No. 82 Z06 GT3.R takes LMGT3 titles and fourth Corvette Le Mans invite for 2026
PORTIMÃO, Portugal (October 18, 2025) – TF Sport and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R co-wrote another new chapter in Corvette Racing history with the program’s first European Le Mans Series championship Saturday with a victory in the season-ending Four Hours of Portimão.
Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and class pole-winner Hiroshi Koizumi teamed for their second LMGT3 victory of the season in the No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R and, in the process, claimed the class Drivers and Teams championships. The added bonus is that the title comes with an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which could feature a minimum of four Corvettes on the LMGT3 grid.
Orey Fidani and IMSA GTD team AWA – running next year under the 13 Motorsports banner – claimed a second straight invite to Le Mans at last weekend’s Petit Le Mans for winning a second consecutive Bob Akin Award.
Saturday’s titles for TF Sport are the latest for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, following a sweep of the GTD PRO championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Corvette Z06 GT3.R team DXDT Racing remains in contention for the Pro-Am title in GT World Challenge America with the Indianapolis Eight Hours on-going. Johor Motorsports Racing also is alive in the Pro-Am title in GT World Challenge Asia, which closes its season with two street races in Beijing this weekend.
TF Sport also remains alive in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 title fight with Eastwood, Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy third heading into next month’s Eight Hours of Bahrain.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
“Congratulations to everyone at TF Sport for making history today with the first ELMS championship for Corvette Racing. Today’s victory for Charlie, Rui and Hiro came under immense pressure with the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams titles in the balance. The whole team executed the race to perfection. Everyone at Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and GM Motorsports is excited for this championship and a fourth invitation to 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – LMGT3 RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER:
“That was a very stressful stint to say the least. We didn’t seem to have great pace. We had something we were trying to manage, and with that it was super-difficult. The pace of the McLaren and Wayne (Boyd) has been unbelievable all year. Coming into Turn Five, I could see him behind and then as I came out he was getting closer and closer. Fortunately as the sun started to go down we gained a little bit of grip. But he was right there for the last 10 or 15 laps. My engineer came on the radio saying there were six laps to go and he was literally right behind me and significantly faster.
“But what a job by these guys (Andrade and Koizumi). If I didn’t have the gap that I had when I got in the car, for sure we don’t win the race. All credit to both of them for putting in their two best stints of the year exactly when we needed it. I’m super-pleased for the first ELMS championship for Corvette and for the first championship for myself with Corvette. We’ve got Bahrain in a couple of weeks where we’re the underdog as we were today. Hopefully we can have a very good month.
“We definitely made that hard work in the last hour. I had to start having to take a lot of risks in traffic because although if we had finished second we might have won, but we didn’t know if other Ferraris were going to let the 50 pass. I was all-out to make sure we got it to the line. What an achievement for the whole team. Rui and Hiro were unbelievable today as was the whole team. I’m going to remember this one for a while.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – LMGT3 RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER:
“I couldn’t have asked for better conditions to get in the car. Already yesterday, Hiro showed the pace he had this whole weekend. Every time he tried to pull away and create a gap there was a safety car or something. But he gave me the car with a good lead. Obviously we were jumped by some cars that were on an offset strategy, so I had to use the new tires the team gave me and make my way through. It was a relatively easy run for me after that. I did have a little issue with the rear-view camera, which is stressful because there are a lot of cars coming through all the time. But the team guided me through that really well, and I was able to give Charlie the car in P1.
“It’s becoming a habit of Charlie’s to pull out these amazing wins in the last lap, which end up in me losing my voice! I’m so happy. For sure it was stressful for Charlie in the car but for us on the outside watching it unfold was even more stressful. I never had any doubt that Charlie would do it, and in the end he did it. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
(On winning the LMGT3 title) “This one is special just because as a Silver driver in the GT category now, the level is so high. We’ve had to work so hard since last year. Charlie has been my teammate since the beginning with the Corvette, and we’ve worked really hard to try and get me to improve and be at the level where we are now – where we can be fighting for podiums and wins on a regular basis. So that just makes it a little more special with all the work that has gone into it. It’s surreal.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – LMGT3 RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER:
“The team gave us a great car, and I have the two best drivers as teammates. That’s why I was able to keep the car in first place. So I’m really happy for that. I’m feeling very grateful. I was able to do this because of the team, and my teammates. Congratulations to all of them.”
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
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Congrats to Charlie, Rui, Hiroshi, TF Sport & Chevy Corvette Racing.
Great job on the 1st ELMS Championship. Good luck & great pace to DXDT, Johor Motorsports & TF Sport in pursuing their other championships. You have the best car in the field in the C8 Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3R by far. The other manufacturers wish they had it.
I can’t agree more with Dave R. The C8 Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3R is the best. The BOP hits prove our feelings. Screw the BOP, let them race. As long as the rules are adhered to and inspections pasted, that makes the field equal.
Great job TF Sport and all of Corvette Racing’s drivers. They succeed even when their cars are handcuffed.
America sports car dynasty, Chevrolet Corvette… bop, overzealous competitor drivers with aggressive and idiotic behavior hiding under mantle of fearless drivers have failed to deny the Corvettes the great success of the corvettes teams. But wait there’s more to come…and for the haters there’s professional treatment for that…
2 titles in the span of a week! Could’ve been more without the heartbreak at Indy for DXDT, or if they hadn’t ran the clock out in China on JMR (really; that accident should NOT have taken 20+ minutes to clean…)
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