Corvette Racing is prepared for an intense, 13-car battle in the GTD Pro class at this year’s 24 Hours of Daytona.
Chevy’s factory sports car racing team will compete in the newly established GTD Pro class in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship after the series abandoned the GTLM class the team previously competed in over a lack of participation. The GTD Pro class is limited to GT3 class cars, which have less downforce than the GTE class cars that were used in GTLM but are less expensive to run and thus more widely used. Thanks to this change, the GTD Pro class will include a total of 13 cars for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, including Corvette Racing’s two No. 3 and No. 4 C8.R entries.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Corvette Racing driver Jordan Taylor said the team is prepared for the more intense GTD Pro battle after a somewhat uneventful 2021 season that saw it race only a handful of part-time entries from Porsche and BMW.
“We’re looking forward to the competition,” Taylor said. “The last couple of years, we were mainly racing our teammates. BMW and Porsche were there, but when you get down to racing just your teammate, those are the toughest guys to race. They have similar equipment and the same tools as you, plus they’re great drivers.”
“I’m looking forward to having 13 cars to battle,” he added. “I’ve missed battling on starts and restarts, the strategy wars. That’s my biggest thing. I missed the actual racing side of what we had in the past.”
In addition to having less downforce, GT3 class cars also use anti-lock brakes and a spec tire provided by Michelin that’s designed to work on front, mid and rear-engine vehicles. In GTLM, teams could work with a tire manufacturer to develop an exclusive tire designed specifically for their vehicle, which Corvette did to great effect with its supplier, Michelin.
“The biggest aspect is understanding the way the tire works,” Taylor said of the GTD Pro change. “The team has spent so many years with Michelin to develop the confidential tire to work properly for our car”
“Understanding how that works and maximizing it for not just one lap but over a stint will be a huge thing to learn.”
GT3 class cars at Daytona in 2021
Corvette Racing is fielding its Corvette C8.R in GTD Pro after being granted a special waiver from IMSA last year. The Corvette C8.R was built to the GTE regulations but will be modified to fit the GT3 framework. In addition to different spec tires and an ABS system, the modified Corvette C8.R will have different aerodynamic components.
The GTD Pro field for the Rolex 24 at Daytona is looking extremely competitive, consisting of factory-backed entries from a wide variety of experienced GT3 manufacturers such as Porsche, Lamborghini, BMW, McLaren, Lexus, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG.
The 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona will kick off on January 29th.
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Comments
I’m very excited to see the C8 run against a plethora of other cars, since last year’s racing was lackluster in GTLM. This year will be the true test, IMHO. Best of luck Team Corvette!
The team did very good with a car just out of development vs teams with developed cars and vs BOP.
Last year there was lost of testing for the car they will run in Europe. Even the Detroitvrace they tested GT3 parts.
They were not lack luster they were in development and still were competitive.
Don’t expect them to run away with the series as there will be many BOP changes next year to keep every car competitive.
I’m excited for the double effort in WEC and IMSA.
Looking forward to a better year for the C8, racing against a number of other cars! “Drivers Start Your Engines”👍😎 Is it just me, or has it felt like a long time since the end of the 2021 season til now?
Go Team Corvette
BOP, The only way all those overpriced foreign vehicles can compete with American muscle, lets go Brandon!!!
You guys still excited after the Roar? Looking pretty sad. Looks like IMSA clobbered the former GTLM cars with BOP. Either that or there is massive sandbagging going on.
In the practice sessions, the times were coming down. Looks like they’re still shaking those cars down given the readjusting to the GT Pro regulations. Today may or may not be a good race for the ‘vettes but this is why IMSA should not get involved in how a car races. When you get to the track, you got what you got. Anything happens to the cars we should expect it to not expect IMSA to get involved, but allow the teams the chance to readjust it as long as they follow the regulations dictated for these cars.