Chevrolet has announced the global launch and unveiling of its new Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the 24 Hours of Daytona, its first racecar which meets the GT3 specifications for global GT racing.
It has been developed in a joint partnership between GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering department and Pratt Miller, Chevrolet’s long-time development and racing partner, which has run Corvette’s race programme for over two decades.
The car will powered by a 5.5-litre V8 engine, which began initial testing in the C8.R in 2019, and is a development of the engine found in the production version of the Z06. It shares 70% of its parts with that production engine, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets and a variety of other sensors.
The car will race for the first time in the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona, in the GTD Pro category, the opening round of next year’s IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Up to four cars will be campaigned across the full season, in both the GTD Pro and GTD categories.
However, it will also race in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s new LMGT3 category, with Corvette entering two cars into the new-for-2024 class, which replaces GTE-Am and sees the world championship move to the global GT3 platform. Specific teams campaigning cars in both IMSA and WEC will be announced at a later date, Chevrolet says.
In addition, the company is “evaluating opportunities” to race in SRO championships, including GT World Challenge America and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Testing for the car began in September 2022, which means the car will have a full of year of on-track development time before customers get their hands on it in the third quarter of 2023.
Mark Stielow, director, GM Motorsports Engineering Competition, said, “The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program. This customer-focused racecar leverages learnings from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”
“We’re all very pleased with the results from the track testing program so far,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “What’s even more encouraging is the correlation between simulator sessions and what we’re finding in the real-world track testing. It’s another level of validation that gives us confidence in the development process.”
