Corvette racing at COTA: All Eyes Forward

CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: All Eyes ForwardTF Sport Corvette teams hoping to work their way into the points Sunday AUSTIN, Texas (September 5, 2026) – TF Sport’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will look to race their way up the grid Sunday from the xth and xth row of LMGT3 at the start of the six-hour Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Peter Dempsey qualified the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he drives with Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood 12th in the 12-minute preliminary qualifying session. The trio won the most recent round at Interlagos in Brazil in July – the second straight win the championship for a TF Sport Corvette. Saturday marked just the second time this year that the red No. 34 did not advance to the 10-minute Hyperpole session to set the first 10 spots on the grid.TF Sport’s Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, the 2027 Corvette Grand Sport X and 2027 Corvette Grand Sport
Home-state hero Ben Keating will start 17th in the championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar. The trio were winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and – as the result of some missed races – sit 1-2-3 in the Drivers Championship with Edgar ahead of Catsburg, followed by Keating.
Points-paying finishes are the goal in Sunday’s race, which will be run in the extreme heat under the Texas sun. The last two races have largely been mistake-free by TF Sport, with the team hoping for another similar performance combined with excellent tire management and an air-conditioned Corvette cockpit to keep the drivers cool.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R already is a winner at Circuit of the Americas, having won in GT World Challenge America competition in 2024 and 2025. As a program, Corvette Racing has five victories in both IMSA and SRO competition. Three generations of Corvette – C6.R, C7.R and Z06 GT3.R – have won at the circuit. The six-hour Lone Star Le Mans race for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. Live streaming coverage of the race 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 the race as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Because we’re leading the championship and won Le Mans, we have more success ballast than anyone else. Different cars carry the weight differently and different tracks deal with the weight differently. (In practice, the balance of the car feels really good and the car feels really good; we’re just slow. I think this is one of those tracks… where the weight really affects the car more than others. It affects us here more than at Sāo Paulo, for example. But I expect it to be very hot on raceday. Hopefully that ends up leveling the playing field a little bit. The Corvette traditionally has been good on its Goodyear tires, and it keeps the driver pretty cool in comparison to some of the other cars in the field. We’re hoping that we can sneak up on it at the end of the day and if we can limit track-limit penalties and have a clean race.”(On championship perspective with no extra-points races left) “Clearly it is an advantage. If you win Le Mans as a double-points race and there aren’t any (extra) points races, then winning Le Mans becomes a much bigger deal for the championship. It’s an advantage to us as a team that there aren’t longer races. I do like the longer races and I wish we were doing them. From the championship standpoint it’s a clear advantage. Right now in the Drivers Championship, we’re first, second and third. It’s fun to think about but it will be pretty difficult for me to end up in third place by the time we get to the end of the season. But I do think Jonny (Edgar) has a really good chance at staying up there. We get the opportunity to lose some weight most likely after this weekend, so hopefully we will be a little more competitive to finish it out.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This weekend, we knew before we started it was going to be difficult. Getting any points in the race will be good. Qualifying isn’t too important. We haven’t been in the top-10 all year and it’s obviously gone pretty well in the races so far. We’re all hoping to have a clean race tomorrow. We all expected it to be difficult but if we have no mistakes and no penalties, there’s still a chance to get some points.”
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s incredible to be back here as a race-winner. One of the goals we had this year was to win as many races as we can. To get the first one in Interlagos was great. Now the pressure is on to try and keep the performance where we need it to be so we can get some points back on the cars ahead of us in the championship. So we’re still pushing as hard as we can.”(On the Corvette A/C system) “For COTA, I’m not going to complain (about the heat) at all! Some of our competitors don’t have any A/C out there so I can only imagine what it’s like. Thankfully the Corvette has a great system in the car to help keep us cool.”
CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: All Eyes ForwardTF Sport Corvette teams hoping to work their way into the points Sunday AUSTIN, Texas (September 5, 2026) – TF Sport’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will look to race their way up the grid Sunday from the xth and xth row of LMGT3 at the start of the six-hour Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Peter Dempsey qualified the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette that he drives with Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood 12th in the 12-minute preliminary qualifying session. The trio won the most recent round at Interlagos in Brazil in July – the second straight win the championship for a TF Sport Corvette. Saturday marked just the second time this year that the red No. 34 did not advance to the 10-minute Hyperpole session to set the first 10 spots on the grid.TF Sport’s Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, the 2027 Corvette Grand Sport X and 2027 Corvette Grand Sport
Home-state hero Ben Keating will start 17th in the championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R that he shares with Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar. The trio were winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and – as the result of some missed races – sit 1-2-3 in the Drivers Championship with Edgar ahead of Catsburg, followed by Keating.
Points-paying finishes are the goal in Sunday’s race, which will be run in the extreme heat under the Texas sun. The last two races have largely been mistake-free by TF Sport, with the team hoping for another similar performance combined with excellent tire management and an air-conditioned Corvette cockpit to keep the drivers cool.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R already is a winner at Circuit of the Americas, having won in GT World Challenge America competition in 2024 and 2025. As a program, Corvette Racing has five victories in both IMSA and SRO competition. Three generations of Corvette – C6.R, C7.R and Z06 GT3.R – have won at the circuit. The six-hour Lone Star Le Mans race for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. Live streaming coverage of the race 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 the race as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Because we’re leading the championship and won Le Mans, we have more success ballast than anyone else. Different cars carry the weight differently and different tracks deal with the weight differently. (In practice, the balance of the car feels really good and the car feels really good; we’re just slow. I think this is one of those tracks… where the weight really affects the car more than others. It affects us here more than at Sāo Paulo, for example. But I expect it to be very hot on raceday. Hopefully that ends up leveling the playing field a little bit. The Corvette traditionally has been good on its Goodyear tires, and it keeps the driver pretty cool in comparison to some of the other cars in the field. We’re hoping that we can sneak up on it at the end of the day and if we can limit track-limit penalties and have a clean race.”(On championship perspective with no extra-points races left) “Clearly it is an advantage. If you win Le Mans as a double-points race and there aren’t any (extra) points races, then winning Le Mans becomes a much bigger deal for the championship. It’s an advantage to us as a team that there aren’t longer races. I do like the longer races and I wish we were doing them. From the championship standpoint it’s a clear advantage. Right now in the Drivers Championship, we’re first, second and third. It’s fun to think about but it will be pretty difficult for me to end up in third place by the time we get to the end of the season. But I do think Jonny (Edgar) has a really good chance at staying up there. We get the opportunity to lose some weight most likely after this weekend, so hopefully we will be a little more competitive to finish it out.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This weekend, we knew before we started it was going to be difficult. Getting any points in the race will be good. Qualifying isn’t too important. We haven’t been in the top-10 all year and it’s obviously gone pretty well in the races so far. We’re all hoping to have a clean race tomorrow. We all expected it to be difficult but if we have no mistakes and no penalties, there’s still a chance to get some points.”
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s incredible to be back here as a race-winner. One of the goals we had this year was to win as many races as we can. To get the first one in Interlagos was great. Now the pressure is on to try and keep the performance where we need it to be so we can get some points back on the cars ahead of us in the championship. So we’re still pushing as hard as we can.”(On the Corvette A/C system) “For COTA, I’m not going to complain (about the heat) at all! Some of our competitors don’t have any A/C out there so I can only imagine what it’s like. Thankfully the Corvette has a great system in the car to help keep us cool.”
2026 FIA World Endurance Championship PointsLMGT3 Drivers Standings1. Jonny Edgar – 762. Nicky Catsburg – 723. Ben Keating – 544. Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz/Yasser Shahin – 495. Anthony McIntosh/Daniel Harper/Parker Thompson – 436. Charlie Eastwood/Peter Dempsey/Salih Yoluc – 43 LMGT3 Teams Standings1. No. 33 TF Sport – 762. No. 92 The Bend Manthey – 493. No. 69 Team WRT – 434. No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF – 435. No. 21 Vista AF Corse – 42 CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: By the Numbers• 2: Consecutive race wins for TF Sport in FIA WEC competition: 24 Hours of Le Mans (No. 33 Corvette) and Six Hours of Sāo Paulo (No. 34 Corvette)• 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• 5: Class wins at COTA for Corvette Racing entries in two championships: IMSA and GT World Challenge America. The latest came in 2025 from DXDT Racing in GT World Challenge America Pro-Am• 11: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R including two earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas• 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 35: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sāo Paulo (Brazil), Sebring, Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Sonoma, Spa-Francorchamps, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 44: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list were TF Sport’s Peter Dempsey and Salih Yoluc at Sāo Paulo in WEC• 73: 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• 86: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Steller Motorsports’ Lenny Ried joined the list at the 24 Hours of Spa• 159: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 119 in IMSA, 10 at Le Mans, six in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia, GT America and the European Le Mans Series, and one in IGTC/GT World Challenge Europe• 387: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 6,256.04: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 12 previous events at Circuit of The Americas• 511,683.39: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. The program went over the half-million mark at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa Corvette Racing at Circuit of The Americas (wins in bold)2013 IMSA – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 11th in GT 2014 IMSA – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 9th in GTLMNo. 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 GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 8th in GTLM 2016 IMSA – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 5th in GTLM 2017 IMSA – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 1st in GTLMNo. 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 SRO America – No. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st, 1st in GTWC ProNo. 08 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Bryan Sellers/Scott Smithson – 6th, 11th in GTWC Pro-Am 2024 FIA WEC – No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 8th in LMGT3No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 17th in LMGT3 (DNF) 2025 SRO America – No. 11 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Blake McDonald/Matt Bell – 1st, 3rd in GTWC Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest/Aaron Povoledo – 8th, 11th in GTWC Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest – 4th, 3rd in GT America SRO3 2025 FIA WEC – No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating – 7th in LMGT3No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 2nd in LMGT3 2026 SRO America – No. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest – 3rd, 5th in GT America SRO3

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