5 Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs set for three days of testing ahead of Rolex 24
The second season of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R kicks off in a big way this weekend with the annual Roar Before the 24 the stage-setting event for the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Five Corvette GT3s from four teams dot the 61-car entry across two of the four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The quintet of Corvettes each will test Friday through Sunday on the 3.56-mile Daytona Road Course ahead of next weekend’s season-opening round:
• Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella (No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
• AWA Racing – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Mavtin Kirchhoeffer (No. 13 Corvette)
• DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Pipo Derani (No. 36 Corvette)
• Trackhouse by TF Sport – GTD PRO: Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Corvette)
This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.
Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.
The Roar Before the 24 is set for January 17-19 with seven sessions scheduled across the three days.
The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
“Everyone at Corvette Racing and our Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams is excited and optimistic heading to Daytona. After our initial season of racing and development, we feel confident going into this year’s Roar with a group of Corvettes that are both quick and reliable.
The engineering teams across the whole Corvette Racing program have spent a considerable amount of time and effort making sure our teams are set up for success this year at Daytona and the rest of our 2025 schedule. With five Z06 GT3.Rs across two classes in this year’s Rolex 24, Corvette fans aren’t going to want to miss it.”
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“We have a whole season under our belt now with the Corvette. Quite a few of the issues that we had last season are ones we’ve ironed out along with understanding the platform and understanding the car better so we can extract more performance from it more often.
We understand the strengths and weaknesses of the package, of which there aren’t many weaknesses, thankfully.”
“For Daytona, it’s always a huge challenge to complete the first race of the year. I would hope that this year it will be a step better than last year.
Already last year, we had good speed during the race, but with it being the first race of the ZZ06 GT3.R it was understandable that we were still finding out some areas that needed to be improved.
Firstly, the priority would be to finish the race with both cars on the Pratt Miller side on the lead lap without any reliability issues. If we are able to do that, then we’ll be able to fight for the places toward the front.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“For me going into my second season in IMSA, it will make things a little bit easier. There will be a track where I have now been to once, instead of not having been there at all.
One other very positive thing is that my 2023 teammate Nico is joining us as a third driver, which is something we are very happy about. He clearly was very good and a good teammate to have when we won the World Championship. I’m glad he is in our car instead of being in another and racing against him!
He’s incredibly fast so I’m looking forward to working with him again. It’s a very positive outlook for the season.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I have been with this team since 2019, and I have grown so much with them as a driver over the years.
I’m looking forward to another season in the GTD class with the Corvette. This year has been so important for us, and we’ve learned a lot about the car throughout each round, with the help of GM and Chevrolet. We’re getting more and more competitive as we continue to progress, and I’m confident that 2025 will be even better.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I’m excited to get back in action with DXDT Racing at Daytona. We’ve got a very talented group of drivers, first-class engineers, crew and team leadership. It’s all an exciting combination. I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am of the efforts across the board to put the team in the best position to compete at the top here in GTD. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R treated us superbly last season, and I’m pumped to tackle the IMSA challenges behind the wheel of the Chevy this year.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I’m really excited for this. I’ve won Le Mans in a Corvette and won a World Championship in a Corvette. I’m thrilled to be back with TF Sport, a team that I know very well and one where we won a lot of races and a championship together.
Furthermore, I’m teaming with some phenomenal Chevrolet drivers in Shane, Scott and Connor, which should be a lot of fun.
This will be a big challenge, but one that I know we are all up looking forward to and are up for.”
