Tommy Milner Offers First Impressions on Chevy’s Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Testing of the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R continues, and lead test and development driver Tommy Milner tells Sportscar365 that he’s impressed with the performance of the new car so far.

After an initial rollout in late September, the GT3.R has completed testing at Mid-Ohio and other U.S. tracks, gearing up for its ultimate debut in 2024 to North American customers.

The new car will take over in two years for the GTE-spec Corvette C8.R, and Milner says he can’t tell much difference between the two.

“It doesn’t feel miles different than what I’m used to with this platform, with this chassis,” Milner says. “There are little differences here and there, but ultimately the stuff we’re testing now is the same process we went through with the C8.R, the C7.R, in blending lots of simulator work with on-track stuff.”

Those sim tests, he believes, allow engineers to try things not normally done in real life and then go out and prove them on the track.

“We’re just going through that process now, in all the things and different options we’ve tried with suspensions, aeros, etc., and proving out the things that work in the sim to see if they work in real life,” Milner says.

This year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a modified Corvette C8.R GTD also has speeded up the development process for the GT3.R, the driver says. The C8.R GTD was outfitted with an anti-lock braking system and other changes to make it temporarily eligible for GT3 races in the GTD Pro class in 2022 and 2023. Milner is looking forward to GT3-spec Corvettes eligible for races around the world, including new events for him like the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour and CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

“From a driver’s perspective, to be able to race this car at basically all of the big sports car races going forward is awesome,” he said. “There’s always been some of the big name races: Nürburgring, Spa 24 Hours, Bathurst, now all of those races are possible with this car.

“New guys that come in mention some of these races,” Milner added. “For the Corvette fans, Daytona and Le Mans are obviously huge races — but to see this car racing at those events will be really cool. Bathurst would be amazing for sure and Spa 24 Hours as well. It will add to the legacy of what Corvette Racing has been and is, just adding a new chapter to this program.”

Source:
Sportscar365.com

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