[VIDEO] The Corvette Experience Seminar at the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona

One of the draws for those who attend any of the Corvette Corrals during the racing season are the various seminars from the Doug Fehan and race team, Chevrolet’s Corvette team members, and strategic partners like Mobil 1 and Michelin.

This year at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, things were a little different as Chevrolet finally completed its “Daytona Experience” facility at the Daytona International Raceway.

Upon entrance to the Corvette Corral, you were asked if you wanted to take part in the Corvette Experience seminar held at the new facility. Two seminars were offered on Friday and another two on Saturday. We signed up for the 10:30 am seminar on Saturday and with another wristband (up to three now) for the weekend, we headed to the new facility to hear Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles talk about Corvettes and the new 2019 Corvette ZR1, as well as Tracy Clark, who would talk about Genuine Corvette Accessories.

The new Chevrolet facility at Daytona is very nice with a large room downstairs with garage doors that open up, while upstairs are meeting rooms and large windows to view the racing action below. Outside on the second floor is a viewing deck which contained a Corvette Racing Yellow Corvette Z06 on a turntable.

Initially, Chevrolet was planning on offering select new customer deliveries to the facility which include the ability to drive around the track. We learned this program is on hold, at least for Corvettes, as there is some hesitation about allowing customers to run their new cars on Daytona’s high banking tri-oval track. The NCM now offers a similar program where you can drive their Corvettes at the NCM Motorsports Park so if R8C delivery customers want to feel the need for speed while taking delivery of your new Corvette, that’s probably the way to go.

Back to the seminar, Tracy Clark kicked off the talk with an overview of the genuine Corvette accessories available directly from the company through the parts counter at your Chevrolet dealer. These parts are tested, approved and backed by Chevrolet so you can be confident that you’re getting the best accessories available for your Corvette!

Harlan then took over and his discussion was much like a mini-Bash seminar with slides showing favorable news about Corvette in the press, as well as how well the Corvette is doing in sales against its segment. (Quick summary: The Corvette outperforms the competition in sales as well as on the track!)

Next up was information about the new 2019 model year. We learned about new Mobil 1 0W-40 factory-fill motor oil and that the Engine Build Experience for Z06/ZR1 buyers will be limited. We asked that question in the Q&A session and it sounds like the PBC Engine Build option will be available through the summer but will go away again afterward.

Finally, the 2019 Corvette ZR1 was featured in the presentation. Slides showed the background on previous ZR1 models, videos from the North American debut in Los Angeles, and some behind the scenes look at the design and engineering of the car. There was even a video showing the high-speed runs to validate the ZR1’s 212 mph top speed. All really good stuff that Corvette owners love to know and we’ll probably see a version of this presentation at the Bash in April.

We were interested in the shortened 2018 model year and the early launch of the 2019 Corvette models. Harlan confirms the arrival of the ZR1 that caused the 2019 model year was moved up. With production beginning in March, the ZR1 would have to have been certified as both a 2018 model and then again a few months later for 2019. By moving up the start of the entire model year, the ZR1 needs only to be certified for 2019 and the model year will carry on as normal with an expected end sometime during the summer of 2019.

You can watch the entire 45-minute presentation with our video of the Corvette Experience Seminar from the Rolex 24 at Daytona:

Related:
[VIDEO] All 2019 Corvettes Now Factory-Filled with Mobil 1 0W-40 Motor Oil
[VIDEO] Corvette Racing at Daytona: Doug Fehan Seminar at the Corvette Corral
Take Delivery of Your New Corvette and Drive it at Daytona International Speedway