Corvette Racing believes that the testing done at Sebring International Raceway as part of the development of the C8.R will provide the team with an advantage in this weekend’s Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring.
The American squad spent plenty of time at the Florida track when developing the mid-engined car, and was one of few teams to be able to test at Sebring prior to the pandemic shutdown.
According to Antonio Garcia, who took the #3 Corvette to victory at the Weathertech 240 at Daytona, the testing experience will be ‘a plus’ for the team.
“We did a couple of tests – the one in February and another where we ran at night. It was just those two. It’s been quite awhile since the very first one there. The car changes so much so even if there was a test a year or year-and-a-half from now, it would be way different than at this time.
“Luckily enough one of the last tests we did was at Sebring so hopefully the car will be almost as it was then. That will be a plus for us. It will be different for the next few races onward since we will have to rediscover the car on all the new tracks that we will be at.”
Garcia’s team-mate, Jordan Taylor, believes running in hotter conditions favors the Pratt and Miller-run team and was he was amazed at how the new car behaves in higher temperatures.
“Like Antonio said, we’ve been to Sebring through testing when it’s been warm. When we tested there ahead of the 12 Hours, it was pretty hot and I was personally very shocked at how good the car behaved in those hot conditions.
“Sebring is very temperature sensitive. Usually when you start the race late in the morning and get into the early afternoon when it’s really warm, you can struggle for pace and balance.”
Additionally, Taylor has said he also thinks that the pre-COVID test could possibly give Corvette a head start once the weekend gets underway.
“All throughout our testing in those two days we did, the car was very well-balanced.
“It bodes well for us that we were able to get that test in before the COVID shutdown and were able to take the data that we learned there to the simulator for a couple days to get a head start on the weekend.”
