Corvette Racing is set to continue their partnership with Pratt Miller, entering a factory-supported Corvette GT3 program. The program is set to run alongside additional customer programs, run under the Corvette Racing umbrella, which is set to be announced in the coming weeks. The Pratt Miller-run works cars will have a driving lineup which is yet to be announced. Four of the new cars are expected to be on the IMSA grid next year.
Pratt Miller and Chevrolet have collaborated for over 25 years on the Corvette Racing program. Corvette Racing’s association with Pratt Miller is currently in its 25th season with 125 race victories to date. The company is already running single-car efforts in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship. The company recently won the GTE Am class of the Le Mans 24 Hours with its C8.R. Christie Bagne, programme manager of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, said, “We couldn’t have a better representative than the same group that has been part of the development, build, and testing processes for our new Corvette racecar.”
The all-new car has been testing since September last year and was launched at the Daytona 24 Hours. It will make its race debut in 2024. The car has accumulated nearly 5,500 miles of running and is currently undergoing its final homologation testing in Europe. The learnings from testing and competition will be used to make the Corvette brand a championship contender around the world.
Pratt Miller has led the chassis builds and engineering of the Z06 GT3.R. GM Propulsion Performance and Racing Centre in Pontiac, Michigan, developed the 5.5-litre, flat-plane crankshaft DOHC LT6 V8 engine that will power the car. The LT6 engine for the Z06 GT3.R originates from the Performance Build Centre in Bowling Green, the same line on which all production Corvette Z06 engines are built. The racing engines are delivered to the Performance and Racing Centre where they are fitted with certain race-specific components.
The 5.5-litre powerplant shares more than 70 percent of its parts with the production Z06 engine, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets, and a variety of other sensors.
Brandon Widmer, Pratt Miller vice president, motorsports said, “We’ve experienced a lot of successes, race wins, and championships with Chevrolet through the Corvette Racing programme. Now we move into the GT3 era. Everyone is pleased with the progress of our testing and development programmes, and new car builds are under way. We’re appreciative of the decades-long relationship with Chevrolet.”
Corvette Racing’s current IMSA GTD Pro driver line-up is Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor (with Tommy Milner for endurance races), while Nicky Catsburg, Nicolas Varrone, and Ben Keating drive PMM’s WEC C8.R.
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