CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: A Corvette Coronation!Final race for C8.R in historic championship season for Corvette program DETROIT (Oct. 30, 2023) – Can Corvette Racing go out on top to end 2023? That’s certainly the plan as the team goes for its fourth FIA World Endurance Championship victory this year in the season-ending Eight Hours of Bahrain. It would be a fitting exit for the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which will race for the final time in the hands of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone. Already this year, the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette has won the GTE Am category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1,000 Miles of Sebring and Six Hours of Portimão. |
By finishing no worse than fourth at any race so far, the No. 33 Corvette Racing squad locked up the GTE Am Drivers and Teams championships two rounds ago at Monza in Italy. A fourth WEC win would give the C8.R a total of 21 victories worldwide in 82 events and close Corvette Racing’s two-year campaign in the FIA WEC with a fifth win. As much of a coronation as Bahrain will be for the Corvette program, it also serves as a transition point for the Corvette brand. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is slated to be part of the WEC grid next year in the hands of TF Sport for the LM GT3 category while the No. 33 C8.R team transitions back to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports banner. There’s still work to do in the present, however. Corvette Racing finished second in GTE Pro last year in its first race at the 3.36-mile, 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit with stellar drives from both Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. Armed with that experience and notebook from the event, the goal is to finish one step higher on the podium this time around. Working in the benefit of Corvette Racing is its perfect 2-0 record in races longer than six hours in FIA WEC competition this year with wins at Le Mans and Sebring – each by at least one lap. It also doesn’t hurt that Keating is a two-time GTE Am winner at Bahrain, Catsburg posted two top-five finishes in World Touring Car Cup a year ago, and Varrone has previous history in the C8.R at Bahrain from last year’s Rookie Test. As in previous races, the C8.R will run at Bahrain with a level of rewards weight due to its successes earlier this year: 15 kilograms for leading the championship and 10 kilograms for finishing second in the previous race at Fuji on top of 10 extra kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight ahead of the Monza round for a total of 35 kilograms – five less than at the Japanese round but still the heaviest in GTE Am. The Corvette also will race with a two-liter decrease in fuel capacity and a 0.6mm restrictor adjustment to limit engine power. The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 7 a.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race plus Friday’s final practice and qualifying. |
CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA WEC’s Eight Hours of Bahrain. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items. |
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After six of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 1642. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 793. Davide Rigon/Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr – 734. Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Mikkel Pedersen – 685. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 65 Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 1642. No. 85 Iron Dames – 793. No. 54 AF Corse – 734. No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing – 685. ORT by TF – 65 CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Positions gained in GTE Pro by Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy in last year’s Bahrain race in the No. 64 Corvette• 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R• 7: Hours difference between Manama, Bahrain and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone• 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• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship• 35: Kilograms of success ballast for the Corvette C8.R at Fuji – 10 for finishing second at Fuji, 15 for leading the GTE Am championship and 10 additional kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight by the organizers• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 283: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 6,883: Approximate mileage from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Bahrain International Airport, one way. That’s a greater distance than the No. 33 Corvette C8.R has raced this year in WEC competition• 361,214.36: 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 Bahrain2022No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE Pro |