GM Details What Its Customer Corvette Racing Program Will Look Like
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General Motors announced that it will pull the plug on its factory-backed Corvette Racing efforts upon conclusion of the 2023 racing season, but that doesn’t mean it’s backing off from ‘Vette racing efforts completely. In fact, GM’s decision to ditch its factory team allows the automaker to focus more on its customer racing program, and details regarding the future of the Corvette in motorsports were recently revealed in a report by Daily Sportscar.
Corvette Racing will live on in the form of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, a mid-engine race car that is Chevy’s first vehicle fully compliant with the technical regulations outlined by the FIA for its GT3 division. Currently, GM expects that eight race cars will compete in 2024, including three in the FIA LMGT3 class, two in the SRO division, and four in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Manager, explained, “Our desired plan has been to launch in 2024 with four cars racing in IMSA – two in GTD Pro and two in GTD – two cars in the WEC and two in SRO America. Understanding the timing of the 2024 WEC race schedule helps us coordinate build schedules to ensure we can meet the race timing, assuming our WEC attendance is granted.”
She added, “There is a plan in place to start confirming our customer teams, and I think fans will be very happy with the organizations we have chosen.”
Meanwhile, the GTD Pro alliance with Pratt-Miller Racing will continue, as the organization announced it will campaign two 2024 GT3-spec Corvettes for the full IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season, starting with the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona. “Chevrolet and Pratt Miller have collaborated for more than 25 years on the Corvette Racing program, and we are thrilled that we are able to continue together into the GT3 era,” said Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager Christie Bagne.
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From my understanding Pratt and Miller is remaining with Corvette as one of the teams.
The other I have a hunch on is Hendrick Motorsports. In speaking to one of the present team suppliers they are hearing them as a likely team.
No matter who orvette racing is expanding from 2 cars to 8 and should provide more races and more wins.
This car will be so much more competitive than the present one that was never designed for this class.
Weight placement and the spec tires really caused them a lot of issues.
What also may be interesting is depending on the series will be two more tires. Goodyear and Pirelli will be involved. I expect as a spec tire.
Goodyear is looking to expand at LeMans. This was part of their learning on the Camaro.
Also I suspect Hendrick Motorsports was learning the logistics should they run there.
We could see more than 2 cars there should one of the other teams want to run the 24.
Corvette’s past racing history does not deserve this move by GM. They are pouring big $$ into the Cadillac racing program and for what reason, It’s not an automobile that you or I would ever even drive, must less own. Private race teams never do well against factory teams..
GM is rewarding Corvette Racing’s loyalty? The years of involvement with Chevrolet are trashed for a few heavily-monied newcomers? A manufacturer with no memory of loyalty has no future. Dealers will be the next victims.
You may want to be better informed on just what is going on.
The rule have it so that the Factory teams really are stuck in GTD Pro and if you get more info Pratt and Miller will be running the GTD Pro team. The only change is they will own the team and not GM. Note they are still doing all the race cars development.
GTD racing is more for private teams and they have to run a pro and amateur in name for the drivers. This is to help lower cost and develop new drivers. This is more inline with WEC rules.
GM will be spending more money doing this in the long run as they will have to have rigs and crews at the events suppling tech support and parts to all the teams.
The GTD Pratt and Miller team change here is mostly in name of the owner. Pratt and Miller did most of the work on all the past cars in development. GM paid them to do the work. Now they will still get paid to develop but they will own the team.
The other teams in the other classes will get support from GM and Pratt and Miller.
Porsche has run things this way for years and has a very winning record in many classes doing this.
Anyone remember Penske private Porsche team with the 917. He owned the team but Porsche supplied a lot of support. This is just how the GM program will work.
The Porsche Penske 917/30 now that car was a monster, I wish that I could have seen it race.
I saw it race at Road American in the CanAm series. Was a Corner Captain for SCCA Chicago Region at Canada Corner that year. One really fast CanAm race car, only problem is that Roger & Porsche “DESTROYED THE CANAM SERIES” as no one could compete with that car. A real SHAME! They may do the same to IMSA.
No this is why we have BOP today and the complicated rules.
While Corvette has been hampered in IMSA by BOP they had the advantage in the WEC this year. At LeMans it was not easy with the problems but they held a big speed advantage to make it up.
BoP was why I lost interest in many forms of professional racing. Had a CTS-V and attended a few races when Cadillac was dominating in Pirelli World Challenge. Eventually whining by losing teams to reduce performance of winning cars, and teams “winning” when cars had weights adjusted based on qualifying times got boring.
Run what you brung. If you didn’t bring enough, bring more next weekend or at least campaign for uniform rule changes that apply to everyone. Things like max tires size in no-prep racing also help keep it from becoming completely a matter of budget. Asking for competitors who follow the same rules as you to slow down is embarrassing.
Sez a guy with an apparently unlimited budget….
Unregulated racing prices itself out. MFGs leave due to cost and series collapse.
Pure racing left when names went on the cars. Today sponsors only want to pay so much and they want to do it on a budget.
Even F1 today has cost saving measures in place.
IMSA died because of costs. There was no controls. It has come back and adopted what other road race series to try to keep it viable.
Run what you brig killed Ca Am, it Killed Trans Am and has killed a number of series. Some retired with different formats other did not.
Fans generally stop coming if only one team or car wins Al, the races accept F1 where the off track drama is where the real action is.
You long for a time that is no longer viable in this age of cost controls.
Racing today is more entertainment vs competition.
You do realize that you started off by noting how a dominant race team can undermine a race series to the point that people stop paying attention to it, then in the next breath you say Well, that’s life?
Either a race series has a right to defend its existence or it doesn’t. If you don’t like the way it goes about doing that, well, based on your previous posts, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you weren’t gonna like whatever the race series did, anyway.
Sorry if the facts of life get in the way.
Pure racing is dead so they find ways to make it economical, beneficial, to the mfgs and sponsors but entertaining to the public at large meaning well attended and good ratings.
Back in the 50’s racers raced and it mattered little who showed up or if the media even was there.
Racing is a business and entertainment anymore.
It used to be a NASCAR race could be won by 4 laps then Big Bill France found more people would come if you kept the races closer. Around the same time big corporations came in like Winston.
Today they struggle to keep it close as if one driver wins half the season and his name is not Earnhardt Sr people stop watching.
Like the big tracks. They want the big one as that is why people watch. So far they have not killed or hurt more than they have.
Where I work we are involve d in sponsorship of a number of pro teams and series. How we choose is based on cost and exposure.
The fact is the highest ratings have all come since racing has been controlled.
You do not have to like it but I understand it and know that is how it works. It is bigger than you or I.
IMSA had a ton of money pumped in during the 80’s. They limited control but then mfgs started to dominate races and people lost interest when unpopular teams like Nissan won. Porsche is popular. The. Corvette GTP was popular but when they both dropped out people began to lose more interest. The IMSA series died.
The American LeMans series saw limited success but also saw a year the GTS class was two Corvettes because they won all the time. Even Corvette fans lost interest.
IMSA returned with more controls and companies and teams are thriving now. Getting the rules similar to Europe has also helped add interest and control cost.
Don’t fool yourself about the past as what worked then just is not going to work in today with higher tech and cost.
The joke used to be how do you win a million in IMSA , you spend 5 million. Today it is 50 million.
Pure racing isn’t quite dead. Pikes peak, build any form of weapon and there is a class for it. Hill climbs on public roads are the original form of motorsports. It isn’t that great of a spectator sport, but just recently there has been a revival of sorts in South east US. Roger Penske got his start in racing at Giants Despair and Duryea, which still are run today. I was at Giants last year and there was more people there than at Lime Rock for any of their events.
If going for the top time you had better have a Major MFG behind you at the Peak. But yes they have enough classes to run about anything with a motor. Little publicity and coverage.
Roger started his first race in Akron Ohio with his fathers Buick in a drag race on the air port road.
Yes there are a number little known of small tracks and hill climbs. Yet to compete it is still expensive and there is little support from sponsors or MFGs.
The topic here is professional racing in general. You have to pay to play and the series need to keep it economical to survive.
If GM wants to be seen as the EV car company that is out to save the planet it cannot “own” ICE powered race cars and upset the stockholders.
If you have not noticed GM is b3coming an ICE brand and a EV brand. We have two Blazers, two Nox and two Types of trucks one EV on ICE.
GM is going to sell ICE right up till they are legislated out.
GM has to promote the EV as it is the future not of their choosing.
As for the Cadillacs they have ICE but also EV drives. This will spread in the series.