 |
| Jonny Edgar claimed the Drivers title while the crew of the No. 33 Corvette won the Teams championship with a third-place finish for Edgar, Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg, who finished second in Drivers points. It is the second WEC title for the Corvette Racing program, adding to the 2023 GTE Am championship for Catsburg, Keating and Nico Varrone. TF Sport also won its second WEC title, as well, and first since 2022.  The No. 33 Corvette won in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the first there for the Z06 GT3.R – and was second at the Six Hours of Imola to open the season. Sunday’s title came four weeks after TF Sport claimed back-to-back championships in the European Le Mans Series’ LMGT3 class. “Chevrolet and GM Motorsports congratulate Tom Ferrier, Jonny Edgar and everyone at TF Sport on winning the LMGT3 Driver and Team championships in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship,” said Eric Warren, Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition. “These results reflect the commitment and collaboration across TF Sport, GM engineering and Corvette Racing. Along with the WEC championships, Corvette Racing earned its 10th class victory at Le Mans and a class win in Brazil, while TF Sport secured consecutive European Le Mans Series championships. We’re proud of what this group has accomplished together and look forward to building on that success in 2027.” At the start of the day, the No. 33 needed to finish sixth or better to clinch the championship. It started second in class, dropped as far down as 15th, and then the trio worked its way back into the points and in podium position by the halfway mark. The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey placed 11th in the race and fourth in the final Drivers and Teams standings. They started 10th and advanced into the top-three early before falling back mid-race. The No. 34 followed the sister Corvette’s victory at Le Mans with a class win of its own at Brazil. In addition to the FIA WEC and ELMS titles, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program also claimed the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship for Chevrolet in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. |
 |  |  |
| CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES |
 | JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – LMGT3 DRIVERS CHAMPION: “It’s a great feeling and really cool to be World Champion. It’s a shame that Ben and Nicky technically aren’t World Champions, and they should be because they have been here for nearly all the races. I’ve loved racing with them this year and obviously Ben the last two years. I feel lucky that Ben chose me to drive with him and I am happy that I could pay him back with some good results in the two years we have been together.”(On the up-and-down prospects during the race) “It wasn’t looking great, I would say. I think I was at P12 at one point and didn’t seem too quick to start the stint. But then we started moving back up a few places, avoided penalties that some of the other cars had, managed to save fuel to extend the stint. That’s when we had a little bit of luck when one of the VSCs came out as we were on pit lane. That obviously helped but the 92 also got a bit lucky there and it kind of equaled out. From there it was just trying to have the best race possible. We knew that top-six was what we needed, but it’s great to finish here on the podium and win the championship with a good result rather than just kind of doing the minimum that was necessary. The pressure was definitely on because it looked like the 92 probably had it and they were going to win the race. That meant we had quite a bit to do and it wasn’t simple.”(More on the championship) “I was quite relieved at the end. The last couple of stints were pretty stressful. We knew we needed to be top-six because from the last three hours it looked like the 92 was going to win. Everything had to go right, and it did. The team did a great job. Ben and Nicky did great and I’m happy to get it done. Since Le Mans we’ve been in a strong position so I knew the chance to win the championship looked good.” |
 | NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The only thing that could have made today better is if Petit Le Mans would have been better. Then my season would have been complete. It’s been fun to fight on both sides – the World Endurance Championship and in IMSA for the win. And Jonny won here with the team. A fantastic result. It was quite exciting in the end and not easy at all. I’m very, very happy also that we got a podium so we could celebrate on this awesome podium at Monza. A really nice feeling and result for the team and for Jonny to get what he deserves.”(On the race) “The last stint was very exciting. The guys behind me were all very fast and I knew we had to bring home a good result because the 92 unfortunately had enormous pace today with all their weight. We had to have a good result and it was tough. These were the first laps in the dry for me this weekend. On the first few laps I was way too slow and I could already see the stories… ‘Catsburg is messing up Edgar’s championship!’ Luckily that didn’t happen. The Corvette was great. I got some good coaching from the wall. We had good pace at the end. It feels really good to end the season with a podium as well. The podium here was really awesome. It’s great to finish a very good championship and a very good season like this. If I have to look back, of course it’s Jonny that wins but we’ve done it together. “It’s also deja vu because the last time I was here in a Corvette at Monza, we also won a championship in 2023. So Ben and I have a 100 percent win rate in the championship and at Le Mans! It’s been very cool working with these guys and my first year with TF. Tom (Ferrier) has an amazing team and it’s very cool to drive for them. And Jonny… it was my first year working with him and I’m sure you’re going to hear a lot from this guy. He’s been incredibly fast and did an unbelievable job this year, especially at Le Mans and even today. It’s unreal. If you listen to the radio, he’s helping the engineers play the right strategy. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing much more of him in a Corvette. I’m certain he is going to have a very nice future in this sport.” |
 | BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s pretty crazy! For the 92 (Porsche) starting in 11th, getting a drive-through penalty and me getting a penalty midway through the race, I thought neither of us had a chance. We both got really lucky on a virtual safety car, and I can’t believe that the 92 won the race. It put the points really close. I would have loved to have beaten them to get third-place in the Drivers Championship, but I will happily have fourth. But I still feel like this is my championship because I put the team together. I guess I would say, ‘I love it when a plan comes together!’(More on the championship) “It’s been an epic story. I asked myself the question early on that if I had the choice of winning Le Mans or the championship, I wanted to win Le Mans. But since we won Le Mans we’ve had a lot of success ballast which made the racing for the rest of the season challenging but also rewarding. Every single point mattered. It all came together at the end. It’s super-special after the reconstruction of my elbow. Thinking back on it, I won with TF Sport in 2022, I won with Corvette in 2023 so I was really excited to come back last year with both TF and Corvette. That was a challenging season and for me that made the fire burn even hotter. Even though I missed the first two races and am fourth in the championship, I very much feel like this is my team and my championship. It’s very special.” |
 | CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Not to be. We put up a good fight and had too many non-points scoring rounds. A DNF to start the season, no points at COTA and no points here. In such a tight championship it’s just not enough. An amazing effort, though. The Corvette was the class of the field, no doubt. It would have been great to have a 1-2 in whatever direction it would have been in. Because the championship is so tight, we’ve ended up fourth. Not to be but we’ll be back next year better, stronger and go again.” |
 | PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “An amazing year. A huge congrats to Corvette, TF, Jonny, Nicky, Ben and everyone involved on the 33. It was an incredible season that they put together. And honestly an incredible season for us, too, to be in a position to challenge them throughout the year. We had a small hope of clinching or finishing first or second. We came up short due to my error, unfortunately. But overall this has been a year where I’ve met so many incredible people from every aspect… TF Sport, Corvette Racing, Pratt Miller, everyone in the WEC paddock. I’ve made a year of memories that I’ll have forever. I’ve really enjoyed it. Maybe I’ll be back one day to do Le Mans or do something, but if not I’ve made sure to make the most of this year.” |