The FIA World Endurance Championship season opener at Qatar on March 2nd, 2024 wasn’t easy for either of the two Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries, but they walked away with valuable lessons that will help them rebound throughout the rest of the tough season.
The No. 81 Corvette started from the pole after Tom Van Rompuy clocked the fastest lap during Friday’s qualifying session. Van Rompuy returned to his post at the wheel to take the No. 81 ‘Vette out for its first laps during Saturday’s race. He spent quite a bit of time at the front of the field before swapping the controls to Rui Andrade, who kept it inside the top 10 heading to the 2.5-hour mark – until he spun out. He was able to gather the ‘Vette back up and got back on track, but then, the electronic shifter went out, necessitating repairs.
The No. 81 Corvette Z06 lost seven laps before being turned back out, this time with Charlie Eastwood behind the wheel. Electrical woes persisted, and a faulty harness was found to be the cause, putting an end to the No. 81 ‘Vette’s day.
“After the dream start to our WEC campaign with Tom getting pole in the brand new Corvette Z06 GT3.R,” Eastwood said. “Unfortunately today didn’t go as planned. We had a great start to the race… As we came in for a stop after my first stint, we realized that we had a problem with an electrical harness and had to retire the car. It was such a high yesterday, but unfortunately it wasn’t the result we hoped for today. Imola is just around the corner, and I know we will come back strong.”
Meanwhile, the No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella, Sébastien Baud and Hiroshi Koizumi salvaged a 10th-place finish, battling traffic all day to maintain good pace before time was up.
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Comments
Oops. Growing pains.
To be expected.