The official 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list has come out today and I am already feeling a bit nostalgic for the good old days of Corvette Racing. Yes, the good news is that there are Corvettes headed to Le Mans, but having all the fun this year will be a team that is not named “Corvette Racing.”
There was a whole bunch of tradition going all the way back to Corvette Racing’s early days of Le Mans, where a scrappy team from America showed up at scrutineering wearing cowboy hats before switching to berets. They were also known for spray painting a skull on the pit floor, and summoning the crew to lunch using a train horn.
Other than 2020 due to Covid, Corvette Racing has been a fixture at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2000. The team has 9 wins in 24 races, and also 13 other 2nd and 3rd place podium finishes over the years. Last year, Corvette Racing got their first Le Mans win in the C8 era with the No. 33 team coming out on top in the class.
On the positive side, you will see two Corvettes listed in the Le Mans’ LMGT3 class. This year, the hopes and dreams of another Le Mans championship for Corvette now falls on the shoulders of British team TF Sport, who is campaigning the two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the World Endurance Championship. Chevrolet did their due-diligence and TF Sport has done well at Le Mans with first place finishes in class in 2020 and 2022, while in 2021 they came in 2nd. Ben Keating had spent time with TF Sport prior to coming over the WEC Corvette team last year, so his input was also likely considered.
Photo Credit: TF Sport
Does the FIA still invite the championship winning GT teams from IMSA to participate? Would GM/Chevy Racing even allow Corvette Racing to compete directly with customer teams? Doesn’t seem likely. Still, we are fortunate to still have Corvettes racing the greatest stage. TF Sport will have the full support of the Corvette Nation, so let’s hope they are up to the task!
Officially, there will be 23 cars competing in the LMGT3 class and 62 cars overall will be at Circuit de la Sarthe from June 12-16th.
Here is the Official Entry List for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
(Click to embiggen!)
Source:
sportscar365.com
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TF Sport is a very good team. Let’s hope they do well!
It’s kinda cool to hear the British will be racing American hardware in France.
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