Final GTE Pro race in WEC sees Milner, Tandy going for second victory of the season

DETROIT (Nov. 8, 2022) – Corvette Racing will put a cap on its first full year in the FIA World Endurance Championship with its initial trip to the
Middle East for the season-ending Eight Hours of Bahrain.

As they have all season, Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy will pilot the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in Corvette Racing’s first trip to
the Middle East.
A new venue doesn’t intimidate the team, as it has a victory at Monza in its Italian debut. Bahrain will be the 33rd different track for
the Corvette program.

Another victory not only would close out the WEC season in the best way possible, but it also would put Corvette Racing in the history books as the
winner of the final GTE PRO race in the championship.

The category has been part of the WEC since the 2011 season, and the technical regulations matched the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2014-2021.
In the GTE/GTLM era, Corvette Racing has recorded 33 victories across WEC and IMSA competition.

The 3.363-mile, 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit is unique in multiple ways.
It features less than 17 meters of elevation change over the course of a lap, and the entire lap, all but the exit of Turn Four – is run below sea level.

As expected, it’s a very arid circuit, with desert sands and rocks bordering the racing tarmac and runoff areas. In many ways, Bahrain is similar to
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the IMSA calendar. There, sand and dust constantly blow across the track surface, which puts a premium on generating
grip and maximizing tire life.

While the track surface at Bahrain is much smoother and less destructive to tires compared to Laguna Seca, the significantly warmer air and track
temperatures at Bahrain compared to the Monterey Peninsula will make it a challenge to prevent sliding of the tires across the track surface.
To that point, tire performance will play a significant role in the outcome of Saturday’s race.

The No. 64 Corvette opened the WEC season with a strong second-place showing at the rain-shortened 1,000 Miles of Sebring. Things were trending in the right
way for the Tandy/Milner pairing at the Six Hours of Spa before a red flag just past the one-hour mark wiped out the team’s first planned pit stop and
effectively put the Corvette a lap down before finishing fourth.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans was a cruel blow with the No. 64 C8.R eliminated while leading just shy of the 18-hour mark. Spirits lifted within the team
following a thrilling class victory at Monza where, the team won a fuel-mileage race for its first WEC win outside of Le Mans. Milner and Tandy
finished fifth on a challenging weekend at Fuji in September.

The Eight Hours of Bahrain for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time (AST) / 6 a.m. ET Saturday from
the Bahrain International Circuit. Qualifying is set for 4:50 p.m. AST/8:50 a.m. ET on Friday.
The race will air live on MotorTrend with live-streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend Plus app.
Radio Le Mans will broadcast qualifying and the race.


TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“The track surface at Bahrain is pretty unique in general. To simplify it, you have big stones and little stones, polished and unpolished. It’s totally different
Then anywhere else we go. From the sim work we’ve done, it feels like there is a lot of grip. From what other drivers and teams have said, it’s a track
that is aggressive on tires.
That correlates pretty well with what we’ve seen in the simulator. I’d imagine the first practice session will be quite difficult as we dust off the track a little bit. It’s a circuit that is a little bit like Fuji with some long-duration corners and medium- and high-speed stuff. There are lessons we took from Japan that can apply here.
The track surface being unique, and its characteristics will play a big role in the strategy for the race.”

“I’ve raced in the Middle East once before at Dubai, so I have a little bit of understanding of the culture. It sounds like Dubai and Bahrain are
similar in some ways. The fans were awesome when I went, and it was a cool place to go see, and I’m sure Bahrain is similar in many ways. I’m excited
to get there.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“I raced at Bahrain for the first time in 2010 and went there twice before in WEC. I’ve never driven a GTE car around there, so this will be fun. The effect of the
sand on the tire and how the tire interacts with the surface how each car reacts to the sand blowing around – and it does quite a lot, can affect
things quite a lot. It’s one of the challenges.
It can be very gusty and windy, and the direction can change. This is another factor with the
high-downforce cars that we have. When it’s windy, it does have an influence on the race, and it can change lap by lap.”

“It’s an interesting circuit and good for racing and good to drive. Bahrain rewards consistency because you see the highest level of tire wear of any
track we go to. You have to have consistent and clean driving, and the track punishes over driving.
This is good because you always want to influence a race as a driver.”

“One of the good things there is that you have linked corners to corners, where what you do in the first corner influences what happens in the next. You
have places like turns One and Two, and then you have the Esses in the middle of the track, and the fastest section is in the middle.

You have to figure out how to best get time out of them, whether you give up time in the first part to improve the second section or second corner. That’s always nice as opposed to have a straight, a hairpin and then another straight.
Those races are kind of car-defined, whereas with these types of corners, you can as a driver effect more of what’s happening and affect the laptime.”

This weekend’s Eight Hours of Bahrain marks the last race for the GTE Pro class in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the end of a fantastic decade-plus of manufacturer vs. manufacturer competition.

Corvette Racing, naturally, has been part of GTE Pro in the WEC – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans since the first year of the class in 2011. Its participation in GTE-rules racing was amplified in 2014 with the birth of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category in IMSA, which used the same technical rules that existed for GTE.

Taking into account both championships, Corvette Racing has an exemplary record in GTE/GTLM competition, with 32 victories at racetracks around the world to go along with five Drivers and Team championships and four Manufacturers crowns in IMSA. That number could increase next year with the team’s move to GTE Am in WEC with Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg confirmed as the first two drivers for the full 2023 season.

Coincidentally, the first GTE rules victory for Corvette Racing came in 2011 at Le Mans with its No. 73 Corvette C6.R. Current Corvette WEC driver Tommy Milner was part of the lineup, with IMSA regular Antonio Garcia alongside Olivier Beretta.

Milner also was part of the most recent GTE Pro win with Nick Tandy and the No. 64 Corvette C8.R at Monza in this year’s GTE Pro championship.

The Eight Hours of Bahrain for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time (AST) / 6 a.m. ET Saturday from the Bahrain International Circuit. Qualifying is set for 4:50 p.m. AST/8:50 a.m. ET on Friday. The race will air live on MotorTrend with live-streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend Plus app. Radio Le Mans will broadcast qualifying and the race.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“This class has been a huge part of my career, actually it’s been my career realistically! It even goes back to my first at Le Mans in 2006 in GT2. The rules have changed slightly over the years, but it’s been roughly the same for the last 15 seasons. It’s been fantastic and some of the best racing we’ve seen around the world, whether it’s been at Le Mans or in IMSA.
In the short term, we’re losing a professional GT class at Le Mans, but I don’t think that will be the case for very long. It seems like in many ways, both in IMSA and Le Mans, the class has run its course and had its great years and some down years as well with lower car counts. So from that side of things, you understand the need to start fresh. But I think things will pick up where they left off soon in terms of professional GT racing.”

“Those years when we had 16-17 cars at Le Mans it was just a remarkable with the competition level for the show. It shows what that class could have been in many cases. While you see many people dwell on low car counts, at least compared to the amateur classes, the racing was always excellent and competitive. It seemed to get more intense and competitive each year with the usual suspects.
It’s an era of sports car racing where people can look back on and most will settle on and dwell on those years from 2016-19 with how good those cars were. I don’t think that we’re losing something; I think it’s a chance to refresh the formula for professional GT racing, as IMSA has continued with a professional GT class.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R:

“With this class of GTE Pro and GTLM racing, the first experience I had with these types of cars and what I started my factory racing career was in GT in the American Le Mans Series. This was in 2013. The class effectively launched the rest of my career. It’s been a huge part of my life for the last years.

So it is very sad to see the end of an era. I’ve been through the heartbreak of losing GTLM, and luckily I’ve been able to carry on racing GTE Pro cars this year. But it’s the end of this era and car specification, which is sad. But for me personally, I’m so happy I was able to be part of it. It has been the class that has provided me with great racing and the life I’m lucky enough to live and do.”

“The racing was spectacular on both sides of the world. The cars always looked awesome. They typified a souped-up sports car that you would draw up or dream of when you’re growing up as a child. They looked spectacular and sounded spectacular. All the cars in the class were different, of course.
But the way the class was managed, the racing was always close.

You’ve only got to look at different series when there were five factory teams racing at one time. The racing was absolutely the best in the world that I had seen or experienced. It’s been a great time for our sport. It’s given me so many lasting memoires, even dating back to 2011. It’s been my life. Good times”

“I’ve been lucky to race in other cars and in other classes. When the heyday of LMP1 ended in 2017, we went to Le Mans in 2018 and GTE Pro was headlining. There were 17 proper factory-affiliated entries and all with a chance to win. The class has been ever-present and ever-popular, while other classes had been up and down. That’s a testament to the regulations and the manufacturers who wanted to join in and go racing.”

GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“GTE Pro in WEC and GT Le Mans in IMSA have provided some of the best racing between manufacturers that sports car racing has seen in a generation. The teams and the technology have been top-notch. Some of the most exciting races I've personally seen as a fan and as part of the program involved Corvette Racing in GTE Pro or GTLM.
As a manufacturer, you can't ask for better competition than against four, five and six other marques like we saw in 2017, 2018 and 2019. As we all look forward to the next chapter of production-based racing worldwide with GT3, I hope we can see more of the great battles between teams and manufacturers for years to come.”

Practice :

GTE Pro saw Porsche factory man Michael Christensen emerge fastest in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 with a 1m58.025s. It was an encouraging start to the weekend for the Dane and his teammate Kevin Estre, who are looking to overcome an 11-point deficit in the title race on Saturday to AF Corse’s James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi and claim the LMGTE Pro world championship.

The aforementioned title-leading No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari ended up third fastest, Pier Guidi a tenth off the best of the sister No. 52 Ferrari 488 GTE in the hands of Antonio Fuoco who set an early session best of 1m58.261s. Fourth was the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR-19, ahead of the single Corvette C8.R which finished up fifth.

C8.R Corvette Racing will “probably not” have a second Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans according to Klauser, who said they will be “chassis-limited” with the GTE-spec machinery next year amid its split focus on ramping up the customer Corvette Z06.R GT3 program that will launch in 2024.

Second practice and C8.R still last place :-(

C8.R Corvette Racing will be treating its switch to the GTE-Am ranks of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship like a “second season” in the globe-trotting series according to GM sports car racing program manager.
The Pratt Miller-run squad, which is completing its first full WEC campaign in this weekend’s 8 Hours of Bahrain, will make the switch to a customer program next year following the demise of the GTE-Pro class.
Klauser said she’s been “pleased with the decision” to take on the WEC this year with its solo Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy, which has tasted success in the highly competitive category.

“We learned so much this year,” Considering the win in Monza, the team really pulled through.
When you enter a championship, even though we’ve been racing the car for several years, and racing GT cars for a long time, a new competition is a new competition.

There are new rules you have to learn, there’s new people you have to get to know, there’s just understanding how it works and how your car needs to work within it.
“All that considering, how we did all year, I’m really proud of them and all the effort.”
The program will transition into a full customer operation for the first time in Corvette Racing’s 25-year history next season, with Ben Keating joining as the required Bronze-rated driver in the lineup.

Keating will share the wheel of the Corvette with Nicky Catsburg and a yet-to-be-determined Silver-rated driver.
Beyond the lineup shakeup to fulfill the category’s amateur driver requirements, Klauser indicated not much else will change with the team structure.
“We’re still working through all the little details but at this point it’s more like a second season,” she said

We understand that it’s a different class, and we’ll adjust accordingly for whatever we need to do for [the] regulations.
Adding Ben to the team is the huge change for us. We’re excited to have him on board; he’s great.

Klauser added: We never wanted to get into the business of being a customer team with our Pratt Miller team but the opportunity to get ready for GT3 where we’ll be working with teams who have customers and understanding a little bit of what it’s like to walk in their shoes and what they deal with, I think will be really valuable for the big program.

It’s already been valuable just in the negotiations in bringing Ben on board and understanding what’s important to him and important to us.
“That has helped us as we’ve been working on GT3 as well, so it’s another opportunity for learning.”

Corvette to Evaluate Silvers in Bahrain Rookie Test

Keating, meanwhile, will get his first laps in the Corvette in Sunday’s WEC rookie test, in what the Texan has described as being a highly anticipated experience.
“I’m just excited about my first opportunity to get in the Corvette,” he told Sportscar365.
“Obviously I’ve walked around it, I’ve looked at it, and I’ve talked a lot about it, but I’m really excited to finally get a chance to get behind the wheel and see how it feels.”

The single-day test at Bahrain International Circuit will also see the team try out two prospective drivers to complete the lineup in Axcil Jefferies and Nico Varrone, who are both set to be Silver-rated by the FIA next year.
“Axcil has done a great job the last several years,” said Keating.
He’s got a lot of endurance racing experience and a lot of experience in Asian Le Mans, has done Le Mans and is obviously a very, very good option.

Nico did great in ELMS this year with Rinaldi. He’s done well in the LMP3, and he did well in the Ferrari.
I’m still pretty close with Jeroen Bleekemolen and he was teammates with Jeroen in Portimao and Jeroen said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to look at this guy, he’s really quick.’ That’s how it happened.
We’re excited to test both of those guys for a possible seat in the car.
“We are testing those guys here because we felt like getting three people through the car in one day here is about as much as we can do.
We’ll test some more at a later date.”

Keating said he expects a decision to be made on the final driver to be made sometime early next year.
“This is a much bigger organization than I’m used to,” he said.
“You have to go through some other layers to make sure everything is OK before you announce anything.”

Bruni Takes Final GTE-Pro Pole

Gianmaria Bruni took the final pole position in the GTE-Pro era in a session that saw championship leader Alessandro Pier Guidi spin on his final lap.
Bruni reeled off a best lap of 1:56.143 in the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR-19, 0.276 seconds clear of the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

While the two Italian drivers locked out the front row, the two main protagonists in the GTE-Pro title battle put themselves on the second row.
Michael Christensen took third in the No. 92 Porsche. The Dane initially looked en route to join Bruni, but had his final lap deleted for track limits.
Christensen completed his final flyer mere moments after Alessandro Pier Guidi spun the No. 51 Ferrari coming out of turn 13, but was able to continue.

This prevented from Pier Guidi from improving, leaving him fourth on the grid.
Nick Tandy rounded out the class in last place, driving the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, over a second away from Bruni.

C8.R Corvette Racing will start the final race for the GTE Pro class in the FIA World Endurance Championship fifth in the category. Nick Tandy set a lap of 1:57.539 (103.023 mph) around the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday evening in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he will share with Tommy Milner.

It’s the first trip to Bahrain for the Corvette Racing and the mid-engine C8.R as the team and its fellow WEC competitors close the season in the Middle East.
The single-car team worked throughout Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions to try and come to grip literally and figuratively with the circuit layout and racing surface. The high temperatures in the desert present a challenge to tire life, with high levels of degradation expected to factor in Saturday’s race.

Corvette Racing’s two manufacturer competitors, Porsche and Ferrari – have the benefit of multiple years of experience at Bahrain, especially having contested a doubleheader a year ago at the circuit. As a result, the gap to the front is considerable, nearly 1.4 seconds, but Corvette Racing engineers were hard at work after the session pouring over data to make further improvements before Saturday’s race.

The goal is to add one more victory in GTE Pro competition to its tally of 32 around the world, taking into account the category in the WEC as well as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, which ran from 2014-2021.

The Eight Hours of Bahrain for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time (AST) / 6 a.m. ET Saturday from the Bahrain International Circuit. The race will air live on MotorTrend with live-streaming coverage of the race on the MotorTrend Plus app and Radio Le Mans’ online audio coverage.

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTE PRO:

“Obviously, the point staring us in the face is that we are slowest in the class, which is sad for everyone. We did a lot of work from Free Practice Three to qualifying, and actually the car was fantastic. My lap in qualifying was one that I was pleased with and probably was one of the best I’ve done this season.

The gap to the front, while at almost 1.5 seconds, is the closest we’ve been all weekend. So as a team, we’ve done a terrific job. It doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re going to start from the fifth position.
To end qualifying in GTE Pro like this is frustrating. But we can all be proud as a team for continually progressing and making the car better for us drivers.
It was really pleasurable to be out there again in this C8.R in qualifying trim and driving fast.”

After 3 hours of 8 completed

The order in GTE-Pro has been shaken up by an earlier full course yellow, caused by a puncture for the No. 71 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Franck Dezoteux.

Not long after the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco made his way to the lead, the Italian pitted before the caution alongside Porsche’s Gianmaria Bruni while Kevin Estre had also already pitted.

When the No. 51 Ferrari of James Calado and the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Nick Tandy then made their stops during the caution, they vaulted to first and second in class.

Pier Guidi has since taken over the leading Ferrari, with Tandy 3rd ahead of the No. 52 Ferrari piloted by Miguel Molina. Michael Christensen is fourth in the No. 92 Porsche with Richard Lietz fifth.

At midway, 4 hours completed

The first of two Full Course Yellow periods shook up the GTE-Pro order, thrusting the No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo into the class led by virtue of it pitting under the reduced speed period while most of its rivals came in just beforehand.

Corvette Racing also benefited from the FCY timing, although its No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R subsequently lost places to the No. 52 Ferrari and the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR-19.

Nick Tandy regained one of the places when he planted the Corvette down the inside of Michael Christensen’s Porsche at Turn 8.

Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina won the final GTE-Pro race for AF Corse, while their teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado took the drivers’ championship in a tense conclusion that saw them nurse their car to the finish with a gearbox problem.
The No. 52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo driven by Fuoco and Molina finished nearly 50 seconds clear of the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner finished 2nd place, with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen third in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR-19.

Kevin Estre took the No. 92 Porsche to the lead by vaulting ahead of class rivals at the start of the race, but would come under pressure from a charging No. 52 Ferrari of Fuoco within the first hour.
Fuoco passed Estre with a move into Turn 8 and 9 after fifty minutes, shortly after which the race’s first Full Course Yellow shook up the order.

Fuoco, Estre and the No. 91 Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni pitted before the caution, while the No. 51 Ferrari of James Calado as well as Corvette driver Nick Tandy pitted under yellow. Calado and Tandy vaulted up to first and second as a result.
The Italian squad would then assume a one-two formation when Miguel Molina, now installed aboard the No. 52 car, overtook Tandy approaching halfway.

Ferrari appeared to have the race under control until drama struck with two hours remaining in the form of a gearbox issue for the championship-leading No. 51 car of Calado and Pier Guidi.
The two cars first switched position, allowing Fuoco to take the class lead before the ailing sister car dropped to the back of the class with fourth gear unavailable for the Anglo-Italian pairing.

However, they nurtured the wounded car to fifth place in class behind the No. 92 duo of Estre and Christensen, which proved enough to win title with two points difference over the Porsche pairing.