Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (2024) officially presented at Daytona

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The GT3 car is officially here! General Motors has officially introduced the Corvette Z06 GT3.R for international GT3 racing. It is the first sports product for Chevrolet customers in the GT3 sector. The debut is scheduled for the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours. Up to four Vettes will compete in the GTD Pro and GTD classes.

With the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, General Motors is opening a new page in motorsport

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Not much has changed compared to the first lessons and the engine is not surprising after the first audio recordings: It is a 5.5-liter flatplane V8, which is already known from the GTE C8.R model. The LT6 shares 70 percent of its parts with the regular product, including the crankshaft, cylinder head, injectors, ignition coils, seals and numerous sensors.

“Motorsports plays an important role in the development of our production engines,” said Russ O’Blenes, director of operations at General Motors. “We have learned important lessons in our programs from the C5-R to the C7.R.”

“These helped us greatly in the development of our V8 engines – especially in terms of efficiency, materials and lightweight construction. The flow of information between Corvette Racing (Pratt & Miller) and series production and vice versa has enabled us to develop race and road engine builds things that are strong, reliable and good.”

Since the beginning of 2021, immediately after the end of the GTE class in the IMSA SportsCar Championship (here under the name GTLM) was announced, the racing car has been tested in the simulator. The first test on the racetrack took place in September 2022.

Presentation Corvette Z06 GT3.R (2024)

A new challenge for GM through the race for customers

The first models are scheduled to be delivered to customers in the third quarter of 2023 – for now, anyway only on the US market. In return, they promise full customer service including a spares truck at the racetrack and engineers at all levels, as is standard for all manufacturers.

“With the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, we are breaking new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette motorsports program,” said Mark Stielow, chief engineer at GM Motorsports. “This customer-focused vehicle incorporates all of the experience we’ve gained throughout our long and successful history with Corvette Racing – as well as the expertise of our entire design team.”

Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter added: “Corvette Racing has greatly influenced the design of Corvette road cars over the past 25 years. The production and racing teams work closely together in development. This allowed us to take full advantage of the advantages of the racing center.” of cars.the engine concept derived from it Doctrine brings full racing performance in both programs.

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the first GT3 model from General Motors that was produced regularly for customer racing. Racing between 2015 and 2017 with the Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 in the former World Challenge (now GT World Challenge America) was a factory race with no additional customer interest.

Corvette Z06 GT3.R during test drives at Sebring

This led, among other things, to a disagreement with GT3 founder Stephane Ratel. Since then, the rule has been that 20 GT3 cars must be built within 24 months, ten of which must be built in the first twelve months.

General Motors now has a full customer sports department. The GT3 class has become increasingly attractive as a customer racing product for American manufacturers. Ford will also launch a GT3 car, the Mustang, from 2024.

Presentation Corvette Z06 GT3.R (2024)

A new challenge for GM through the race for customers

Corvette Z06 GT3.R during test drives at Sebring

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