24 Hours of Le Mans – A Corvette C8.R to take the start in Centenary running
A Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is confirmed to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans next year in the LMGTE Am class.
The C8.R is set to be shared by Nicky Catsburg (going full-time in a Corvette for the first time) and Bronze driver Ben Keating, widely considered one of the top gentleman drivers in the world.
The FIA's LMGTE Am sporting regulations require a minimum of one Bronze level driver per crew. One professional driver is allowed with a second driver rated Bronze or Silver. Corvette Racing will confirm the identity of the third line-up member at a later date.
The trio will compete in the entire 2023 FIA WEC season (seven races), including the Centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-11 June).
Keating claimed the top step on the LMGTE Am podium at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of TF Sport's Aston Martin Vantage AMR. The American driver has also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and several other major races in the FIA WEC, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Intercontinental GT Challenge. He will now add a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to the list of cars he will have raced, which includes a Viper GTS-R, a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, a Ford GT, a Porche 911 RSR and an Aston Martin Vantage AMR.
Catsburg, on the other hand, has already established himself as a key driver for the marque. Since joining the American constructor's roster in 2020, he has reached the top step on the podium at the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona and 2022 12 Hours of Sebring along with Antonio García and Jordan Taylor. The 2023 season will mark Catsburg's first full-time FIA WEC commitment since 2019.
"I’ve really wanted to race a Corvette for a long time."
Ben Keating
Ben Keating: "I really love the format of the World Endurance Championship and GTE Am. I’ve really wanted to race a Corvette for a long time and have been chipping away at this to make this happen because I want to race what I sell. I’m in the unique position of enjoying cars as a vocation and a recreation. This is something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time. I’m incredibly excited for this opportunity. I know that Corvette Racing is really excited about the program and I am too. There’s just something special about the 100th anniversary of Le Mans, the last year of GTE-spec cars and something special with an American driver racing for an American team. I’m excited that when – not if! – we win a race that we will hear the U.S. national anthem. I haven’t had that because I’ve driven for British and German teams. So this will be awesome. The Corvette fans are crazy and fanatical! Getting to represent a brand that I sell and be part of that community is something that’s important to me and I’m excited about it all the way through. My number one thing about teammates is that I’m doing this for recreation and for fun, so I really want to enjoy who I’m racing with. Having been teammates with Jeroen Bleekemolen for a number of years and both of them being Dutch, Nicky (Catsburg, Ed.) was kind of always around! So I’ve always felt a good connection with Nicky. Even though we’ve never been teammates, I’ve paid attention very closely to him. I remember him testing a Corvette for the first time at Le Mans, and I wasn’t surprised when he went out and set the fastest GT lap of anyone in the field on the Test Day! So he is fun to watch. He’s extremely quick and is someone who knows all the tracks in the WEC and is someone I get along with extremely well. I’m super excited to be teamed with him."
Tommy Milner, who is currently taking part in the full FIA WEC season with Corvette Racing, will play a key role as the Corvette Z06 GT3.R development driver in 2023. The car will be available to customer teams starting in 2024. With the announced end of LMGTE Pro in 2022 and LMGTE Am in 2023, a new GT class based on GT3 regulations will emerge in 2024.
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