Corvette GT3 program looking to add to brand’s rich history of 12 Hours success DETROIT (March 13, 2024) – The new-look Corvette Racing program is headed to one of the toughest and most extreme tests in all of motorsports – the 72nd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac. The rough-and-tumble Sebring International Raceway in central Florida is steeped in Corvette Racing lore with countless tests plus 29 races during a quarter-century of Corvette competition. That should bode well for the fortunes of the four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries entered for this America’s oldest sports car race. Two of the Corvette GT3 cars are entered in each of the GT classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – a pair for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO and an additional two for AWA in GTD. |
The goal for each team is to put Corvette back on the top step of the podium – a place Corvette Racing has stood 14 times leading into this year’s running. Operated by Pratt Miller Engineering, the Corvette factory team has tasted victory each of the last two years – 2022 in GTD PRO and 2023 in the GTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. | CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography. |
The current Corvette/PMM team tested the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Sebring in November in order to gather valuable data on the first-year car ahead of the season’s most grueling race across the bumps and concrete of the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. The lineups remain the same from the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 3 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette with Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber sharing the No. 4 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette. The six Corvette factory drivers have a combined 11 victories at Sebring. In GTD, the AWA team will make its second start with the Corvette brand after debuting at Daytona. The squad enjoyed a solid Sebring 12 Hours a year ago in LMP3 with the No. 13 trio of Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern finishing second in class. They will team again in this year’s race while 2023 fourth-place LMP3 finishers Anthony Mantella and Nico Varrone – a winner last year for Corvette Racing in the FIA WEC’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring – are set to drive with Rolex 24 teammate Thomas Merrill. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is Chevrolet’s first car built to global GT3 regulations. It’s based on the production Corvette Z06 supercar with the two sharing a significant amount of DNA. The racecar is built on the same production aluminum chassis frame – from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green (Ky.) Assembly plant – as the road-going Z06. Similar carbon-fiber splitters for front downforce, and the surface area from the top of the windshield to the rear of the Z06 remained intact on the Z06 GT3.R. That includes side air ducts behind the doors — directly inspired by Z06 production road car — that help to cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes.The similarities carry over to the hand-built 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine in the Z06 GT3.R. Both original from the Bowling Green factory with the racing version sharing 80 percent of the production content from the Z06, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets and a variety of other sensors. |
Chevrolet Motorsports Display, Ride and Drive Return to SebringIn addition to the many happenings on the racetrack at Sebring, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. That’s because two locations at the circuit – Chevrolet’s Motorsports Display and the Chevrolet Ride and Drive – 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 in the Sebring Midway. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include: • The Corvette Z06 GT3.R showcar along with the 2023 Corvette Z06 coupe• Corvette Stingray convertible• Additional Chevrolet products such as Traverse Z71, Blazer EV RS, Silverado 1500, Colorado ZR2, Tahoe RST, Silverado 2500HD• An example of the LT6.R engine in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R• An opportunity to receive a 2024 Chevrolet Motorsports t-shirt Also beginning Thursday, fans visiting the Sebring Skidpad outside of Turn 17 can sample a Chevrolet vehicle for themselves at the Ride and Drive event. Starting at 9 a.m. each day, spectators have the chance to test a wide variety of Chevrolets including Blazer RS, Tahoe High Country, Silverado 1500, TrailBlazer Active and Trax Active. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 16. The race will air on USA Network from 4-10 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock at 9:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning at IMSA.com along with Sirius 216, XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and 100.9 FM at the circuit. |
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES |
AWA PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES |
2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PointsGTD PRO Drivers Standings1. Alessandro Pier Guidi/Daniel Serra/Davide Rigon/James Calado – 3762. Laurin Heinrich/Michael Christensen/Seb Priaulx – 3553. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow/Sheldon van der Linde/Neil Verhagen – 3194. Alex Riberas/Mario Farnbacher/Ross Gunn – 3005. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia/Daniel Juncadella – 2908. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner/Earl Bamber – 254 GTD PRO Teams Standings1. No. 62 Risi Competizione – 3762. No. 77 AO Racing – 3553. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 3194. No. 23 Heart of Racing – 3005. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 2908. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 254 GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings1. Porsche – 3552. Aston Martin – 3023. Chevrolet – 2904. Ford – 2745. Lamborghini – 268 GTD Drivers Standings1. Daniel Morad/Indy Dontje/Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 3642. Francois Heriau/Kei Cozzolino/Miguel Molina/Simon Mann – 3403. Albert Costa Balboa/Alessandro Balzan/Cedric Sbirrozzuoil/Manny Franco – 3254. Alessio Rovera/Charles Scardina/Onofrio Triarsi/Riccardo Agostini – 3035. Maximilian Goetz/Mikael Grenier/Mike Skeen – 27318. Anthony Mantella/Charlie Eastwood/Nico Varrone/Thomas Merrill – 15221. Alex Lynn/Lars Kern/Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 117 GTD Teams Standings1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 3642. No. 21 AF Corse – 3403. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 3254. No. 023 Triarsi Competizione – 3035. No. 32 KorthoffPreston Motorsport – 27318. No. 17 AWA – 15221. No. 13 AWA – 117 GTD Manufacturers Standings1. Mercedes-AMG – 3712. Lamborghini – 3283. Porsche – 3124. McLaren – 2845. Lexus – 2756. Chevrolet – 255 |
CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: By the Numbers• 1: As in one manufacturer and one model of car for the 26th year at Sebring: Chevrolet and the Corvette• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 25 years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.• 4: Sebring race wins for Antonio Garcia – second-most among drivers entered in this year’s 12 Hours• 4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and newly elected Sebring Hall of Fame member 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• 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• 41: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Dani Juncadella, Earl Bamber, Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern, Alex Lynn. Anthony Mantella, Thomas Merrill and Charlie Eastwood joined the list at Daytona• 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• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 286: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 55,591.52: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries at Sebring since 1999. That’s more than two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).• 371,612.71: 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 Raceway1999No. 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) 2000No. 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 2001No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Chris Kneifel – 3rd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS 2002No. 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 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS (Gavin pole) 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 6th in GTS (Gavin fastest race lap) 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 9th in GT2 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 3rd in GT 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 11th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 1st in GT2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Robin Liddell – 6th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap) 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 1st in GTLM (Daytona/Sebring double)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud – 9th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 9th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 1st in GTLM (10th Sebring team win) 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 1st in GTLM (3rd straight Sebring team win)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 10th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLMNo. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE Pro (FIA WEC) 2020*No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM 2020No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTLM (Garcia pole, Catsburg fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 4th in GTLM (Taylor pole, Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 5th in GTLM 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 1st in GTD PRO (IMSA)No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE PRO (FIA WEC) 2023No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTD PRO (IMSA)No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone – 1st in GTE Am (FIA WEC) |