Corvette Does Well in 24-Hours at Daytona

Chevrolet continued to be represented at the 24-Hours of Daytona endurance competition with the familiar site of a yellow and black entry from the Corvette Racing Team. Corvettes have a long history in this event and have won their class four times, with the last win coming in 2021. That was when drivers Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg achieved a 1st and 2nd finish for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class.

As happens in racing, the 2022 race turned out less well for the team with 6th and 7th finishes for the two Corvette C8.R models. With the phasing out of the GTLM class, the team and drivers were not familiar enough with the changes required in order to compete in the lower GTD PRO class, and the result reduced their competitiveness. A subsequent year of racing helped sort things out and the team came to the 2023 race better prepared.

For the first time since 1999, the team ran just one car. This is more the norm in this class where eight entries represented seven manufacturers. For the 2023 race, the #3 Corvette C8.R, was again driven by Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor plus newcomer Tommy Milner. 

Tire Trouble Compounded

In the race itself, Garcia advanced to 3rd in the class within the first hour and after taking over the wheel, Taylor moved up to 2nd place. A full-course yellow appeared compressing the lineup and afterward Talor seized first place. The Corvette remained in first place over the next ten hours. It was running second when it suffered a punctured left-rear tire in Turn 1. This forced the car to limp around almost the entire course before it could pit for the tire replacement. Unfortunately, a single lap revealed that the blown tire had damaged a rear brake and the car returned for a repair. By the time the brakes were replaced and the car was back out, it lost two laps. 

Fortunately, it was a long race, and the car gained a lap before a yellow halfway through the race enabled the Corvette to reach the lead lap again, albeit in 6th place. As the race progressed the Corvette’s speed advanced to 3rd place behind the #79 Mercedes AMG and the #14 Lexus. The three cars traded leads throughout the rest of the race. After the final yellow and with 26 minutes to go, the Corvette with Garcia at the wheel, was in second place, behind the Mercedes. Though the Corvette narrowed the gap it was still in second place at the end of the 24 hours.

Much of the credit for the Corvette’s past and current success goes to the efforts of Team Corvette, but it certainly helps that the mid-engine C8 Corvette provides such a good base. Now there is an even newer Corvette model in the lineup with the recently introduced Corvette E-Ray, which combines the 495 horsepower 6.2-liter V8 with a 160 horsepower electric motor driving the front wheels for both a combined 655 horsepower and AWD. It is flat-out the quickest Corvette in history with a 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds. If you haven’t seen the C8 Corvette up close you should come by Chevrolet of Spring Valley, home of the Love What You Drive Promise, and see what a world-class performance car it has become.