DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2022) – Corvette Racing begins its 24th season of competition this weekend with the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It’s a new season in more than one way as it marks the team’s first foray into GT Daytona (GTD) PRO competition.
The team logged three days of testing plus Sunday’s 100-minute qualifying race to set the Rolex 24 grid. Throughout the weekend, Corvette Racing engineers gathered useful data on a number of new items that are unique to the GTD-spec version of the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.
What’s New on the GTD PRO Corvette?
There have been lots of questions about changes to the Corvette C8.R for the IMSA GTD PRO class. There is quite a bit of work the Corvette Racing team has undertaken to transition the car from GTLM spec to meet GTD technical regulations. Here are a handful of key areas:
1. The mass of the C8.R is increased by 65 kilograms (143 lbs.) relative to Daytona 2021. To accommodate the ballast box required by the GT3/GTD regulations to hold the extra weight, the Corvette Racing team had to reconfigure the entire passenger side floor compartment. This required the move of the air conditioning unit, fire bottle, battery box and other electronics. This was no small feat with integration requiring significant effort by the Corvette Racing engineering team.
2. The 2022 Corvette GTD entry is running on customer Michelin tires, which are required for the category. This is a change from GTLM where the C8.R ran on confidential tires – ones that were specifically designed for Corvette Racing.
3. The power output of the C8.R’s flat-plane V8 is significantly reduced under GTD rules. The difference between the size of this year’s Daytona air restrictor and 2021 is nearly 1.7 mm.
4. Related to that, the GTD PRO Corvette is running with a higher angle of attack on the rear wing than previous years. This creates a greater level of drag on the race car and significantly reduces top speed.
5. The addition of ABS is required under GT3/GTD rules. As many observers are aware, Corvette Racing tested this in competition for the first time last year at Belle Isle in the GTLM Corvette. The system continued to be improved throughout testing late last year and early this season both virtually and in the real world.
6. The differential of the Corvette C8.R must now comply with GT3/GTD regulations. A limited slip differential configuration is permitted with a single homologated set of ramps. This required removal of some tuning options previously available on the GTLM Corvette.
7. Unlike other GTD teams, the C8.Rs are required to run with torque axle sensors. These directly measure the output of the Corvette engine and the data is used by IMSA for the BOP process.
The 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona will open on Thursday with three practice sessions. The green flag for the race drops at 1:40 pm ET on Saturday, January 29th.
Source:
Corvette Racing
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So many disadvantages and IMSA didn’t help the other day with their adjustments. At least the Cadillac prototypes have a chance.
Pretty silly. Does not really reflect anything to the real world to compare to the competition.
How much power is lost in this configuration? Is it only air fuel restriction? Or did they also limit RPM or what other engine detuning steps were taken? I was at the 24 and it was pretty evident that they can’t run with the top GTD Pro cars at this point. I know they are heavier, new wing angle, new tires. It’s shocking to see the corvette off pace. Which version will they run at LeMans? Still use a GTE car over there?
The GTD Pro C8Rs have been ripped apart by ISMA to make them far less competitive against an other Cars in the GTD class! BOP for the C8Rs is neither balanced or Performance!
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