![[VIDEO] Misha on the ZR1 Nürburgring Time: A Pro Driver Could Have Done it 10 Seconds Faster](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2025/08/080425_14.jpg)
It’s been a few days since the reveal of the Nürburgring times for the Corvette ZR1, ZR1X and the Z06. This was a big deal for the Corvette Nation as we had been deprived of such attempts for the last 14 years. The lap times we got were very good and enthusiasts should definitely be happy with them. But now reading the forums and Facebook comments, we sense some lingering doubts on whether or not they could have been better.
Team Corvette’s stated goal was to beat its cross-town rivals in the Mustang GTD who not only had the first sub-7 lap record for an American manufacturer but had improved upon their initial times earlier this year with a lap of 6:52.07. The 2025 ZR1 ran 6:50.763 to finish 7th on the all-time list, and the ZR1X finished its lap in the top 5 with a time of 6:49.275. In planning for the laps, GM choose to use their own engineers as opposed to bringing in pro drivers and it was documented in the video “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story.”
GM’s decision to use engineers versus a professional racer is one of the hot topics to emerge from the Corvette’s ring efforts. The top record laps at the Nürburgring have all been performed by pro racers, and in fact ZR1X driver Drew Cattell became the fastest non-professional driver at the Nurburgring to set a lap record. However, there are some voices out there saying that it cost them extra seconds. Nürburgring driver Misha Charoudin is one of those with that opinion, saying “A pro driver who does not care of crashing the car. It would have been probably 10 seconds faster.”
In the video below, Misha goes corner by corner through the full Corvette ZR1’s PDR video which was being driven by GM engineer Brian Wallace. Misha thinks the driver is being too conversative which then leads to missing opportunities for carrying more speed through the corners. In one example, Misha says the driver was intentionally avoiding the curbs and runoff aprons as opposed to a more aggressive driver who would use the curbing for greater speed. He also finds fault with the driver for braking earlier as well as not positioning the car better to take advantage of long straights after a corner.
Misha’s video is long, and he has a lot to say throughout the ZR1’s lap. He ends his analysis with the following:
So, as mentioned at the beginning of the video, with someone who is more confident with the car, with the car would be difficult, but with the track and not like just going flat out, sub-6:40 with the ZR1 is relatively easy possible, I would say. So having said that, I genuinely hope that Corvette is going to come back with ZR1 or maybe they already have done a lap time with a pro driver and going to release it later when they find it necessary to.”
In defense of the GM Drivers, these engineers possess extensive knowledge and experience with the car’s dynamics, and they all have plenty of experience at the Nürburgring as well. Leading up to the trip to Germany, those same engineers set five lap records with the ZR1 across tracks throughout the USA as well.
But Misha does present some compelling evidence for running full send with a pro driver, so perhaps that is enough of a reason for the ZR1 to return one day with a Nürburgring track rat to handle the driving duties.
Perhaps Chevy should loan one to Misha with no requirement to bring it back in one piece.
Source:
Misha Charoudin / YouTube
Related:
[VIDEO] The Corvette ZR1X and ZR1 are Now the Fastest American Cars on the Nürburgring
Ford CEO Jim Farley Responds to the Corvette Team’s Nürburgring Times with “Game On” Message
[VIDEO] Speed Phenom Breaks Down the 2026 Corvette ZR1X Lap Time at the Nürburgring
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![[VIDEO] Corvette ZR1X Crashes At the Drag Strip After Hitting 8.580 @ 160.93 MPH](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/uploads/2026/10/101626_1-218x150.jpg "[VIDEO] Corvette ZR1X Crashes at the Drag Strip After Hitting 8.580 @ 160.93 MPH")
If they use pro drivers., keep these records and re-run with pros for a pros Time
Hey – there are a minimum of six drivers that could possibly lower all three Corvette lap times that have a few thousand laps of experience in race configurations –
Antonio Garcia – Alexander Sims – Daniel Juncadella – Corvette Racing Motorsports / IMSA in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Car #3 in the American series
Ben Keating – Johnny Edgar – and Daniel Juncadella – Corvette Racing Motorsports / IMSA in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Car #33 at Le Mans 24 Hours in France a few weeks ago
And the older guys, Oliver Gavin, Jordan Taylor, Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy, maybe even Johnny O’Connell and Ron Fellows can drive 2 laps each to see what lap time the Z06 and the ZR1 pair will do with their hot lap speed/time. GM spent alot of cash to do this record.
How different is the Nurburgring from Le Mans at full Corvette Speed?
Get any of the C8 R drivers.
Ten seconds is a lot, but he makes a good point about the drivers in this exercise, skilled as they must be, are still GM employees, and anyone who has toiled for major corporations knows how they handle whatever they consider to be an employee screw-up. In other words, no balls out banzai laps of one of the most dangerous tracks in the world, very expensive car on a rollback if a miscalculation occurs.
I wonder if Misha considers himself a pro driver 🙂
In the 3 weeks that GM “rented” the track, they did multiple lap times for the two primary cars: the ZR1 and the ZR1X. I know GM and the fanboiz are all enamored by the ZR1X because its REAL function stateside is to be a DRAGSTER, with a sub 2-minute (1:90 minute) 0-to-60 time. The track results that you narrated above are so bad that only an early-stage amateur could have produced them.
So, is it possible that GM Intentionally “threw the ZR1 under the bus” (by choosing its worst early performance) to LET THE ZR1X WIN for sales/marketing purposes back home?? ========================
So…there is speculation out there that the GM engineers know all of the brake by wire, steer by wire, E-Diff glitches so well they intentionally stayed off the curbs, etc. to prevent triggering “a steering event” (as they call it) at the super high speeds they were driving. I don’t know if the car has limit handling issues or not. But…a Porsche GT3 RS with about half the horsepower can keep up with it, that doesn’t seem logical. (Regardless of DRS, RWS, etc)
Would love to have a Pro Driver really push it and his live commentary and reaction to any “steering event” he might encounter, so long as they are not injured in the process.
(BTW, when everything is “off” it’s still lurking in the background and intervening)
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