[PICS] Motor Trend’s Randy Pobst Breaks Road Atlanta’s Track Record in the 2019 Corvette ZR1

On the heels of yesterday’s disappointing news about the 2019 Corvette ZR1 running an unofficial 7m12s at the Nurburgring, we now have another example to show why we believe that time is an outlier and that the Corvette ZR1 is capable of so much more.

Motor Trend’s driving ace Randy Pobst was at Road Atlanta with Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter where he is testing the 2019 Corvette ZR1. Randy posted on his instagram account that the Corvette ZR1 has beaten the track record previously set by the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR. The track record was 1:26.54 and according to Randy, the ZR1 bested that time by .1 second!

Randy said this about the ZR1 and the falling record: “750 HP. I’m with Vette chief Tadge Juechyer and team to #hotlap #roadatlanta Beat Viper record by .1 sec, yesssss. Kept cool, incredible power, and a real wing sticks it in Turn 12. Bravo Chevy!”

The “kept cool” comment obviously refers to the time Pobst was testing the newly released Corvette Z06 at Laguna Seca when the car went into limp mode after overheating on the track. But not this time according to the hot shoe!

The Viper team made a concentrated effort to set as many track records as possible prior to production ending for Corvette’s long-running competitor. Dodge was able to set 13 track records with the 2016 Dodge Viper ACS. By our account, the ZR1 has taken two of those records, Virginia International Raceway (VIR) and now Road Atlanta.

Prior to the ZR1’s release, we know that Chevrolet tested the Corvette ZR1 at Laguna Seca, Randy Pobst’s home track. When the ACR took the track record at Laguna Seca, it was done with Randy behind the wheel. So now that Randy has had a taste of what the ZR1 is capable of, we will be waiting to see what he can do with the 755-hp ZR1 at the famous west coast track.

One other comment to make is that Randy was listed at FastestLaps.com as having the 2nd fastest time at Road Atlanta where he ran a C7 Corvette Z06 at 1:30.18. That means he was able to improve on the Corvette Z06s time by nearly 4 seconds on the 2.5 mile track! Hopefully, we’ll some video from Motor Trend once they are ready to roll out their review.

Going back to the ZR1’s Nurburgring time news from yesterday, we’ve seen some new photos that show that track was open to the industry pool that day as the White ZR1 was spotted on the track at the same time as the Porsche 991.2 GT3RS. So its more than likely that the ZR1 is just getting warmed up for the big event.

Source:
Bridge to Gantry Reports an Unofficial 7:12 Lap Time for the 2019 Corvette ZR1 at the Nurburgring
[VIDEO] The 2019 Corvette ZR1 is Back at the Nurburgring
[VIDEO] 2019 Corvette ZR1 Nails a Record Lap at VIR with a Time of 2:37.25