Corvette Racing at SPA: Progress Toward Le Mans

TF Sport aims to continue strong Spa Six Hours history, now with Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs

DETROIT (May 7, 2024) – TF Sport and Corvette Racing will look to continue its strong first year together as the FIA World Endurance Championship moves to legendary Spa-Francorchamps for Saturday’s Six Hours of Spa.

The pair of TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will look to increase their points total through two races this year and also continue the team’s impressive history in the event. Also looming is the biggest race of the season – the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Both Corvettes tested at Spa in March and completed more than 2,700 kilometers (1,670 miles) in two days around the 4.35-mile, 20-turn circuit. That data will prove useful when it’s combined with TF Sport’s WEC history at Spa – six consecutive podium finishes including third in GTE Am a year ago.

The trio of past Spa 24 Hours winner and Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood, past Spa LMP2 winner Rui Andrade and Belgian driver Tom Van Rompuy lead the TF Sport contingent in championship points and stand ninth in the highly competitive LMGT3 class. Van Rompuy’s point for pole position in the No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the season-opening race in Qatar is the difference, and the group led the TF Sport attack in the most recent WEC round at Imola with a seventh-place class finish.

The No. 82 Corvette of factory driver Daniel Juncadella – another previous Spa 24 Hours winner – plus Sebastien Baud and Hiroshi Koizumi have recorded points-paying finishes in both WEC rounds to date and in their first two races with TF Sport.

The FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Spa is set for 1 p.m. Central European Time / 7 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, May 11. MotorTrend will air live television coverage from 6:30-8 a.m. and noon-1:30 p.m. ET. Streaming coverage of the race and plus Friday’s final practice and qualifying will be available through the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race plus final practice and qualifying.

TF SPORT PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I am very excited to drive the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at my home race this week in Spa. Together with my teammates, we will give everything to fight for a good result. The whole TF Sport crew will provide us again with all the ingredients to aim for a podium finish. Thanks to all the fans for their support and see you in Spa for a great battle in our Corvette Z06 GT3.R!”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Spa is a super-cool place. I love racing there. The track is super special because you have all sorts of combinations of high- and low-speed corners. It’s a long track so it’s quite a challenge to set up a car properly. It can be very difficult and tricky. The middle sector is a high-speed sector where you need a lot of downforce, but then you have the first and third sectors where there are very long straights. It’s always a compromise of how much aero do you want in the car versus how much top speed do you want to get out of it. It’s very unique in that sense. It’s a special place. I won the 24 Hours of Spa three years ago, and those were great memories. I’ve never raced there in the WEC but it’s always cool to go back there no matter the race or championship.”

SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s the third round of the championship at Spa after a rather positive race at Imola where I felt confident with the car by winning the Goodyear trophy. Now at Spa I would like to win a collective trophy with my teammates! We have great pace in the race. Now we have to get on the right track in the race to play at the front. I can’t wait to get to Spa to see the team and this incredible car again!”

2024 FIA World Endurance Championship Points

LMGT3 Drivers Standings
1. Aliaksandr Malykhin/Joel Sturm/Klaus Bachler – 54
2. Augusto Farfus/Darren Leung/Sean Gelael – 37
3. Alex Riberas/Daniel Mancinelli/Ian James – 37
4. Ahmad Al Harthy/Maxime Martin/Valentino Rossi – 36
5. Clement Mateu/Erwan Bastard/Marco Sorensen – 24
9. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 7
10. Daniel Juncadella/Hiroshi Koizumi/Sebastien Baud – 6

LMGT3 Teams Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing – 54
2. No. 31 Team WRT – 37
3. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team – 37
4. No. 46 Team WRT – 36
5. No. 777 D’Station Racing – 24
9. No. 81 TF Sport – 7
10. No. 82 TF Sport – 6

Source:
Corvette Racing

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