: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August at Road America in IMSA
• 390,295.42: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
Corvette Racing at Fuji Speedway
2022
No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 5th in GTE Pro
2023
No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone –2nd in GTE Am
Press Release: CORVETTE RACING AT BARBER: Eight is Great!
Milner, Udell sweep Pro class in No. 63 Z06 GT3.R as DXDT takes a double win
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (September 8, 2024) – Momentum and luck went the way of Tommy Milner and Alec Udell again as the pair drove DXDT Racing’s No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to its seventh and eighth straight GT World Challenge America Pro-class victories at Barber Motorsports Park.
Milner and Udell set a record for consecutive victories in the Pro class with their fourth consecutive weekend sweep. More importantly, the results set up a winner-take-all showdown for the Pro Drivers and Teams championships at next month’s Eight Hours of Indianapolis to close the season with the No. 63 duo second in the standings but only seven points behind.
Barber also marked the second consecutive double-win for DXDT Racing with the Z06 GT3.Rs also picking up a second Pro-Am victory for Bryan Sellers and Bryson Morris following Race One in the newly minted No. 64 Corvette.
Saturday was a showcase all the way around for DXDT and the No. 63 Corvette. Udell captured pole position for the first of two 90-minute races and led for the bulk of his opening stint. Factory driver Milner cycled through the lead and withstood a massive challenge from the second-place BMW with the two cars running less than a second apart for the better part of 25 minutes to the end.
Meanwhile, Morris advanced from third to second in his opening stint with Sellers chasing down and eventually passing for the class lead and win with a little less than four minutes remaining. It marked the second victory in three races for the new pairing.
In Race Two, the outlook appeared dim for another win for Milner and Udell. The Corvette started second in class but sixth overall, and Milner survived multiple rounds of contact on the opening lap but held his position in class. He swapped over to Udell with 50 minutes to go. The DXDT pit crew was more than two seconds faster in the pitlane than the class-leading BMW, which got Udell that much closer to the front.
Following a full-course yellow and restart with 20 minutes left, Udell was comfortably in second and pushing to catch the leader when the BMW had to pit with a fuel issue, allowing the Corvette to speed past for the unlikely victory.
Sellers and Morris came up just short of another Pro-Am podium and placed fourth in class.
DXDT Racing closes the GT World Challenge America season with its two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs at the Eight Hours of Indianapolis – part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge – from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 2-6.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE POST-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It was very hard today, for sure. We got lucky at the start. I got hit twice on the left-rear and thought something was broken or wrong, but I think the track was just super-dirty. We were lucky to get away with that one. As we expected, we weren't the fastest car. Alec did a great job and we had a great pit stop. This DXDT team just excels in every area. I'm really proud to be part of this race team and to drive this Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Everyone keeps asking about the championship and I didn't want to talk about it for a long time. But after today for us, things are falling into our hands. Now it's a discussion, and I'm happy to go to Indy with a good chance to win it."
(On Saturday’s win): “We knew track position was going to be big. We didn't think we had the fastest car out there, but this Corvette was amazing on the tires at the end. The 99 pushed me very hard and probably could have made it a little harder for me, for sure. I'm super-excited for DXDT and Alec my teammate. This team... unbelievable. I could never have dreamed this."
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The 99 BMW was quick all weekend and really showed their pace in the race today. We were just trying to hitch a line to them and drag as far as we could. It's a bummer for them, but Tommy and I will pick up the pieces and we'll take the win. You take what comes to you. We maximized what we had today and just got lucky that the 99 had an issue, which you never like to see from a racing perspective but it's racing and we've all been on that side of the game before. Great job and really happy for the team today."
BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: (on teammate Bryson Morris after Saturday’s Pro-Am win) "He's young but has the racing IQ of someone with decades of experience. He’s done an outstanding job for us. It’s not easy to come into a team full of veterans and be the young guy, but he fits in perfectly and performs exceptionally well. His first stint was incredible – super consistent – and we're just thrilled to have him on board. He’s someone who's going to grow and become a major force in this sport."
BRYSON MORRIS, NO. 64 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It feels great to have two wins now. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car, and of course, Bryan has been a huge help in that. I’m grateful he was able to finish strong and bring home the win. A big thanks to everyone and congratulations to DXDT for their double podium."
CORVETTE RACING AT BARBER: Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’…
DXDT Corvettes look to repeat Road America magic in brand’s first trip to Barber
DETROIT (September 4, 2024) – DXDT Racing hopes to ride its momentum with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs to additional victories this weekend as the GT World Challenge America series returns to Barber Motorsports Park.
As usual, two of the first-year Corvette GT3s are on the entry list, led by the No. 63 Z06 GT3.R of Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell. The pairing is on a six-race win streak, having swept the last three doubleheader weekend events at Circuit of The Americas, Virginia International Raceway and Road America.
Bryan Sellers and Bryson Morris are set to team again for the second consecutive event, albeit with a slightly different look. The duo will race the No. 64 Corvette Z06 GT3.R – a nod to the history of Corvette Racing.
The 2.38-mile, 16-turn circuit just outside Birmingham, Ala., is a new track for the Corvette program. To assist in event preparation, DXDT Racing tested there in recent days to validate work done on Chevrolet’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator, and some of the drivers have past experiences to fall back on. Both Milner and Sellers were competitors when the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series raced there, and Udell swept the GT Cup class when World Challenge last visited Barber in 2016.
DXDT Racing is seeking to make more history with the Corvette at Barber, following on the results of the last GT World Challenge America rounds at Road America. In addition to another sweep by Milner and Udell, DXDT secured its first 1-2 finish and double-victory race by winning both the Pro and Pro-Am classes.
DXDT Racing will race in the first of two GT World Challenge America races at Road America at 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s second race at 2:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage of both races plus timing & scoring will be available at gt-world-challenge-america.com and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE PRE-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s been a long time since I’ve raced at Barber, and it’s a great facility. This Corvette has been fast everywhere we go, and I’m expecting something similar here. It should suit our car better than some of the more recent races we’ve been to. Straight-line speed hasn’t been our strong suit at the moment, and Barber doesn’t have a lot of those. It will be hard to pass in a lot of places for sure. There are places like Turn Five at the hairpin where there is a good outbraking opportunity. The long right-hander at the end of the lap… the tendency there is for the car to start drifting wider and wider, and you can make something there if you stay on the inside. We’re trying to ride the wave of success with DXDT Racing. The team is doing a great job. No one is leaving anything on the table. So we are still pushing forward to make sure we have great racecars and get everyone up to speed as quickly as we can.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We tested there, and it went pretty well. It’s been really nice to be able to work with all the talented people at the team and Corvette Racing to extract the maximum performance out of this car. I’ve had the ability to do some simulator work that we’ll lean on a bit. That’s helpful and all a matter of wrapping our hands around works best for this car. The car behaves how you’d expect it to behave when you’re making changes. I’m not thinking anything is going to be different when we get to Barber.”
“Barber can produce some great racing, but it also can produce some lead-follow racing. So track position is going to be very important. You may have some opportunities into Turn One and Turn Five, and then it kind of funnels down into single-file stuff for the rest of the lap. So there are two good passing opportunities unless you can force someone else into a mistake under pressure. For us, it’s another reason why we’re really going to lean on those technical advantages on a tight circuit, especially for qualifying.”
CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER: “DXDT Racing comes into the race at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend with race-winning momentum and the opportunity to carry on its strong run into the Indianapolis Eight Hours. Execution by the team of drivers, crew members and engineers will be crucial for success at Barber. We are confident they are up for the challenge.”
2024 GT World Challenge America Championship Points
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: Juncadella Powers Z06 GT3.R into the Points
Heartbreak at home for No. 81 Corvette in lone WEC American stop
AUSTIN, Texas (September 1, 2024) – TF Sport’s Daniel Juncadella drove through the field and into the points as TF Sport’s No. 82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R placed eighth in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans six-hour race.
The trio of factory driver Juncadella plus teammates Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud finished in the class top-10 and scored points for the fourth time this season. After Koizumi started and Baud drove the middle stints of the race, Juncadella got in the Corvette with just under two-and-a-half hours left and 15th place in class. He carved his way through the field as the trio rebounded from two drive-through penalties.
Juncadella’s race pace came as no surprise as he was the fastest driver in the final two practice sessions of the event.
TF Sport’s No. 81 Corvette suffered the cruelest of luck as mid-race contact and its after-effects took the trio of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy from contending for a podium and possible victory to out of the race with approximately one hour to go.
Van Rompuy started fifth and quickly jumped into podium position inside the first 15 minutes. After his double-stint, Andrade climbed aboard and ran fifth due to the class pit stop cycle. Like his teammate, Andrade wasted no time in moving up and quickly grabbed second place before contact from the No. 85 Lamborghini damaged the left front bodywork of the Corvette.
Following the driver change from Andrade to Eastwood – only minutes before Juncadella took over the sister Corvette – the real damage from the hit began to rear its head. The team was forced to bring the No. 81 into the garage to swap out the toe link, but additional problems continued to surface before the car was retired.
TF Sport is back in action in two weeks at the Six Hours of Fuji from Fuji Speedway in Japan.
TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was clear that we were going to be very competitive today. I had no doubt that if I got in the car in the last two hours in contention for a top result that we would get it. Hiroshi surprised me in the first stint. That was very good from his side, but unfortunately the second one he struggled a bit more. We were only about 90 seconds down. Seb was competitive and I knew we could get some of it back. But we lost about 35 seconds on the stop because the door latch on the passenger side was stuck, so we went a lap down but he did well to get it back to show the amount of pace in the car. Then there were some penalties to lose some ground. Whenever I jump in the car, I take every race with the same approach and give 100 percent. There is always something to learn. I thoroughly enjoyed those two-and-a-half hours driving a really fast Corvette.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This is one that slipped away, definitely. The Corvette has been incredible from FP1 all the way through. Unfortunately the contact Rui had from the Iron Dames popped the toe link out on the rear-left. The car was grabbing and things down the straight pretty badly, but we still had a pretty good pace even with it not being 60 percent right. We just tried a few things but it still wasn’t right. There was no point putting anything at risk and called it a day. It’s a shame.”
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Really frustrating. This is the best the car has felt this year. From the start, we had a really good car. I managed to pull up two positions to P3 and tried to stay close to P2 and P1 and kept them in sight. I did some energy savings to get the maximum out of our laps, so we gained a bit on that. I had to let one of the BMWs go because he was a Pro driver, but I managed to have a good fight with him before I let him go. I had a lot of fun out there.”
TF Sport looking for season’s best FIA WEC result in series’ lone American stop
DETROIT (August 27, 2024) – TF Sport and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R program come full-circle this weekend as the FIA World Endurance Championship returns to Circuit of The Americas for the first time since 2020 at the six-hour Lone Star Le Mans.
Two of the TF Sport-run Corvettes are set for Sunday’s race around the 21-turn, 3.4-mile circuit in Austin. It’s the lone visit to the U.S. for the FIA WEC and the pair of first-year GT3.Rs that are part of the LMGT3 class. However, it isn’t the first race for the Corvettes at COTA this season as the Corvette swept both rounds of GT World Challenge America.
Despite a difference in weather conditions – May vs. September and tires – Pirelli vs. Goodyear – there are significant lessons that can carry over to the WEC round.
From an engineering perspective, suspension and other points in chassis setup – with validations from Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator – should provide a solid baseline for when TF Sport arrives at COTA and hits the track for Friday’s first practice.
The squad has previous success at COTA with a GTE-Am class win in the last FIA WEC event at the track in 2020. Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood was part of the winning lineup and was part of the program’s first test with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R roughly a year ago.
Eastwood will continue in the No. 81 Corvette alongside full-season teammates Tom Van Rompuy and Rui Andrade – each of which will compete at COTA for the first time. So will all three members of the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R lineup: while Hiroshi Koizumi, Sebastien Baud and factory driver Daniel Juncadella, who also tested the Corvette for the first at COTA last August.
The Lone Star Le Mans is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 1. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage with streaming coverage on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Saturday’s final practice and qualifying, plus Sunday’s race.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "In general it's a fantastic track. It’s undergone some repaving so it will be interesting to see what happens with that. I have fond memories of COTA. The last time we were there in WEC we won the race, which was a great result. It also was the very first place I got to drive the Z06 GT3.R a year ago in the heat of the summer, which is what we're going to have. I think it will suit the car very well. Degradation will be a key – in the middle of summer in Austin it's not going to be cool at all – so managing that from the outset will be important. I'm looking forward to it. Brazil wasn't a great result but we showed some strong pace, which at the minute is what we need to show. We've got a bit of confidence going in.
"The three sectors are three different racetracks, for sure. The first is super-high speed. You really have to have a good aero platform to get through. It's still seven corners but they're almost all high-speed so you need a good car under you. The middle sector is super-tricky with really long apexes and really late apexes. Then going to the final sector you still need a really good car under you. There is a lot of speed so the deg will be high. It's a really tricky track to get it fully hooked up. It's a super-long lap with a lot of high-speed corners with a lot of corners... it'll test both the car and the drivers. Hopefully we can put everything together for a good result."
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m very excited to race in COTA for the first time. The track is incredible and to race a Corvette in the USA is such an amazing opportunity. The season hasn’t been easy for us but we are taking steps forward, and in Brazil we saw some good steps in performance. I can’t wait to hit the track and give it our all to try and chase some trophies.”
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "COTA will be quite a special event for me. I've never raced at COTA but I did my first test there in a Corvette GT3 last August. So it's cool to close out my first proper year of driving Corvettes at COTA. With it being the home WEC race for the Corvette should be a good event. The track is cool. Watching on TV, you always think it's not super-exciting because there is so much asphalt runoffs there. But when I drove there last year, I was quite impressed by the combination of high-speed corners, the fast changes of direction and elevation. It's quite interesting and I really enjoyed it, even though I only drove maybe 20 or 25 laps. So it should be cool. It will be difficult to manage the heat so that will play a big role in terms of strategy and how we manage the tires. These are a couple of good ingredients to make the race quite exciting for everybody. Hopefully we can navigate those and get our best result for the season."
20. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 11
22. Daniel Juncadella/Hiroshi Koizumi/Sebastien Baud – 10
LMGT3 Teams Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing – 100
2. No. 91 Manthey EMA – 75
3. No. 31 Team WRT – 74
4. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team – 55
5. No. 55 Vista AF Corse – 49
15. No. 81 TF Sport – 11
17. No. 82 TF Sport – 10
CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: By the Numbers
• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at COTA since 2013 – Corvette C6.R (2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the mid-engine Corvette C8.R – which raced at COTA for the first time in WEC competition in 2020 – and Z06 GT3.R, both of which are eighth-gen Corvettes
• 4: Class wins at COTA for Corvette Racing entries in two championships: IMSA and GT World Challenge America. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won twice in ALMS GT/WeatherTech Championship GTLM. Tommy Milner and Alec Udell won in GT World Challenge America earlier this year in the first wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• 8: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R including two earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 51: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. DXDT Racing’s Bryson Morris joined the list at Road America in GT World Challenge America
• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 135: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 116 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and seven in GT World Challenge America
• 302: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August at Road America in IMSA
• 3845.40: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its eight previous events at Circuit of The Americas. That represents 24 trips across the Texas Panhandle.
• 387,712.20: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
Corvette Racing at Circuit of The Americas
2013 – IMSA
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 11th in GT
2014 – IMSA
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 9th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GTLM
2014 – FIA WEC
No. 65 Corvette C7.R: Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor – 7th in GTE Pro (FIA WEC entry)
2015 – IMSA
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 6th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 8th in GTLM
2016 – IMSA
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 5th in GTLM
2017 – IMSA
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 7th in GTLM
2020 – FIA WEC
No. 63 Corvette C8.R: Jan Magnussen/Mike Rockenfeller: 6th in GTE Pro
2024 – GT World Challenge
No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st,1st in Pro
Press Release CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Tough Day in the GTD PRO Office
AWA Corvette builds on Akin Award lead with seventh-place GTD finish
ALTON, Va. (August 25, 2024) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports suffered an uncharacteristic tough day at Virginia International Raceway as mechanical gremlins impacted both of the team’s Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries during the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.
The No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg finished eighth in GTD PRO, a spot ahead of teammates Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R.
The result for AWA’s No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R was a bright spot as Orey Fidani and Matt Bell finished seventh in GTD. Adding to that was the No. 13 Corvette’s position as the highest-finishing car in IMSA’s Bob Akin Award standings for the second time this year.
After a run of trouble-free races during the summer, separate issues plagued the No. 3 and No. 4 GTD PRO entries. Catsburg lost time when the Corvette wouldn’t restart after a pit stop with an hour to go. He and Milner did finish on the lead lap and were buoyed by the race’s only full-course caution with a little more than 30 minutes to go but couldn’t advance up the order.
Garcia started second and ran third at the time of the No. 3 Corvette’s first pit stop at the 49-minute mark. Sims rejoined fifth and was getting up to speed before the car lost power on the backstretch. Following a couple of attempts to reset the power cycle, the team brought Sims back to the garage to replace the power steering pump.
Sims also was at the wheel when the No. 3 suffered a suspension issue with 45 minutes to go.
In GTD, Fidani drove the No. 13 Corvette for the first 47 minutes and gained a spot in class before handing off to Bell. The No. 13 went from 13th at the time of the stop to its final position in the final two hours, including a hectic fight through the field after the yellow with high track temperatures and high tire degradation.
With the result, Fidani grew his lead in the Akin Award championship with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the season earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 25. The race will air live on USA starting at noon ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday afternoon’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Today is what it is. No one wants to have issues, but that was the reality today. As has been common this year, we showed decent pace and were holding our own in third with Antonio. I think the pit cycle was going to be pretty favorable for us on strategy. As far as I understand it, we would have effectively been first in that middle stint once all the pit cycles were finished. I felt pretty comfortable out in front of the Aston Martin, and we were holding our own. That’s when the car cut out on me, and the power steering failed. After a few laps, I understood why these are designed to have power steering. This isn’t a formula car in terms of the steering weight where you could get through it. But after four or five laps, I knew it wasn’t going to last. I just tried to give the guys enough time to at least preempt what we needed to do in the garage, but it was a big change and set us way back. That’s the way it goes, unfortunately. The suspension issue was pretty bizarre. There was no contact on my side, and Antonio looked like he had a completely clean race. We need to understand the two issues, and try to react and come back stronger.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A bit of gut punch today for the whole team. Having quite a few races with no issues, and then today with both cars having both problems is going to make quite a few people on this team unhappy. We’ll go back to look at it, figure out what happened and improve the car for the future. But yeah, a tough day for us.”
AWA POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It was another great IMSA battle and a great IMSA race. We made all the right calls at the right times. Tire deg and tire management was a huge part of this race. We had to be smart and give up pace at certain times but also know when to push and know when to go for it. I got great information and great support from everyone on the pit stand - everyone from AWA and Corvette Racing really helped out. This was as much as any of the other races - if not more - a real team effort to come through the pack like that. It's a big credit to everyone on this program. I just had to try and make it work."
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It was quite a hot with the air conditioning off. It was a little tough for me at the start as I didn't go on brand new tires. I went on older tires and struggled with understeer. It seemed to get a little better as the fuel burned off and I was able to get some pace. But it was tough. Matt did a great job to get us up the order at the end."
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Front-Row Start for Garcia
No. 3 Corvette qualifies second, Milner on inside of third row in GT-only fight
ALTON, Va. (August 24, 2024) – Antonio Garcia will start on the outside of the front row Sunday after leading the group of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers in qualifying for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.
Garcia, in the No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, set a best qualifying lap of 1:43.346 (113.908 mph) in Saturday’s 15-minute qualifying session. That put him 0.140 seconds off the GTD PRO pole-winning time around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn Virginia International Raceway circuit.
Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R was fifth in class at 1:43.745 (113.470 mph) and four-tenths of a second from the front row for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s lone GT-only event. The Virginia driver was on the back foot early after being balked on his first flying lap by another car that ran ahead of both Corvettes.
The Pratt Miller squad claimed six victories at VIR under the Corvette Racing factory banner through the end of last season, including last year’s win for Garcia and Jordan Taylor in the Corvette C8.R. The Z06 GT3.R already has two VIR wins this year as DXDT Racing swept both rounds of GT World Challenge America there earlier this year with Milner as one of its drivers.
In GTD, Orey Fidani qualified the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R 14th in class with a lap of 1:47.306 (109.704 mph). He and Matt Bell are coming off a season-best, fifth-place finish the last time out at Road America. A repeat – or besting that result – at VIR would solidify Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the year earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Sunday. The race will air live on USA starting at noon ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will stream the call of the race at IMSA.com with coverage also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “It was a confusing session with people slowing down, so you were forced to slow down in order to start the next lap. I’m sure we were in everybody’s way most of the time. I tried to be clean and do the best I could. I’m happy with the position for sure. I wasn’t expecting this, and I wasn’t expecting such a long track to be so busy. But yeah, that’s the way it went.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTD PRO: “It was a frustrating qualifying session. I think if you asked everyone except the pole-sitter, they would probably agree. It was a messy qualifying. Realistically we’ve had too many of those as a series… too many sessions where people try and build gaps all the time and cause problems. My quick lap was OK. I’m not crazy unhappy with it, but it would have been nice to have had a normal qualifying progression where I could go for two laps and see what that would have been. The good thing is that it’s just GTD PRO cars ahead of us, which is good. But we do have our work cut out for us. This is a place where having straight-line speed is very beneficial, and in the current state of things we don’t have a lot of that. So we’ll need to be clever tomorrow with our strategy. We’re prepared for that and know what to expect. We’ll work on that overnight tonight and see what we can come up with for the race.”
Corvette Corral: PLEASE NOTE: This corral includes exclusive reserved parking for Corvettes only. No exceptions. Additionally, parade laps, door prizes, race team visits, and food and refreshments will be provided throughout the weekend. Car and Driver packages will include general admission for 1 and corral parking for 1 vehicle. Tickets for supplementary guests may be purchased as well and will include general admission and access to corral amenities.
Parade lap-Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 1:30 pm to 1:50 pm ET
Paddock autograph session- Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm ET
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Taking the (Overall) Spotlight
Corvette brings strong history to IMSA season’s only GT-only race
DETROIT (August 21, 2024) – Corvette Racing’s summer stretch in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wraps up with the series’ lone GT-only race of the season – the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.
Three of the first-year Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute sprint race: Nos. 3 (Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims) and 4 (Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg) for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO plus AWA’s No. 13 GTD entry (Orey Fidani and Matt Bell).
The trio of Z06 GT3.Rs will look to continue Corvette Racing’s incredibly strong history at the 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course that sits on the Virginia-North Carolina border.
Corvettes have made a habit of being at the front and – more often than not – winning at Virginia International Raceway. The program’s IMSA factory team has won six times at the circuit since 2012, and DXDT Racing swept both rounds of GT World Challenge America there earlier this year with Milner, a Virginia native.
He ranks second in IMSA VIR wins among active drivers with three. The only driver with more is Garcia with four, including last year with Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R. In addition, Sims (2018 GTLM) and Bell (2020 IMSA Prototype Challenge) have one VIR victory to their credit. Meanwhile, Fidani is set for his first WeatherTech Championship start at VIR, and Catsburg will make his debut at the circuit.
A victory this weekend by either Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports or AWA would give the Z06 GT3.R its second (or third in the event of a sweep) IMSA win this year. The GTD PRO effort also is on a streak of two consecutive pole positions and four in the last five races, a strong showing for the first-year Corvette.
In GTD, AWA is coming off a season-best, fifth-place finish the last time out at Road America. A repeat – or besting that result – at VIR would solidify Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the year earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 25. The race will air live on USA starting at noon ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday afternoon’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I can divide VIR into three parts - from Turn One to before the Esses, then from there to the Oak Tree corner. I really like the last part of the lap from the backstretch all the way to start/finish. It's very challenging with how aggressive you need to at the end of the backstraight, and down the hill into the last corner is really challenging but fun. I love it there. We've had a lot of success there. I've won with Jan there and with Jordan. It's another great track for Corvette Racing, so let's see if we can add to that this week."
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It has been a few years so I’m looking forward to going back to VIR. I’ve won once and probably should have won twice. I really like the place. It has a lovely flow to it. From Turn Three pretty much all the way up to Oak Tree Corner, it’s so fun and challenging. Some are flat-out and some are ones where you have a small lift to balance the car. The entry off the backstretch is great with compressions, crests, camber changes and things. It’s really cool.
“There are a bunch of complicated corners that you need to get right and compile them all to get a good laptime. They’re tough corners where if you get it wrong, you can hemorrhage two- or three-tenths without blinking. It’s a very unforgiving track, which is great. It adds an extra dimension where you know you have to get it right. As with other American tracks, it’s a place where sometimes you have to be brave and step into the slight unknown to get the performance. If something goes wrong, you’ll know very, very quickly, which is good.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This is a reason for a lot of drivers why VIR ends up being one of their favorite tracks – because there are so many sequences of corners and sections of the track that are all unique in their own way. They all present their own challenges, and it all culminates in the challenge of driving these cars and getting the most out of them. It’s a place where if the car isn’t just right, you can have big moments. It’s a fun, fun sequence of corners all the way around. The car and the driver are doing a lot of work. VIR is a playground for these racecars to do that for the whole lap.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I’m really excited to go to VIR. It’s a track that I’ve never been to. I’ve done quite a lot of laps on the simulator and it seems pretty awesome with cool, flowing corners, high speeds and elevation changes. It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for awhile. I’ve always watched the races from there. I remember some cool moves from Nick Tandy shoving a Porsche out of the way not too long ago when he was in a Corvette, which was awesome. It’s always a challenge going to a new track but it should be good. VIR seems like a unique place – one of the American tracks that stands out and that drivers love. I usually enjoy these types of tracks so I’m looking forward to it.”
AWA PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The last time I was at VIR, I won! So I’d like to do that again. I was in the 2020 LMP3 championship. It’s been a good circuit for me. I’ve tested there a few times but that was the only time I’ve raced there, and I’m one-for-one so let’s see if we can do the same.”
“It’s a pretty iconic circuit. You have a lot of high-commitment corners. The Esses obviously are pretty famous. Hogpen – the last two corners – is my personal favorite section of the track coming into the frontstraight. It’s a high-commitment track. Corvettes have had a lot of success there in the past. I’ve had some fun watching old videos of IMSA there the last few years and the Corvettes battling the Porsche there and knocking them down a peg or two. So yeah, I’d like to go and do the same.
“You have a technical Sector One where you have to really piece it together to make sure you’re on the right part of the track at the right time. Then it’s a big commitment for Sector Two up through the Esses at high-speed into Turn 10 – a high-speed left where if you get that wrong, you’re in for a world of hurt! Then you have the tricky last sector with Hogpen at the end. It still takes a pretty big commitment with the elevation change, and that always makes a circuit, and there’s plenty of it there. It’s another gem in the IMSA schedule.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m really looking forward to coming back to VIR. It’s been a few years since I last raced there, I’ve spent time in the simulator getting back up to speed on the track. It is a true rollercoaster ride, and a lot of fun to drive. Following our strong finish at the last race in Road America, we’re eager to keep building off that. We continue to learn more and more about the car after each round, and we’ll be doing all we can to see further improvements.”
2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points
GTD PRO Drivers Standings
1. Laurin Heinrich – 2256
2. Ross Gunn – 2180
3. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2083
4. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 2066
5. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow – 2023
6. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 1961
GTD PRO Teams Standings
1. No. 77 AO Racing – 2256
2. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2180
3. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 2083
4. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2066
5. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 2023
6. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 1961
GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings
1. Porsche – 2304
2. Aston Martin – 2216
3. Chevrolet – 2154
4. Lexus – 2139
5. McLaren – 2019
GTD Drivers Standings
1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 2396
2. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 2128
3. Parker Thompson – 1870
4. Mikael Grenier – 1796
5. Albert Costa Balboa/Manny Franco – 1781
12. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 1559
GTD Teams Standings
1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 2396
2. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 2128
3. No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsport – 1796
4. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 1781
5. No. 12 Vasser Sullivan – 1677
10. No. 13 AWA – 1283
GTD Manufacturers Standings
1. Mercedes-AMG – 2500
2. Aston Martin – 2027
3. Lexus – 2022
4. BMW – 1970
5. Porsche – 1963
9. Chevrolet – 1798
CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: By the Numbers
• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at VIR since 2012 – Corvette C6.R (2012-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the mid-engine Corvette C8.R – which raced at VIR for the final time in IMSA competition in 2023 – and Z06 GT3.R, both of which are eighth-gen Corvettes
• 6: IMSA class wins at VIR for Corvette Racing. Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin won in ALMS GT competition in 2012, and Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won overall in 2016 and 2017. Garcia and Jordan Taylor drove the C8.R to a win in 2020 and 2023 with Milner and Nick Tandy victorious in 2021.
• 6: Overall VIR race wins for Corvette Racing – 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. The first five came in IMSA competition with DXDT Racing winning once overall in June’s GT World Challenge America’s event as it swept the Pro class
• 13: Number of VIR victories in IMSA for Chevrolet since 2002, including the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series; that’s the most among manufacturers
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 51: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. DXDT Racing’s Bryson Morris joined the list at Road America in GT World Challenge America
• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 135: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 116 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and seven in GT World Challenge America
• 301: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August at Road America in IMSA
• 6,448.44: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 12 previous events at Virginia International Raceway
• 386,963.37: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
Corvette Racing at VIR (wins in bold)
2012
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT (Garcia fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Clinched ALMS GT title)
2013
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GT (Clinch GT team, manufacturer titles)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GT
2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 7th in GTLM (Taylor replaced Magnussen – injury)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM
2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM
2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM (Magnussen pole)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap)
2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM
2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM
2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM
2020
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM
2021
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTLM (Milner pole)
2022
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO (Taylor fastest race lap)
2023
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTD PRO
2024 – GT World Challenge
No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st,1st in Pro
DXDT records first 1-2 finish, takes Pro and Pro-Am wins with Corvette Z06 GT3.R
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 18, 2024) – DXDT Racing recorded more landmark results in its first season with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R by sweeping the GT World Challenge America weekend at Road America and posting victories in multiple classes for the first time.
Tommy Milner and Alec Udell won their fifth race in a row Saturday and added their sixth straight Sunday in the No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It’s the third straight weekend sweep in the Pro class for the first-year duo. More notably, they led a team 1-2 overall finish Sunday as the No. 08 Corvette of Bryan Sellers and Bryson Morris won the Pro-Am category in their first race as a pairing.
The results give the first-year Z06 GT3.R eight race victories since debuting in January and a 1-2 finish for the second time – the first coming via Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The strategy from both the 63 and 08 teams was spot-on Sunday. Milner started on the class pole and drove the first 40 minutes in a six-car train of traffic. He handed off to Udell in hopes of getting clean air and clear track, which worked perfectly as he made the eventual winning pass with 40 minutes left and the three lead Pro-Am cars coming out of pitlane.
Udell pounced from second place and into the lead at the first turn, which also allowed Morris to make his challenge for the class lead and second overall. By the time both Corvettes emerged from Turn Five a few seconds later, Udell and Morris ran 1-2 and stayed that way to the end.
It was a nice redemption for the No. 08 Corvette, which was collected by a spinning car in Saturday’s opening race of the weekend. In that contest, Udell started from pole with Milner having to hold off the field on a restart with five minutes to go. He had led by as much as 19 seconds before the late full-course yellow.
DXDT Racing’s next event in GT World Challenge America is Sept. 6-8 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE POST-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “All in all, it was a great weekend with two wins again and six in a row. That’s pretty special. On the surface it seems easy, but it’s not! There are so many things that can go wrong. I can’t tell you how many times in my career where we’ve had cars that should have won races but didn’t because something went wrong. I’m super-proud to be part of Corvette Racing and with DXDT Racing. They’ve over the last couple of years made a huge effort to improve every aspect of their program. It’s great to have results that show all the hard work that a lot of people have put in to making this a great team. I’m proud and happy to be part of it.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "The crew did a great job with the car. There was limited dry running time this week with all the weather that was moving through. I'm happy to be here, and the Corvette performed beautifully here at Road America. I'm really happy with the platform. Tommy had a great first stint and maybe got caught in some traffic and dirty air. We had a little bit of a battle with the Porsche in the opening laps of our stint. There was a little bit of a traffic jam with some Pro-Am cars, and I was able to take advantage of that and run clean to the finish. I'm really happy for Bryan and Bryson as well. It's great to see that car up front. I'm happy for the team and for a great team effort."
BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Bryson did a great job for us. It for sure was a difficult situation for him. He got the call just a few days before the race. He was eager to get here with us. We ran him in a test about a week ago, and he was fantastic. He's a great kid and listens really well. We were really impressed with his ability to come in and fit in seamlessly. When it came to this race, he was an easy choice.
"I had a really good in-lap and he had a fantastic out-lap. We talked before the race in the strategy meeting that it would be the difference-maker between him and some of the other drivers because we knew it would be tough to race them. The 29 BMW stopped a lap ahead of us, which I think went in our favor because it gave us another opportunity for a flier. We were able to jump them in the pits and come out right with the leaders and made a great move to get the lead."
BRYSON MORRIS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "It was a pretty difficult stint but lucky Bryan did a great job to help me get into the lead. I just had to pass one car on the out-lap to get the lead and was able to hold it from there. Thanks to everyone at DXDT Racing. I couldn’t have done it without them. I was getting the gaps to second place from the team and it was coming down a little bit, but we were able to take the win. I’m really excited."
CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER: "Congratulations to DXDT Racing on today's 1-2 finish at Road America and victories in both GT World Challenge America Pro and Pro-Am classes. The team continues to show the potential of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the hands of customer teams. The strategy and execution on both Corvettes was perfect today and led to this landmark result."
Corvette Z06 GT3.R on four-race win streak in GT World Challenge America
DETROIT (August 13, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R and DXDT Racing look to remain unbeaten in GT World Challenge America’s Pro class as the series travels this weekend for two 90-minute sprint races at Road America.
The team will have a pair of the first-year Corvette GT3s at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course just off Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. Tommy Milner and Alec Udell, in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Z06 GT3.R, have been the dominant pairing since making their debut together with four consecutive Pro-class wins and three pole positions in two events.
The strong performance has carried over to the No. 08 DXDT Corvette. DXDT Racing will debut a new lineup of team veteran Bryan Sellers and newcomer Bryson Morris, who will make his first career start in GT World Challenge in the Z06 GT3.R and tested the Corvette last week at Road America.
There is momentum in the No. 08 Corvette camp, as well, with a Pro-Am podium finish the last time out at VIR.
This weekend will be the second event at Road America for the Z06 GT3.R in three weeks, following a round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs swept the first row of the GTD PRO grid with the race ending with top-five finishes in both the GTD PRO and GTD classes.
DXDT Racing spent two days testing at Road America last week, armed with feedback and input on chassis and aero setups from the IMSA programs. Those lessons should help the team establish an optimal baseline for Friday’s opening practice.
DXDT Racing will race in the first of two GT World Challenge America races at Road America at 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s second race at 2:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage of both races plus timing & scoring will be available at gt-world-challenge-america.com and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
DXDT RACING CORVETTE PRE-EVENT QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We tested last Monday and Tuesday, and adding data from the recent MSA event, there’s a lot that will apply to the SRO weekend. I’ve already realized that across the two weekends that I’ve done. Car knowledge plays a big role in helping to drive the direction of the Corvette on the Pirelli tire. This is the first direct, back-to-back correlation just with the test but also the race. Our Corvette was good on the IMSA weekend. We were 1-2 in qualifying and were really good in the race. We’ll try to build on that and have another good weekend here with DXDT.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I"m excited for the Road America race weekend with DXDT in the Corvette Z06 GT3R. Road America is an iconic venue on the SRO schedule. It brings exciting racing and attracts great fans. Tommy has a lot of knowledge coming off a strong race weekend with the Pratt Miller team, so I'm looking to pick up as much info from him as I can and roll that into another great weekend with the team."
BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "After a strong showing in VIR I’m really looking forward to getting to Road America. The team is working hard to continue to produce results, and I’m hopeful that in this next round we are able to convert that hard work into good results."
BRYSON MORRIS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm super excited and honored to race with DXDT Racing this weekend at Road America. It will be my GT3 debut in the U.S., and I could not ask for a better team to do it with. We had a strong test together not too long ago and I believe we will be in strong contention to at least be on the podium."
CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER: “To say that we are pleased with DXDT Racing and the competitiveness of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GT World Challenge America is an understatement. The same spirit of enthusiasm and collaboration that we saw in the first days of this effort remains evident. Four race wins and five podium finishes is an impressive start that shows the capability of the team as well as the reliability and performance of our Corvette GT3 car in customer hands.”
2024 GT World Challenge America Championship Points
Manufacturers Standings
1. Porsche – 166
2. Mercedes-AMG – 125
3. BMW – 121
4. Chevrolet – 103
5. Acura – 18
Pro Drivers Standings
1. Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer – 152
2. Varun Choksey/Bill Auberlen – 116
3. Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 100
4. Luca Mars/Zach Veach – 93
5. Spencer Pumpelly/Trent Hindman – 83
Pro Teams Standings
1. Wright Motorsports – 152
2. ST Racing – 116
3. DXDT Racing – 100
4. Racers Edge Motorsports – 93
5. RS1 – 83
Pro-Am Drivers Standings
1. Samantha Tan/Neil Verhagen – 162
2. Justin Rothberg/Robby Foley – 116
3. George Kurtz/Colin Braun – 108
4. Philip Ellis/Jeff Burton – 87
5. Kyle Washington/Tom Sargent – 70
6. Scott Smithson/Bryan Sellers – 66
Pro-Am Teams Standings
1. ST Racing – 162
2. Turner Motorsport – 118
3. CrowdStrike by Riley – 108
4. GMG Racing – 72
5. Regulator Racing – 67
6. DXDT Racing – 66
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: By the Numbers
• 1: One manufacturer, one car brand and one program for 23 years at Road America: Chevrolet, Corvette and Corvette Racing
• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road America since 2002 – Corvette C5-R (2002-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2016-2019) and Corvette C8.R/Z06 GT3.R (2020-current). Both of the latter are eighth-gen Corvettes
• 4: Number of cars Tommy Milner passed in the final 15 minutes of the 2016 IMSA Road America race. He and Oliver Gavin went on to win in class and capture the GTLM Drivers Championship that season
• 9: Pole positions at Road America for Corvette Racing entries by five different drivers, including two weeks ago by Nicky Catsburg in IMSA GTD PRO
• 10: Number of drivers who have won races at Road America for Corvette Racing – Gavin (four); Olivier Beretta (three); Johnny O’Connell (two); and Kelly Collins, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Milner, Andy Pilgrim and Jordan Taylor (one each)
• 12: Fastest race laps for Corvette Racing drivers at Road America
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races across IMSA, WEC and GT World Challenge – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 49: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. DXDT Racing’s Bryson Morris will become No. 50 this weekend at Road America in GT World Challenge America
• 132: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and four in GT World Challenge America
• 300: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came two weeks ago at Road America in IMSA
• 13,423.23: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 23 previous trips to Road America. That represents 3,308 laps or 113 trips across Lake Michigan
• 386,337.15: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Top-Fives in Wild Sprint
Fifth and sixth for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller; season-best fifth in GTD for AWA
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 4, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R recorded top-five finishes in both GTD PRO and GTD on Sunday at the end of a chaotic IMSA SportsCar Weekend event at Road America.
The No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entry of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims finished fifth in the GTD PRO class, with the AWA duo of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani matching that result for their best GTD finish of the season in their No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The GTD PRO pole-sitting No. 4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner placed sixth in the hectic race.
The two-hour, 40-minute contest looked more like a short-track race with six full-course caution periods. Two yellows inside the final hour worked against the three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, all of which looked to be in good shape on fuel strategy going into the final 70 minutes.
The first unlucky break against the Corvettes came on the opening lap as Sims went spinning from second place after contact from another GTD PRO car, a dive-bomb move that sent the No. 3 off-track and into the gravel. Recovery crews quickly pulled Sims back onto the track with minor damage to the suspension of the car.
That left class pole-sitter and leader Nicky Catsburg as the lone Corvette at the front of the field, and the No. 4 he shared with Tommy Milner led the first 10 laps before stopping for tires and fuel during the first caution period of the race. A handful of GTD PRO cars stayed out to jumble the running order, which put a greater premium on track position.
Both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes attempted to manage their fuel usage across the final 75 minutes to regain the top positions, but two full-course yellows in quick succession alleviated all fuel concerns for the full GTD PRO field.
In GTD, Bell and Fidani were the day’s top movers by gaining 16 positions overall and 10 in class for their first top-five finish of the season. Fidani drove the first 46 minutes before Bell took over to the end. He was involved in multiple battles with other class competitors – five and six cars at a time – but stayed clean to the end.
The result meant that Fidani continues to lead the Bob Akin Award standings, with the season championship going to the top Bronze-rated, points-scoring driver.
The next race in IMSA for the Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs is the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway on August 23-25.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FIFTH IN GTD PRO: “The first lap led to our whole race. The opening contact damaged the car somewhat, and from that point on we had to gamble on a different strategy, save fuel and do something different. In a way, it got us some positions but when it came time to fight at the end, the car wasn’t where it needed to be. We definitely tried to squeeze as much as we could out of it. It’s a shame. It was a little mistake (by the 64) but it hurt the momentum of our race.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FIFTH IN GTD PRO: “Rocky (Mike Rockenfeller) came and apologized. I know that there was nothing malicious in it. It was just a mistake, and we all make mistakes. That’s the way it goes. I have to give great credit to the Corvette, which held up pretty well for a decent hit. We had a little movement in the rear toe, and we could finish the race with it. Well done to the recovery crew to get me out of the gravel so quickly. That kept us on the lead lap and in the race. We came away with fifth which isn’t what you want after starting on the front row, but under the circumstances it could have been race over at that point. It was a good recovery. That’s racing, and we’ll go on to the next one.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “On our side, we had great racecars. The Corvettes were very good. It’s hard to pass here. What happens with guys that don’t think they have a car to win, they start making gambles on strategy and in this series you can win on gambles. Driving in traffic here makes it hard to follow cars. Even if you have a fast car, you can’t always use it. We’re very well aware that track position is king, so we try to prioritize that. Things just didn’t fall our way today. There were multiple situations and opportunities for us to make the right calls, and in the situations I think we made the right calls. I’m not happy with the end result, but the effort and strategy and the whole crew… everyone did a great job and did everything right. Luck was just not on our side.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “Honestly it was a disappointing day today. I felt that as a team we executed really well and the Corvette was in a super-nice window in terms of balance. The start went well and from my point of view we did everything right and ended up with nothing. It’s unfortunate because I feel like we deserved something more today. Some of these races become a bit of a lottery. So I’m disappointed but on the other hand pleased with the momentum we have. We are getting more and more on top of the car. We are reliable, we are performing well in terms of setup, qualifying and race pace. The guys in the pitlane are doing good work. It was a good weekend with all the Oshkosh guests, and we had a lot of fun. It would have been nice to come away with a win instead of basically nothing. It is what it is, and now we can look forward to VIR which is a new track for me. It seems to be another awesome place, and I can’t wait for the next event.”
AWA POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FIFTH IN GTD: “That was absolute chaos and a proper IMSA race! There was some seriously dicey, proper GT racing going on and I loved every bit of it, to be honest. A few people got a bit too far over the line and that cost them, but I think we struck the right balance and managed to progress through the field. It was nice to put in a couple of decent overtakes and we went up the field as people made mistakes. I think we were the top mover on the grid with great work by the team. We were super-sharp in the pits and super-sharp with strategy again. We’re marching toward that first podium. So yes, a good day in the office.”
CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Catsburg Leads Corvette 1-2
Pair of Z06 GT3.Rs sweep GTD PRO front row in try for second straight race win
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 3, 2024) – Nicky Catsburg led a 1-2 effort in GTD PRO qualifying Saturday for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports at Road America with the team going for its second straight victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Catsburg qualified the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on pole position and bested teammate Alexander Sims as the pair of first-year cars swept the front row for the second race in a row. It’s the season’s second pole position for Catsburg, who will team with Tommy Milner in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute sprint race.
Five GTD PRO cars, including both Corvettes, went under the previous class track record as Catsburg posted a best lap of 2:02.198 (119.255 mph). He was 0.194 seconds quicker than the No. 3 Corvette and Sims, who claimed pole position and the race win with teammate Antonio Garcia the last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park three weeks ago.
It’s the fourth pole position of the IMSA season for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and its eighth globally in its debut season. Catsburg previously was on pole at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he and Milner finished third in class.
A victory Sunday would be Corvette Racing’s ninth class victory at Road America and would come in the program’s 300th all-time start – 255 of them coming in IMSA.
In GTD, the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell will start 15th in class after Saturday’s qualifying. Bell and Fidani – who leads the IMSA Aiken Award standings for Bronze-rated drivers in GTD – will look to rebound from a DNF in the last race at CTMP when Fidani was knocked off-track.
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 4. The race will air on CNBC from 6-9 p.m. ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio also will stream the call of the race at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO POLE-WINNER: “That was all I had! I have Sims as a teammate and the guy is crazy quick! So I really have to push hard. I feel
like we really nailed the setup. Tyler (Neff) my engineer did a great job and made some suggestions right before qualifying. The car was mega. I only had to drive it around here, and it was a good lap. We got everything together and I’m super, super glad.
“Road America is super challenging. I haven’t raced here but I did test here. So I know the track. It’s awesome and very old-school… one of the best in America. I’m super-happy to learn from my teammates. They are bringing me up to speed, so I’m very happy to be on pole.
“I hope it’s our turn for a win! It was an awesome lap. The Corvette was really dialed in perfectly. Our team did a great job with the setup. This was a very nice lap and I’m very pleased. It’s super-cool that we have a 1-2 again. We had a 1-2 finish in Canada a couple of weeks ago, so it’s great to build on that and hopefully we can do it again here. It’s been a new car for us and we are continuing to learn. It’s getting better and better. We found something in Canada that is working well for us, so we’ve brought it here and it’s gone very well.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “I’m very happy. The session was good fun and the car was working really, really well. I made a mistake on my first proper push lap and went wide coming out of the Carousel. The tires were dirty starting the next lap so that compromised me a little bit. The lap after that was my best, but Nicky’s lap was absolutely brilliant. That’s a special lap from him. Well done to the whole team. It’s great to be alongside our teammates on the front row. It’s a perfect way to start the race, and I think we have sensible race pace as well.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Going Back-to-Back?
Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs looking to add second IMSA victory following CTMP win
DETROIT (July 31, 2024) – With the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s first win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now in the rear-view mirror, next up – naturally – is trying to get its second.
The next round of the IMSA schedule – and the Corvette Racing program’s 300th all-time start – is a natural fit for both the back-to-back attempt and the Corvette brand as a whole. Historic Road America has long been a playground for Corvette race and production cars for more than 60 years, evidenced by thousands of testing miles and eight IMSA victories for Corvette Racing cars dating back to 2002.
Three of the first-year Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will be in action across two classes in Sunday’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend event at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course in rural Wisconsin.
In GTD PRO, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will look to make it two straight wins after a 1-2 finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park a little more than two weeks ago.
Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims capped a stellar weekend for the team at the Chevrolet Grand Prix with a race win, class pole position and fastest race lap in the No. 3 Corvette.
They led teammates Tommy Milner – who recently won both rounds of GT World Challenge America at VIR in a Corvette – and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R across the finish line for the program’s 71st 1-2 finish in IMSA … the most for any team in the series.
As the Corvette Racing factory program, the Pratt Miller team has recorded eight victories at Road America over the years – the most recent coming with the Corvette C8.R in 2020. That also was the last time the team finished off the class podium at the circuit.
In GTD, AWA is hoping to rebound after an unfortunate early end to its home race at CTMP. Orey Fidani and Matt Bell will again team in the No. 13 Corvette for their first race around Road America in the Z06 GT3.R. The track has been good for the pairing lately with consecutive LMP3 podiums the last two years, including a runner-up finish in 2022.
Despite being spun out and having to retire the previous race, Fidani continues to lead the Bob Akin Award standings, with the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of the year earning an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 4. The race will air on CNBC from 6-9 p.m. ET with live streaming on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday afternoon’s opening practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s always nice to come into a race having won the previous one. The entire team has worked very hard to get us into these positions, and it was nice to finally deliver the first IMSA win for the Z06 GT3.R. Getting a second this weekend at Road America will be very tough. Still we know that there is more to winning races that outright speed. We need to keep taking chances and being clever with our strategy to put us toward the front. From there, we know that anything can happen as we have seen with a few Corvette wins at Road America over the years.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “In terms of what the car can do, the Corvette is really good in cornering and on the brakes so with the heavy braking zones we should be good. Sections like the Carousel and the Kink should be quite exciting to drive. It’s a great track and fun to drive. It’s a lovely set of corners and a cool track to race one with a lot of places to overtake. It should be a good weekend.
“These to me are the type of tracks that I really enjoy. It rewards seat-of-the-pants, high-risk and high-reward driving. With multi-class racing, it’s an added craziness where you have to pass in corners where ordinarily you’d never think of it. Everyone on track has to respect each other and make it work. It’s what makes me get up in the morning and do what we do.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s really nice to do so much more racing this year. Going from the same platform across two different series, but being back in IMSA full-time and now adding GT World Challenge, this stretch of the year is always busy. It feels like one weekend leads right into the next one. You get very familiar with the car and really get a chance to get deep down into the details and manipulate the car in such a way with setup to get it exactly to where you want it to feel. Doing the two series gives you a chance to in some ways fine-tune your driving even more. From my perspective it’s all good. It’s busy for sure but this is something I’ve wanted to do for the last two or three years – doing more racing. Getting that opportunity, I’m excited for this stretch to do a lot of racing toward the end of the season. I feel like both programs are hitting their stride a little bit. We’re knocking on the doorstep with Pratt Miller of getting a win. Podiums are great but the team is pushing really hard for wins. So I feel like we’re close here. Obviously we’ve already had some great success with DXDT Racing at COTA, and we definitely want to keep carrying that momentum forward.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This part of the calendar that is the most challenging one but also the one I have looked forward to most. That’s because it is all of these cool tracks that I haven’t been to before yet, and now I get to experience them. The first was Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and that went quite well from the start. It was really enjoyable to push the limits on a new track from the get-go. We tested a few months ago at Road America, and that for sure helps. It's very challenging and nice to push your own boundaries and be useful to the team and not a liability or someone that is holding back the team. It’s a nice challenge and I am enjoying it so far.
“Road America is one of those places like CTMP. It’s high-commitment with a lot of risk versus reward. If you go off, you’re going to have a big issue. When you haven’t been somewhere and you have to work yourself up to the limit, you need some time and we don’t have that time. So you need to push your own limits a lot to get there are quickly as possible. The Kink, the Carousel and those kinds of corners aren’t scary but tricky and places where you need to be brave.”
AWA PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Another iconic track on the IMSA calendar, I love going back to Road America. I had my first podium with Orey and AWA there back in 2022 and we managed to do it again last year, so we want to keep that pattern going. The whole team is highly motivated for this one, we put ourselves in a great position for an awesome result at CTMP before being taken out, and we all want to finish that job this weekend!”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “As a driver, Road America is a stop on the calendar that we all look forward to every year. It’s fast, it’s intense, and it requires full commitment and concentration from start to finish. This is a track that we’re very familiar with. We know we can do well here again, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s unforgiving by nature, but that’s exciting because it means we should have good opportunities that we can capitalize on.”
2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points
GTD PRO Drivers Standings
1. Laurin Heinrich/Seb Priaulx – 1955
2. Ross Gunn – 1857
3. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1835
4. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 1774
5. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow – 1679
6. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 1676
GTD PRO Teams Standings
1. No. 77 AO Racing – 1955
2. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 1857
3. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1835
4. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 1774
5. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 1679
6. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 1676
GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings
1. Porsche – 2001
2. Aston Martin – 1892
3. Lexus – 1879
4. Chevrolet – 1859
5. McLaren – 1743
GTD Drivers Standings
1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 2090
2. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 1750
3. Parker Thompson – 1648
4. Mikael Grenier/Mike Skeen – 1521
5. Albert Costa Balboa/Manny Franco – 1508
12. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 1283
GTD Teams Standings
1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 2090
2. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 1750
3. No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsport – 1521
4. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 1508
5. No. 12 VasserSullivan – 1455
10. No. 13 AWA – 1283
GTD Manufacturers Standings
1. Mercedes-AMG – 2185
2. Lexus – 1788
3. Aston Martin – 1765
4. Lamborghini – 1729
5. Porsche – 1721
9. Chevrolet – 1518
Corvette Racing at Road America
2002
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole; Gavin fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS
2003
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 2nd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 5th in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)
2004
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 2nd in GTS
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: By the Numbers
Usually we present the Corvette Racing facts and figures below in numerical order, but this week is cause for doing things a little different. The IMSA SportsCar Showcase at Road America will mark the 300th event start for a Corvette Racing-related entry in the program’s history. So let’s work backward just a little…
• 385,600.41: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles
• 299: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. Of those, 255 have come in IMSA series – ALMS, GRAND-AM and the WeatherTech/Tudor Championship
• 132: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and four in GT World Challenge America
• 49: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999 – DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell being the latest in GT World Challenge America at Circuit of The Americas
• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 1: One manufacturer, one car brand and one program for 25-plus years: Chevrolet, Corvette and Corvette Racing
Road America, too, has been the site of more than a few Corvette Racing highlights over the years…
• 4: Number of cars Tommy Milner passed in the final 15 minutes of the 2016 Road America race. He and Oliver Gavin went on to win in class and capture the GTLM Drivers Championship that season
• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at CTMP since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2002-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2016-2019) and Corvette C8.R/Z06 GT3.R (2020-current). Both of the latter are eighth-gen Corvettes
• 8: Number of victories at Road America for Corvette Racing, the most of any entrant in IMSA
• 8: Pole positions at Road America for Corvette Racing by four different drivers
• 10: Number of drivers who have won races at Road America for Corvette Racing – Gavin (four); Olivier Beretta (three); Johnny O’Connell (two); and Kelly Collins, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Milner, Andy Pilgrim and Jordan Taylor (one each)
• 12: Fastest race laps for Corvette Racing drivers at Road America. That includes the last three in the last five years: Milner (2019 and 2021) and Garcia (2020)
• 14: Number of IMSA victories at Road America for Chevrolet, the second-most of any manufacturer in IMSA
• 12,686.49: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 22 previous trips to Road America. That represents 3,126 laps or 108 trips across Lake Michigan
Corvette Racing at Road America (wins in bold)
2002
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole; Gavin fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS
2003
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 2nd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 5th in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)
2004
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell – 2nd in GTS
DXDT Z06 GT3.Rs looking to continue winning momentum in GT World Challenge
DETROIT (July 17, 2024) – The newest Corvette Z06 GT3.R program returns to racing this weekend with DXDT Racing resuming the GT World Challenge America season at Virginia International Raceway. Two more 90-minute races are on tap for VIR with DXDT and Corvette looking to continue their momentum from the series’ last race at Circuit of The Americas in May.
As was the case at COTA, DXDT Racing will field the No. 63 Corvette for factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell in the series’ Pro class and another in Pro-Am – the No. 08 for Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson.
Milner, racing this weekend at his home track, and Udell are coming off a sweep of the weekend at COTA in the debut of the Pro-class Z06 GT3.R. That followed a promising Sebring debut for the Corvette GT3 entry in the hands of Smithson and Sellers.
Corvettes have a successful track record at fast and flowing VIR with six victories for the Corvette Racing program there since 2012. The 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course in southern Virginia has been the site of numerous tests for past racing Corvettes as well as a site for tests of the Z06 GT3.R in its development phase.
In addition to the sweep at COTA, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is coming off its first IMSA victory in the hands of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Corvettes finished 1-2 in GTD PRO at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with Milner part of the runner-up effort in the team’s No. 4 Z06 GT3.R.
DXDT Racing will race in the first of two GT World Challenge America races at VIR at 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s second race at 2:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage of both races plus timing & scoring will be available at gt-world-challenge-america.com and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
DXDT RACING PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Corvettes have been very good in the past at VIR. The C8.R was really good there. Tracks like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Laguna Seca have suited this car pretty well, and I think VIR will follow along. As we’ve seen so far this year with the Z06 GT3.R, the style of racetrack lends itself to what this car does so well. I’m always excited to race there. It’s kind of my hometrack. The people are great – Connie (Nyholm), Kerrigan (Smith) and Mike (Rose)… all just great people to work with and they put on a good show for the fans.
“With DXDT having done Sebring and COTA, things are still a little new to and they’re still learning about the Corvettes. But the feeling is that they have a decent handle on the cars at this point. It helps by having a couple of Pratt Miller engineers to help along the way. So it does help speed up the learning curve.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel of the DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Tommy in GT World Challenge America. It’s a wonderful series and I really enjoy the competition there. We’re looking to build on the success of the last round at COTA and to continue the momentum that the Corvettes have gained over the last few rounds in IMSA and other worldwide competition. It could definitely be a tricky one this weekend at VIR. It’s a classic American circuit with high commitment and high risk. There’s a risk of rain like there always is in the summer in Virginia. I’m looking forward to navigating those tricky conditions, trying the Corvette in the wet for the first time and continuing to learn as much as I can throughout the process."
BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I love VIR. It’s such a special place for so many reasons. There’s the fan side of you that loves the history, the layout and the beauty of it. You have the driver’s side that loves the purity it still possess that is so different from many other tracks we go to. And not to mention that it’s such a great layout. It’s a good racetrack and fun to drive. It races well, which I think is super-important. I think the Corvette will suit it very well. It’s a track that it will excel at. The more time we can continue to get our hands on the car and get familiar with it, the more we’ll grow and the better we will become. If you look at Austin, we had really good results with the 63 car. We all went away happy but still striving to improve and gain more. That’ll be our goal at VIR – to take the next step and hopefully get both cars in contention and on the podium. There’s still a massive learning curve and it’s a big undertaking, but we are moving in the right direction.”
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING IN BRAZIL: Progress Continues for TF Sport
Pair of Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs contend for season-best finishes at São Paulo
SÃO PAULO, Brazil (July 14, 2024) – TF Sport’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs showed their potential as the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship campaign continued to show improvements heading into the season’s stretch run… and a home race for the Corvette in the United States.
The No. 81 TF Sport trio of Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade and Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood placed eighth in the 17-car LMGT3 field at the end of the Six Hours of São Paulo. It was their best result since the season’s second race at Imola. But the Brazil round also showed that podium finishes are likely on the horizon in the team’s first year with the Corvette platform.
Van Rompuy began eighth in LMGT3 but moved up two places in the opening 10 minutes. He was on his way into the top-five before he was hit by one of the GT3-class Porsches moments later and spun off the track. The No. 81 Corvette rejoined in 14th.
That put the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R of Hiroshi Koizumi as the lead Corvette, having moved to ninth from his 13th-place starting spot. Both he and Van Rompuy drove double-stints to start the race with both Corvettes in the top-10 by the time TF Sport made their first driver changes two hours in.
Andrade took over the No. 81 Corvette and was involved in a multi-car battle for fifth place with four cars racing within four seconds of each other. Meanwhile, Sebastien Baud took over the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R, which had to serve a drive-through penalty before the driver swap. Baud showed good pace and made the driver change factory driver Daniel Juncadella to go the rest of the way. Unfortunately on his way out onto the track, a mechanical problem sidelined the Corvette after 133 laps.
That left the No. 81 to battle the balance of the GT3 field. Andrade ran in the top five before handing over to Eastwood to drive nearly two-and-a-half hours to the end. Eastwood continued to contend for a top-five finish before an unfortunate penalty during a full-course caution period near the five-hour mark. He continued to show the potential of the Z06 GT3.R with the sixth-fastest lap of the 49 LMGT3 drivers in the race.
TF Sport’s next race in the FIA WEC is the Lone Star Le Mans from Circuit of The Americas in Austin from August 30-September 1.
TF SPORT POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN LMGT3: “It was a tough race for us. The positive is the pace was really strong. A couple of things didn’t go our way with Tom getting caught up in a racing incident, which really put us on the back foot trying not to go a lap down. A late drive-through really took us out of it. Ultimately we were eight seconds from P4, but that meant P8. It was a super-strong performance with the car. It was really positive but unfortunately a couple things didn’t go our way.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN LMGT3: "There are some positives to take from today. We had some contact for Tom early. It was tough to manage my pace in my double-stint. Charlie looked incredibly quick at the end, so the car was definitely strong. If you take out the penalty and the contact, we could have been fighting for the podium. That's the first time this year that we can say that, so that's a big positive. The Corvette felt good all weekend and had no issues. We've taken some good steps forward. The pit stops were fine and we had no problems there. It's tough to take when it doesn't go your way but we have some positives to look at."
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN LMGT3: "It's true that today we had a strong car. It was in good shape today. But we had the bad luck of one of the Porsches kicking us off the track and had a spin. So we had come all fighting from the back. We got it back to eighth after my double-stint. Then we had a couple of other things like a drive-through for a penalty under full-course yellow. The potential is there, and we showed it today with the Corvette. Everything just needs to fall together and we'll get a good result. Hopefully in the next three races we can put it all together."
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Unfortunately coming out of the pits, I had a technical issue and the car wasn't able to keep running. We'll have to analyze to see what happened. It's a shame because the car was running really well. Seb was really fast in that stint. It wasn't meant to be this time."
SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We started well. It was a good qualifying result of the season for Hiroshi. For myself, I think it was a very good run. The car was good and fast. I liked it a lot. I tried to manage the tires to help with the degradation. The Corvette was good on this track. Unfortunately we had a mechanical problem that stopped us. I'm sorry for Dani because he didn't get to drive today. We'll try and come back stronger for COTA and the home race for Corvette. I hope we finish in the top-five. I really want a podium. The car is strong and the team is strong. We just need a chance to get up there, stay focused and keep pushing."
Press Release! CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: A Corvette 1-2 in Canada!
Sims, Garcia lead way to first IMSA win for Z06 GT3.R in Chevrolet Grand Prix
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 14, 2024) – Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia led a 1-2 class finish for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R on Sunday as Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports swept to the top of GTD PRO in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Sims and Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette delivered the first victory for the Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The pairing began from pole position and led 109 of 113 laps en route to a 0.408-second victory over Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette following a late-race restart.
"Congratulations to Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and the No. 3 team on winning the Chevrolet Grand Prix today at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the first victory in IMSA with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R,” said Scott Bell, Vice President, Global Chevrolet. “This is one of the world's toughest categories of racing with a strong and deep field of GT manufacturers and teams. The high levels of performance, reliability and execution from the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports drivers, crew and engineers were evident throughout the race. We congratulate them and the entire team for the hard-earned, 1-2 GTD PRO finish today."
The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team has been knocking on the door of the elusive first win in the WeatherTech Championship since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March with leads in the last five races. Milner and Catsburg gave the Z06 GT3.R its first podium finish at Laguna Seca with Garcia and Sims finishing third in the last round at Watkins Glen.
Closing the deal this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was fitting as the Corvette Racing program won for the 13th time at the circuit. Garcia went back-to-back in class after scoring a victory last year with Jordan Taylor in the Corvette C8.R.
Sims and Milner each drove the first half of the race with Milner making the first move for a driver change to Catsburg in hopes of leap-frogging the sister Corvette. Sims pitted two laps later from the lead with Garcia re-emerging ahead of the No. 4 Corvette for the run to the end.
Garcia’s lead remained between five and seven seconds until a full-course yellow with 16 minutes to go. That bunched up the GTD PRO field with a number of GTD-class cars ahead of them at the restart. Both Garcia and Catsburg worked their way through the slower cars to keep their positions to the checkered flag.
AWA’s home race in the No. 13 Corvette ended early when it was pushed off-track and into the tires at Turn Three. Orey Fidani had climbed to second in GTD from 11th at the start before contact from behind sent the Corvette into the barriers. The Z06 GT3.R’s safety systems and chassis structure did their jobs as Fidani climbed out of his car under his own power. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center shortly thereafter.
Meanwhile the AWA team displayed the never-give-up spirit of the Corvette Racing program and attempted to get the car back into the race, but the damage was too great.
The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA is August 2-4 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R - GTD PRO RACE WINNER: "This is huge for the entire Corvette program. I'm glad that we could finally get the first win in IMSA for the Z06 GT3.R and to get my first win with Alex. We just need to carry on like this and build on the things we have been doing. More wins will come.
"This ranks pretty high in my career. I got the first win for C7.R and C8.R, so this is brilliant! I'm happy with that! I'm so happy for the team. We've been so close. The pace has been there all year but we just didn't quite make it or had issues or we weren't in the right position. We've been knocking on the door for a long time. We finally got it to happen so I'm very happy for everyone at Corvette Racing and the Pratt Miller team."
(On the late-race restart) "I thought about it right before the yellow. I was sure there was quite a big potential to have a yellow at the end. It seems like it always happens. I think I was being gentle with the tires that I had so I was able to push at the end. It was tough to be in the middle of the GTDs. They were fighting and we were fighting. But I was able to stay ahead of him. It was fantastic to bring a 1-2 for Corvette Racing."
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO RACE WINNER: "It was nice. To be able to lead the race from the get-go is always the place you want to be. The pace of the Corvette has been good for most of the season, to be honest. We've definitely gotten stronger as the season has gone on. Everything worked really well from the start. Tommy got past the Lexus, so I knew I had him behind me. It's always nice when you have your teammate right behind you. The car was working well all week. I felt like I was in a good rhythm. I love driving around this place. Antonio was a very good, safe set of hands to bring it home."
“Superb. We’ve had some pace this year at times. The car has been so good today. We were able to execute a really nice race and to be able to generally manage things from the front which is what you generally want to do. The Corvette has worked super-well this weekend. Pratt Miller has done a great job. We nailed the strategy, coming up aces when we needed to. It's been a wonderful weekend."
(On the late restart against the No. 4 Corvette): "You never know what Nicky is going to do! He's a bit of a wild card! He’s a fantastic driver as well. He’s the best of the best basically. I’m sure he knew what he was doing, and I’ve got full confidence in Antonio as well. They are the perfect guys to bring it home one-two for the team. We all know how important it is to get this result. It’s amazing to get two wins here, but I want more.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTD PRO: "I'm absolutely happy with this. There's nothing better - a 1-2 for the team. Both cars executed really well today. We had fast cars, for sure, but we did everything right. We had decent qualifying too and that helped. The start of the race was pretty good for me in getting by the Lexus and then was into a lead-follow with Alex there for awhile. It got a little hectic with some of the rocket ships in our class passing us from five or six car-lengths back so I had to fight that off a little bit. It's a great day for Corvette Racing and a great day for Pratt Miller Motorsports. We thought this racetrack would suit us pretty well which it certainly did. I'm glad that we as a whole team executed from top to bottom and got the result we deserved today."
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTD PRO: "This is a great result for the team. I'm extremely happy because we've been waiting for this result for quite awhile. I'm glad we finally had everything going our way with the yellows and so on. I'm really, really happy because I feel we deserved this."
CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: Pole for Sims, No. 3 Corvette
Pair of Z06 GT3.Rs start up front in GTD PRO for Chevrolet Grand Prix
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 13, 2024) – Alexander Sims claimed his first pole position of the season and the third for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season in qualifying for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Sims shattered the GTD PRO track record Saturday in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Z06 GT3.R – a 1:14.373 (119.027 mph) lap that was nearly seven-tenths of a second under the previous mark. He and teammate Antonio Garcia are coming off a third-place finish in the team’s last race at Watkins Glen.
Tommy Milner was third in GTD PRO and fourth among all 22 production-based GT cars in Saturday’s 15-minute session. His best lap in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R was a 1:15.105 (117.866 mph) as he and teammate Nicky Catsburg look for their second podium finish of the year.
The team’s goal Sunday, though, is the first GTD PRO victory for the first-year Z06 GT3.R. The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller squad has shown strong form throughout the season, and CTMP would be a fitting place to break through. The program has recorded 12 class victories at the track formerly known as Mosport, including last year for Garcia in a Corvette C8.R.
In GTD, AWA’s Orey Fidani qualified 11th in class in the home race for the local team and its No. 13 Corvette. He and Matt Bell are on a nice streak of their own with three top-10 finishes in the last four races going back to Sebring in March.
A podium finish and a larger lead for Fidani in the Bob Akin Award standings are the primary goals. Fidani leads that championship, which goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver at the end of each race. The season winner earns an automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14. The race will air live on the USA Network plus stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will stream the call of the race at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO POLE-WINNER: "Moments like that with the car around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - which is an incredible circuit that I absolutely love - with low fuel and new tires and a beautiful Corvette working well... I got a couple of really nice laps there from a driving point of view. I had clear laps with not much traffic. It was a real blast and really, really good fun."
"It's great to do this on a weekend that Chevrolet is backing. The whole Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing team gave me such a good car. We had a few ups and downs through practice and weren't quite sure in which direction to go with. We picked the direction on the 3 Corvette, and it looks like it worked pretty well."
“It’s just a lovely mix of high-speed corners here. You need to be brave. As with many tracks in America compared to the more conventional F1 circuits in Europe where you don’t get rewarded as much for being brave, here you really, really do. I took some risks out there. The car just came alive in qualifying trim. The Corvette’s been working through practice as well. To run on new tires and low fuel and get some clear laps without traffic, which is something I didn’t have during practice to get a real good feeling of. It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be able to experience those moments."
"It’s lovely to have the fan support that we do. It’s really incredible the support that Chevrolet and Corvette have here along with so many circuits to be honest as well. When I wasn’t racing for Corvette, it was always Corvette that had the longest lines of fans out for the autograph sessions and stuff. Now to be representing them is lovely and to drive here has been wonderful.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTD PRO: "Our starting spot is good. We took a calculated risk for qualifying in trying something with the setup of the car based on Practice One and Practice Two to get both Nicky and I a bit more comfortable in some ways. I think we went a little bit too far with that. The gap to Simsy is bigger than I'd like, obviously. I think some of the performance loss is down to us trying something different. We didn't use qualifying as another practice session but we certainly took a bigger step than we normally would. Third in class and fourth of the GT cars is pretty good. This will be a strategy race, for sure. It's hard to pass here so doing smart things with the strategy is going to be big. The key will be to keep the car in one piece. Being such a high downforce track, aero is very important here. Keeping all the bits on the front is important, so that will be my job - not to hurt the car, keep in a good position and see what our guys on the pit wall can work their magic with."
AWA POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED 11TH IN GTD: "Qualifying 11th here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, my home track, is a great feeling. The car's handling was superb, and the team did an excellent job preparing it. While I'm happy with today's result, I'm eager to push for an even better finish in tomorrow's race. The support from the home crowd means a lot to me and everyone on the team, and we are ready to give it our all."
PRESS RELEASE: CORVETTE RACING IN BRAZIL: Fourth Row Start for No. 81 Z06 GT3.R
Van Rompuy advances to third Hyperpole in five races; No. 82 Corvette starts 13th
SAO PAULO, Brazil (July 13, 2024) – Tom Van Rompuy and the No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the outside of the fourth row in Sunday’s Six Hours of São Paulo for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The TF Sport driver ended Saturday’s LMGT3 Hyperpole session in eighth in the Corvette that he will share with Rui Andrade and Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood.
Van Rompuy advanced to the Hyperpole session for the top-10 qualifiers in class for the third time in five races. He was sixth-fastest in the 15-minute qualifying session at 1:35.744 (100.662 mph) and posted a lap of 1:35.931 (100.476 mph) in Hyperpole.
His run was compromised by a red flag in the first half of the session that sapped some of the energy from his Goodyear tires but more critically by a slower car for the remaining eight minutes of green-flag time. Nevertheless, the pace of both TF Sport Corvettes has been strong and consistent in the first trip to the Interlagos circuit for the team and the first for the WEC since 2014.
Hiroshi Koizumi’s No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start 13th after missing the Hyperpole session by just 0.143 seconds – a razor-thin margin in a very difficult class – with a lap of 1:36.169 (100.227 mph). He will drive with Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, who is the only of the trio who has previously raced at Interlagos.
The Six Hours of São Paulo is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage with streaming coverage on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of the race.
TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – Qualified eighth in LMGT3: “Today was a good day. I think I did quite well in qualifying with P6 and had a purple sector in Sector Two. In Hyperpole I struggled to get a good gap to the car ahead of me, but at the end of my push lap and four corners from the end. At that point you have to commit to it otherwise the peak of the tires is gone. So I lost a bit of time. Then again it’s a long race and I feel confident about tomorrow. We have a good setup for the race, and I think it will be a struggle for everyone to keep the tires alive because this track is very rough on them. I have a good feeling. I’ll try to do a good double-stint to try and gain some places so we can contend for a top-five or even a podium tomorrow.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – Qualified 13th in LMGT3: “The gap to 10th place in qualifying was very small. I’m hoping to find some tenths of a second to move up in my stint. It was a good run for Tom in the other car. I want to make sure I can follow and stay close to the cars in front of me and hopefully gain some positions before my teammates get in the race.”
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