When Jan Magnussen’s throttle stuck on the Porsche Curves at Le Mans last Thursday sending his No.63 Corvette C7.R into the wall, the resulting damage was significant enough to cause Corvette Racing to withdraw the car from race at Le Mans. Now we are learning that the Corvette won’t be ready for the upcoming TUDOR race at Watkins Glen later this month either.
The good news is that Larbre Competition will be loaning Corvette Racing their C7.R for the six hour race on June 28th.
The news of Corvette Racing using the French racing team’s C7.R actually broke during the race as Corvette Racing’s Program Manager Doug Fehan shared the update during a Skype chat with enthusiasts watching the 24 hour race at the National Corvette Museum.
This week, he told Sportscar365 “It’s through the generosity of [Larbre team owner] Jack Leconte and being part of the team. We’re going to use his car to do Watkins Glen. Where [else] does that happen? That’s a pretty cool story in itself.”
Larbre Competition’s Corvette C7.R was the same chassis that won the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Jan Magnusseun, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe. The Corvette was sold to Larbre Competition who is racing it in the FIA’s World Endurance Championship.
The No.50 Corvette C7.R also raced at Le Mans, but the car was damaged in an accident during the warm-up. Corvette Racing helped the French squad get the car back on the track for the race, but the car retired in the 8th hour after the gearbox failed.
[quote_box_center]”How good are the cars that we sell to our customers? Good enough that we’re willing to race them,” Doug Fehan said to Sportscar365. “There’s the same technology in that vehicle than in the two cars we were running.”[/quote_box_center]
Only three Corvette C7.Rs were built to the current specs. A new C7.R is currently under construction but that one is being built to 2016’s specifications.
The No.3 Corvette C7.R and its drivers Jan Magnusseun and Antonio Garcia are currently first in the Drivers and Team Championship standings with a 3 point lead over the No.25 BMW. Chevrolet is second in the Manufacturer’s Championship with BMW leading by just two points.
Source:
Sportscar 365
Related:
Corvette Racing at Le Mans: A Chevrolet Corvette Comeback Victory
[VIDEO] Corvette Racing Withdraws No.63 C7.R From Le Mans After Qualifying Accident
Larbre Competition Campaigning the “French American” Corvette C7.R at Le Mans
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