Picture Credit score: Richard Prince for Corvette Racing
Confidence rising at TF Sport after robust tempo for Z06 GT3.Rs at COTA
DETROIT (September 10, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will make its debut in Asia this weekend as TF Sport strikes to the Six Hours of Fuji and the seventh spherical of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Coming off a robust efficiency two weeks in the past at Circuit of The Americas, hopes are excessive for a podium end – and perhaps extra – in a deep and extremely aggressive LMGT3 class.
Each of the crew’s Z06 GT3.Rs confirmed spectacular tempo with the No. 81 Corvette of manufacturing facility driver Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy operating as excessive as second earlier than being hit by one other LMGT3 competitor and finally retiring from the race.
Regardless of that, momentum is on the aspect of TF Sport heading to Fuji Speedway. It’s a monitor the crew is aware of properly, having scored two race wins, a runner-up and a pair of pole positions in its earlier 4 journeys to the two.84-mile, 16-turn circuit lower than two hours exterior Tokyo.
Eastwood was a part of a GTE Am victory (2019) and runner-up end (2018) with TF Sport. As well as, Juncadella contested the GT World Problem Asia weekend at Fuji final season and scored an total pole place. His Japanese teammate, Koizumi, is about for his house race and can make his second profession WEC begin on the circuit having debuted within the sequence ultimately 12 months’s occasion.
From an engineering perspective, TF Sport can lean on learnings from the Corvette C8.R’s earlier two appearances together with final 12 months when this system completed second in GTE Am after claiming pole place.
The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japanese Commonplace Time (JST) on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air stay tv protection from 9:30-11 p.m. ET on Saturday plus 3-4:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Full stay streaming protection of Free Follow 3, qualifying and the race will likely be obtainable on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app within the U.S. Radio Le Mans additionally will stream audio protection of Saturday’s closing observe and qualifying, plus Sunday’s race.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Fuji is a monitor and a spot that I completely love, as was Austin to be honest. I’ve had some good success at right here up to now, and my first win in WEC was at Fuji. Each the monitor and the place are very nice locations to be. Automotive-wise, we have been so robust at COTA. It exhibits the dedication and work that each the crew and Corvette Racing are doing within the background to maintain this automotive transferring ahead. So I’m actually hopeful once more going into Fuji. Though we haven’t a outcome we wished up to now this 12 months, I really feel one is simply across the nook. We’ll be going for that. I feel one of these monitor will go well with our Corvette. We simply want to begin placing the weekends collectively.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Fuji is a particular place. It’s all the time a pleasure to go to Japan and such an exquisite nation. The tradition is unbelievable. A number of drivers that I do know all the time takes just a few days to discover Tokyo, drive round and go to Mount Fuji. It’s that form of place the place you’re taking issues in. It’s such an exquisite place. So far as the monitor goes, it’s unbelievable and superb. It has a superb advanced and mixture of corners with a super-long straight after which a very quick first sector. It’s fairly excessive up on my checklist of favorites.”
DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I used to be at Fuji final 12 months in GT World Problem Asia. It’s a monitor that I actually love. I used to be on pole, and it was simply in regards to the time I used to be having my conferences with Corvette Racing to finalize my contract! So I’ve a reasonably good reminiscence of that weekend as a result of I didn’t have quite a lot of sleep as a result of I used to be excited for these new prospects. However these are actually good recollections from Fuji as a result of it’s a monitor I actually take pleasure in. On high of that, Hiroshi is a Japanese driver and if there may be one monitor the place he’s going to be very aggressive, I feel Fuji is the one. He’s going to be excited, and I’m massively pumped. I really like Japan. We’ve had a really aggressive automotive the final couple of races. The Corvette has been getting higher and higher. We appear to be enhancing reliability-wise and pace-wise. The whole lot has been stepping into the proper route. I’m actually excited. There must be a race the place we now have an opportunity within the final two hours, and I hope it’s Fuji.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It is extremely thrilling for me to race at Fuji Speedway, my house monitor, with TF Sport and our Corvette. I really feel assured for this race as a result of I do know the monitor and our automotive may be very quick. I’m hopeful good efficiency from myself in order that we will have our greatest end of the 12 months.”
SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It was my first time racing in America at COTA and this will likely be my first time in Japan. It’s very good as a result of we now have had quite a lot of driving and racing in quite a lot of international locations. It’s nice as a result of I get to do that in a Corvette as that is my dream to do that in a World Championship. It’s the house race for Hiroshi, which is nice. I hope we will go to some locations with him! However for me it is vitally necessary to have a superb outcome at Fuji. I’m a competitor and I feel we’re higher as a crew as we now have discovered extra in regards to the Corvette. The automotive is nice, and I feel we will positively be on the rostrum.”
2024 FIA World Endurance Championship Factors
LMGT3 Drivers Standings
1. Aliaksandr Malykhin/Joel Sturm/Klaus Bachler – 118
2. Morris Schuring/Richard Lietz/Yasser Shahin – 90
3. Augusto Farfus/Darren Leung/Sean Gelael – 84
4. Alex Riberas/Daniel Mancinelli/Ian James – 81
5. Alessio Rovera/Francois Heriau/Simon Mann – 50
21. Daniel Juncadella/Hiroshi Koizumi/Sebastien Baud – 14
23. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 11
LMGT3 Groups Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing – 118
2. No. 91 Manthey EMA – 90
3. No. 31 Group WRT – 84
4. No. 27 Coronary heart of Racing Group – 81
5. No. 55 Vista AF Corse – 50
16. No. 82 TF Sport – 14
17. No. 81 TF Sport – 11
Supply:
CorvetteRacing.com
Associated:
Corvette Racing at Barber: Eight is Nice!
Corvette Racing at COTA: Juncadella Powers Z06 GT3.R into the Factors
Corvette Racing at VIR: Robust Day within the GTD PRO Workplace
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