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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Solid Test Day for Corvette Quartet

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Four Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs work through pre-Le Mans programs on annual Test Day LE MANS, France (June 7, 2026) – The four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs that will contest next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans completed their initial runs around the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday through a pair of three-hour sessions that allowed teams to hit the track for the first time in a year. Three Corvettes were in the top-eight of the final session and within a half-second of the fastest LMGT3 car on the day.
TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar was the fastest of the Corvette drivers in the No. 33 Corvette that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and the returning Ben Keating. His lap of 3:56.885 (128.868 mph) was third-quickest and 0.239 seconds off the LMGT3 pace-setter. It put the trio in a good spot heading into Wednesday’s first official Free Practice ahead of a double-points race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Quick times for two for the other Corvettes came later in the session. 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell set a late flying lap of 3:56.916 (128.624 mph) in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R that he is driving with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. The trio is back at Le Mans for the second straight year after finishing 10th a year ago. Charlie Eastwood, a class podium finisher last year, finished seventh Sunday in the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he will race with Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey. Eastwood, a Corvette factory driver, was barely two-tenths of a second off Edgar’s time. A third TF Sport Corvette – the No. 2 Z06 GT3.R crewed by members of Johor Motorsports Racing – ended 23rd in class in the Le Mans debut of Ben Green, who set the car’s fastest time, and Prince Jefri Ibrahim. Their teammate, Lorcan Hanafin, is the only one of the three to race at Le Mans with his debut coming in 2025. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 13. Live streaming coverage of all on-track sessions – including qualifying and Hyperpole – plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage of all sessions as well.
ANDREA HIDALGO, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’re happy with the performance of the Corvettes as a whole and the level of preparation from our teams on the Test Day. This is not an easy event to execute for the most experienced group, so today was a nice result. Now our Corvette Customer Racing support engineers will work with each of the teams during the next couple of days to discover and act on any opportunities for improvement ahead of Free Practice.”
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R TEST DAY DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was able to get up to speed much quicker this year having been here before. It’s much easier now knowing the track, having more experience in the car and knowing pretty much everyone in the team as well. It’s been a lot easier this year for me in knowing what to expect.“Knowing from the first lap exactly where the car wants to be and feeling after a couple of laps I was already up to speed compared to last year. It does take awhile to figure everything out with this being a long lap. I definitely felt like I know what I need to do, where to break, which curbs to take, which ones to avoid… that all helps out.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re not horsing around here! I’m really happy. I got into the car four different times, and I’ve made big improvements every single time, which is all I can hope for. In that last run my laptime was pretty similar to where I qualified last year, and that makes me feel really good. I’m not going to say there’s a ton more there. But I feel good after that last run. I did a full stint and 10 laps; I’m pretty happy with the average laptime. The car feels good and that’s the most important thing for a 24-hour race. It feels like a car that we can do well in, which is what you want at the end of a Test Day. There are a lot of cars out there that look fast. The series has done an incredibly good job. It’s interesting to me to watch the different ways the cars make speed. The Corvette looks strong on top speed but not necessarily on acceleration, which is kind of an interesting deal. I see a lot of people out there avoiding a tow and things like that. There are still some games being played out there. Basically I just feel like we have a good car and a chance, which is all you can hope for in this race.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We do need to just start getting some proper results, and no better place for it than Le Mans. The Corvette’s always so good there. It’s been great the last two years, and it’s a great chance for us to get 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the good thing on my side is I can literally do half of the race… up to 12 hours of it. So I am doing everything I can to get myself ready for those long stints, lack of sleep and try to manage the adrenaline so that you are not completely busted after a couple of stints, but I like the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was great. That’s three of the last four starts at Le Mans for me with one being a win. The record there is going pretty well. But I’d like to get another win on the board, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t.”
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “(Le Mans in 2025) definitely exceeded my expectations. You hear about it, but till you actually go and experience it, it’s two different stories. It’s absolutely in a world of its own. I was dumbfounded; my head was on a swivel and I was just taking everything in. It’s absolutely amazing.“For me, there’s a better understanding of things like the slow zones and learning all that. I think we got one or two penalties because of that last year. It’s one thing looking at them on a map, and it’s another thing looking at them at speed at 300 kph. So now I have a better understanding of where those are, the rules and the procedures. Hopefully we can eliminate those penalties because I mean, it’s tough. Once you fall behind there, you never get it back.”
LORCAN HANAFIN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is a race that I’ve always wanted to do, a race that I’ve always wanted JMR to compete in. It took us seven years to get here, and finally it’s happening. Unlike some of our previous endurance races, this time we have two other categories racing together at the same race. That will be the challenge of having those other cars around you as well. And it’s an iconic track, so I can’t wait to see how we go there.”
HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First time at Le Mans and a dream come true. It’s been a long few days being in the town, going through scrutineering, doing the group photos and the car parade, as well. Today was my first day driving on the track – the most legendary track that I’ve always dreamt of driving. It’s such a cool track. I’m still learning, taking it step by step and trying to familiarize myself with the rules and having the Hypercars around me for the first time. It’s been a great day. I’ve missed being in the car. To be back in it feels like home. Then seeing the track through the windscreen and seeing the first corner and the Goodyear Bridge has been something I’ve always watched on TV… to see it in real life in the car was really amazing. That first lap was really fun. It’s been eight years since I first drove a racecar and it’s always been a dream for me to be at Le Mans. I’m super-grateful to be here, really. I’m focusing on what I can improve on for myself and hopefully in the next few days we can keep chipping away.”
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Solid Test Day for Corvette QuartetFour Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs work through pre-Le Mans programs on annual Test Day LE MANS, France (June 7, 2026) – The four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs that will contest next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans completed their initial runs around the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday through a pair of three-hour sessions that allowed teams to hit the track for the first time in a year. Three Corvettes were in the top-eight of the final session and within a half-second of the fastest LMGT3 car on the day.
TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar was the fastest of the Corvette drivers in the No. 33 Corvette that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and the returning Ben Keating. His lap of 3:56.885 (128.868 mph) was third-quickest and 0.239 seconds off the LMGT3 pace-setter. It put the trio in a good spot heading into Wednesday’s first official Free Practice ahead of a double-points race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Quick times for two for the other Corvettes came later in the session. 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell set a late flying lap of 3:56.916 (128.624 mph) in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R that he is driving with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. The trio is back at Le Mans for the second straight year after finishing 10th a year ago. Charlie Eastwood, a class podium finisher last year, finished seventh Sunday in the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he will race with Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey. Eastwood, a Corvette factory driver, was barely two-tenths of a second off Edgar’s time. A third TF Sport Corvette – the No. 2 Z06 GT3.R crewed by members of Johor Motorsports Racing – ended 23rd in class in the Le Mans debut of Ben Green, who set the car’s fastest time, and Prince Jefri Ibrahim. Their teammate, Lorcan Hanafin, is the only one of the three to race at Le Mans with his debut coming in 2025. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 13. Live streaming coverage of all on-track sessions – including qualifying and Hyperpole – plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage of all sessions as well.
ANDREA HIDALGO, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’re happy with the performance of the Corvettes as a whole and the level of preparation from our teams on the Test Day. This is not an easy event to execute for the most experienced group, so today was a nice result. Now our Corvette Customer Racing support engineers will work with each of the teams during the next couple of days to discover and act on any opportunities for improvement ahead of Free Practice.”
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R TEST DAY DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I was able to get up to speed much quicker this year having been here before. It’s much easier now knowing the track, having more experience in the car and knowing pretty much everyone in the team as well. It’s been a lot easier this year for me in knowing what to expect.“Knowing from the first lap exactly where the car wants to be and feeling after a couple of laps I was already up to speed compared to last year. It does take awhile to figure everything out with this being a long lap. I definitely felt like I know what I need to do, where to break, which curbs to take, which ones to avoid… that all helps out.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re not horsing around here! I’m really happy. I got into the car four different times, and I’ve made big improvements every single time, which is all I can hope for. In that last run my laptime was pretty similar to where I qualified last year, and that makes me feel really good. I’m not going to say there’s a ton more there. But I feel good after that last run. I did a full stint and 10 laps; I’m pretty happy with the average laptime. The car feels good and that’s the most important thing for a 24-hour race. It feels like a car that we can do well in, which is what you want at the end of a Test Day. There are a lot of cars out there that look fast. The series has done an incredibly good job. It’s interesting to me to watch the different ways the cars make speed. The Corvette looks strong on top speed but not necessarily on acceleration, which is kind of an interesting deal. I see a lot of people out there avoiding a tow and things like that. There are still some games being played out there. Basically I just feel like we have a good car and a chance, which is all you can hope for in this race.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We do need to just start getting some proper results, and no better place for it than Le Mans. The Corvette’s always so good there. It’s been great the last two years, and it’s a great chance for us to get 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the good thing on my side is I can literally do half of the race… up to 12 hours of it. So I am doing everything I can to get myself ready for those long stints, lack of sleep and try to manage the adrenaline so that you are not completely busted after a couple of stints, but I like the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was great. That’s three of the last four starts at Le Mans for me with one being a win. The record there is going pretty well. But I’d like to get another win on the board, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t.”
LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “(Le Mans in 2025) definitely exceeded my expectations. You hear about it, but till you actually go and experience it, it’s two different stories. It’s absolutely in a world of its own. I was dumbfounded; my head was on a swivel and I was just taking everything in. It’s absolutely amazing.“For me, there’s a better understanding of things like the slow zones and learning all that. I think we got one or two penalties because of that last year. It’s one thing looking at them on a map, and it’s another thing looking at them at speed at 300 kph. So now I have a better understanding of where those are, the rules and the procedures. Hopefully we can eliminate those penalties because I mean, it’s tough. Once you fall behind there, you never get it back.”
LORCAN HANAFIN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is a race that I’ve always wanted to do, a race that I’ve always wanted JMR to compete in. It took us seven years to get here, and finally it’s happening. Unlike some of our previous endurance races, this time we have two other categories racing together at the same race. That will be the challenge of having those other cars around you as well. And it’s an iconic track, so I can’t wait to see how we go there.”
HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First time at Le Mans and a dream come true. It’s been a long few days being in the town, going through scrutineering, doing the group photos and the car parade, as well. Today was my first day driving on the track – the most legendary track that I’ve always dreamt of driving. It’s such a cool track. I’m still learning, taking it step by step and trying to familiarize myself with the rules and having the Hypercars around me for the first time. It’s been a great day. I’ve missed being in the car. To be back in it feels like home. Then seeing the track through the windscreen and seeing the first corner and the Goodyear Bridge has been something I’ve always watched on TV… to see it in real life in the car was really amazing. That first lap was really fun. It’s been eight years since I first drove a racecar and it’s always been a dream for me to be at Le Mans. I’m super-grateful to be here, really. I’m focusing on what I can improve on for myself and hopefully in the next few days we can keep chipping away.”

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