No. 33 Corvette looks to continue early-season momentum after Sebring win
DETROIT (April 10, 2023) – It’s a new track for Corvette Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend, but the team is hoping for a familiar result in its second race of the season.
Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone will look for consecutive GTE Am victories in the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R when Corvette Racing visits Portugal for the Six Hours of Portimão.
The trio of drivers claimed a convincing victory in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring in their first race together to grab the early-season lead in the GTE Am Drivers Championship. It also was Corvette Racing’s first win in its first season of GTE Am competition. But rather than a familiar track where the program has thousands of miles of testing under its belt, Portimão is an unknown commodity.
The 2.891-mile, 15-turn circuit is new to the Corvette Racing team but not new to the WEC calendar, having played host to the championship in 2021. It’s also not new to the three Corvette Racing drivers, each of whom have competed previously at Portimão in WEC competition and other racing championships.
Varrone is the most recent driver having time at Portimão, having contested the European Le Mans Series in 2022 at the circuit. Keating was part of the GTE Am field at the circuit in the 2021 WEC event. For those who enjoy trivia, Catsburg drove a Corvette C6.R in the 2011 FIA GT1 Championship.
Although there is no real-life experience at Portimão from a team perspective, the Corvette program has done its homework in the virtual world with Driver in the Loop simulator sessions at the GM Tech Center in Charlotte with Keating getting a couple of days work in during the last two weeks.
After Portimão, Corvette Racing will contest the final five rounds on the WEC on tracks where it gained valuable experience in last year’s championship with the mid-engine C8.R.
The Six Hours of Portimão for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET / noon Western European Time on Sunday, April 16. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of qualifying and the race.
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“Portimão for us will be a huge challenge. It’s a new track for the team. Usually some of the teams that have had cars there before in other championships like ELMS may have a bit of an advantage. It will be a steep learning curve for us. There won’t be as much practice time as there was at Sebring. Nico was there last year so he will be someone Ben and I can learn from. We’ve had the best season start possible so we’re all very much looking forward to seeing what we can do at Portimão. It will be more difficult here. Some of our competition at Sebring eliminated themselves, and I don’t think that will happen again. We need to be on-point but I feel like have the right team and right drivers for this race. Let’s continue where we left off at Sebring.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I’ve only been to Portimão once for a race event. It was a track that was very hard for me to feel like I had learned it and was up to speed. After the three practice sessions and qualifying, I still didn’t feel that way. I remember getting on the radio after my first stint and saying that I’d like to start the whole weekend again right now. That’s how long it took me to be comfortable. It’s not an easy track to learn. It’s very different. We will put more energy into our tires at this track than any other track we go to by a significant amount. There is a ton of elevation change, a ton of off-camber and blind corners. It takes a long time as a driver to feel like you have this place figured out. But that’s also what makes it fun.
“Every car has a track that it likes and doesn’t like. I just think the handling of the Corvette and where we can carry a higher minimum speed around these low-speed, technical corners. We can carry the momentum better, we can handle the elevation change better and can handle the off-camber and off-balance corners better. I’m really excited about going to Portimão in the Corvette and having one race weekend there under my belt.”
NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:
“I’m really looking forward to the second round of the WEC at Portimão. We had a great start to the season at Sebring in our home race and on home soil for the team. Getting the victory there is the perfect start to our season. I really want to thank everyone at Corvette Racing for the amazing welcome at Sebring. The first race was special. There were a lot of nerves but everyone on the team – the engineers, the mechanics, everyone there – made me feel really comfortable. Now we’ll go for more at Portimão!
“Portimão for me is a track where I have a lot of good memories in my short career. The circuit is very much like a roller coaster, so I think for every driver it’s fun. As a team, we have a lot of confidence. Based on what I know, I think this should be a good track for us. We have the success ballast for being the championship leaders and winning at Sebring, so that will be a little bit of a disadvantage for us but we have a great team and great lineup. I’m really confident. The aim is to try and score the most amount of points possible. For sure, we are going for the win but if we can’t do that then we will maximize our result and keep getting points for the championship.”
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am
(After two of seven events)
Driver Standings
1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 38
2. Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Mikkel Pedersen – 27
3. Daniel Serra/Scott Huffaker/Takeshi Kimura – 23
4. Simon Mann/Stefano Constantini/Ulysse De Pauw – 18
5. Davide Rigon/Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr – 15
Team Standings
1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 38
2. No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing – 27
3. No. 57 Kessel Racing – 23
4. No. 21 AF Corse – 18
5. No. 54 AF Corse – 15
Source:
Corvette Racing at Chevrolet
Related:
Corvette Racing at Sebring: Emphatic Win in GTE Am Debut
Corvette Racing at Sebring: Keating Puts Corvette on Front Row
Corvette Racing at Sebring: No Place Like Home
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