Corvette Racing has plenty of motivation at the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the drivers recently told Sportscar365.
It’ll be the last race for the Corvette C8.R – and the Corvette Racing factory team – at the famed event in the GTE category, which is being phased out in favor of LMGT3 where factory teams are not allowed.
As a result, Corvette Racing factory driver Nicky Catsburg says his team is hoping to have “a really good” performance in the final GTE race. Corvette Racing has taken eight class victories at Le Mans since its debut in 2000, with the most recent win with the C7.R in 2015.
“We want to win it badly every year,” Catsburg admits, “but probably never as badly as this year. But I want to approach it as another race, a normal race. We need to stay out of trouble, we need to keep it clean and then see where we are in the end and then really start pushing for the win of course.”
He’s hoping to pick up a few lessons from Alexander Sims’ accident last year that eliminated the Corvette after contact with an LMP2 car six hours from the finish.
“It’s massively random, but I feel like it keeps telling you to always be on your tiptoes,” Catsburg explained. “You have to always keep an eye out for who’s around you. Should I really be taking this risk? Should I try and avoid this? Should I try and lift here?”
Corvette Racing’s Nicky Catsburg
He points out that drivers can’t relax in a 24-hour race, even on the straights where Sims’ accident occurred.
“Clearly that had nothing to do with Alex’s fault,” Catsburg said. “He was a victim. But I do feel like this year I will be extra mindful of what’s going on around me. I feel like they were going for a win last year, and it was such a shame to see this happen. We will try everything that we can to avoid that.”
To help with that, the team has added a spotter this year, he said. “It’s maybe something that helps us with that. Ben [Keating] is used to working with him. I’ve never had a spotter at Le Mans, so I can’t wait to see what that’s like.”
Looking ahead to next year, Chevrolet is introducing the Z06 GT3.R with a dedicated customer support program instead of a factory team.
Catsburg believes it’s the end of an era. “There might be Corvettes coming here next year,” he says, “but it’s kind of not the same feeling. For me it’s a shame to see GTE go. GT3 is nice, super cool, but we have ABS on GT3 cars which I don’t think we should have and Le Mans is so difficult for braking as well. So it’s a shame to see the GTE class go, but it’s cool to be part of it and cool to have done it for a few years now. I just hope we can have a really good one for the last one in GTE.”
Source:
Sportscar365.com
Related:
Pratt Miller Motorsports Will Host a Corvette Racing Stream with Data and Live Guests for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Corvette Racing at Le Mans: Setting the Stage
Corvette Racing at Le Mans: All Hands on Deck!
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The factory backed Corvette Racing team has had a great run throughout the years. It’s a shame it has to end.
Hopefully Corvette racing stays in IMSA, BOP and all.
Hopefully the drivers keep their shit together.
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