The future of Chevrolet Racing’s Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) program is up in the air, as IMSA – the body that sanctions the USCC Tudor series – plans to cease the DP class at the end of the 2016 season.
The tube frame Corvette DP has already performed remarkably well, having won the Grand-Am Rolex Series DP championship in 2013, and currently leading in the Tudor Championship Prototype standings. But the tubeframe DP class is set to be replaced with a new carbon-fiber P2 class with the start of the 2017 series, which has GM Racing contemplating its future commitment to Prototype racing.
“We’re curious as to where it’s all going to go, and it’s still fairly unclear where things are headed,” GM Racing Director Mark Kent told Racer. “We’ll have representatives at the upcoming meeting in Paris to see what’s happening.”
Kent elaborated that the appeal of the DP class is that it allows not only for a silhouette which matches the current production car, but also a powertrain with roots in the production 6.2L LT1 V8, making the Corvette DP a real-world relevant prototype racer. He has indicated that GM Racing might have little to no interest in participating in the 2017 P2 class if that similitude to the production car cannot be maintained.
For now, until the end of the 2016 season, we have no reason to believe that the tube frame Corvette DP is going anywhere but the winners circle. But pending the release of more information from IMSA, 2017 may see the GM Racing team back down from Prototype racing entirely to focus on GT.
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How about using the resources to build a winning LMP? Gotta keep up with the Fords. 😎 Sorry, just saw speedy’s response.