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#5928 - 01/27/23 01:41 PM 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R Revealed  
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This is a banner year for Corvette Racing, as it celebrates its 25th year of participation in American sports car competition.

Now the legendary American team is sharing the secret to its success (122 race wins spanning the globe, including 113 in IMSA) with the rest of the world.
Chevrolet unveiled the 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car Friday at Daytona International Speedway, a year prior to its official competition debut.
A collaboration between GM’s Competition Motorsport Engineering and longtime partner Pratt Miller Engineering, the Z06 GT3.R is a customer version of the car exclusively campaigned by Corvette Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship for the last three years, achieving 15 victories and the 2020 and ’21 IMSA GT Le Mans (GTLM) class championships.

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is Chevrolet’s first racing car that fully meets regulations for the international technical regulations for GT3 cars. It will be eligible for multiple championships in North America and around the world, backed by a newly established customer support program.

“This has been an intense but very rewarding process,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car program manager. “From the time we announced a Corvette GT3 car, I’ve received more inquiries than I can count. It’s a testament to a known product like Corvette, the minds behind design, development and build, and the quarter-century success of Corvette Racing.”

Like every Corvette, the Z06 GT3.R starts life in Bowling Green, Kentucky, utilizing the same aluminum chassis frame as the production Z06. The GT3.R’s 5.5-liter, DOHC flat-plane crankshaft mid-engine V-8, in development since 2019, is also derived from the road-going Z06.

The Z06 GT3.R features a refined aerodynamic package, including a new rear wing and additional suspension adjustability options to suit a wider range of tires.
Track testing began in September 2022, with Corvette Racing drivers Jordan Taylor, Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner participating in development of the Z06 GT3.R. Milner, a Corvette Racing team member since 2011, shifts to an endurance driver role this year in the WeatherTech Championship and will lead the final development of the customer racing car.

“For me, it’s a bit of a different challenge in some ways, but I’m excited to help build this GT3 car and be part of the process here at Corvette Racing,” said Milner, a two-time class winner for Corvette Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona and WeatherTech Championship GTLM champion. “Having done this with the C7 and C8.R generations, it’s another new car and each one is a bit different. It’s been a lot of fun.

“It’s interesting to think that in years past, not many people have had the opportunity to drive these Corvette race cars, and now there will be that opportunity,” Milner added. “In a lot of ways, it’s exciting, because all the times we’ve had third drivers come in, everybody is pretty much unanimous in their excitement to drive our car and has good things to say about the race car. So, it will be fun to introduce some new guys, whether they’re amateurs or professionals, to this car, and kind of help get them up to speed a little bit.”

Milner’s task is to make the Z06 GT3.R as user-friendly as possible for a potential wide range of experience in future drivers.
“So far, the development process has not been really any different from previous generation race cars,” he said. “But there have been more discussions during the process about making the car more suitable for everybody and not just for Corvette Racing. In terms of ergonomics, parts of the car are designed for different size people than us and things like that.

“As we go further into the process this year with some of the finer details, some of the driver aids like ABS and traction control, we’ll be taking more time than normal to really make sure that is usable in all ranges of conditions. It’s not so much what I would like, or Antonio or Jordan would like, but looking at a broad range of skill levels.”

Corvette Racing is IMSA’s most successful team since its 1999 debut, winning 14 manufacturer and driver championships and 15 team crowns.
Chevrolet expects to see as many as four Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs on the 2024 WeatherTech Championship grid, split between the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes, with teams to be named later. The marque is also planning for a two-car presence in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

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#5929 - 01/27/23 01:49 PM Re: 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R Revealed [Re: teamzr1]  
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Official GM press release:
CHEVROLET REVEALS CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R FOR 2024 COMPETITION

High-performance GT3 racecar focused on customer teams


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chevrolet today debuted the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar, a year before it makes its competition debut at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Making its public debut at Daytona International Speedway ahead of Saturday’s Rolex 24, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is Chevrolet’s first racecar that fully meets FIA technical regulations for GT3 cars.

Design and development of the mid-engine Z06 GT3.R is a collaboration between GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering and Pratt Miller Engineering. With an eye specifically toward customer racing, the Z06 GT3.R will be eligible for multiple championships in North America and around the world with a high level of parts and technical support available for its customers.

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R will race for the first time as part of the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO category at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona to open next year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program,” said Mark Stielow, director, GM Motorsports Engineering Competition. “This customer-focused racecar leverages learnings from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”

The Z06 GT3.R is a landmark racing vehicle for Chevrolet. Based on the highly acclaimed mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette Z06 supercar, this new race car takes the level of technology transfer between racing and production to a new level with more shared components and features than ever before.

“Corvette Racing has been an important influence on the design of Corvette production cars for 25 years,” said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer, Corvette. “Corvette production and racing teams worked together closely in development to maximize the benefits of a mid-engine design, sharing lessons learned that set both programs up for all-out performance on the track.”

The Z06 GT3.R begins its life as an aluminum chassis frame from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky[i]. The frame provides a lightweight yet strong and durable underpinning for both Z06 and Z06 GT3.R. Once in Michigan at Pratt Miller, a purpose-built steel roll cage is welded onto a base plate, which is secured to the chassis.

A double-wishbone suspension at the front and rear promotes a higher level of adjustability and fitment of racing-specific tire sizes. This is the same front and rear suspension configuration as on the Z06 production vehicle.

The motorsports engineering team added race springs and dampers, competition-specific rotors, calipers and pads.
The Z06 GT3.R rides on 18-inch front and rear wheels the same as on the C8.R.

Advanced aerodynamic strategies also link the road-going Corvette and its GT3 counterpart. Motorsports engineers worked with the GM Design Studio to develop an aero package specific to the Z06 GT3.R to optimize levels of downforce, stability, drag reduction and cooling.

The goal was to design a GT3-spec Corvette that is suitable across different tire specifications, balance-of-performance settings and other customer preferences while not sacrificing performance or drivability on a variety of tracks and racing surfaces.

In order to enhance performance of the Z06 and Z06 GT3.R, each uses similar carbon fiber splitters which provide optimal downforce at the front of the vehicles. On the underside of the Z06 GT3.R, a new and purpose-designed carbon fiber diffuser routes air from the front the car toward the rear in order to create an optimal level of overall car stability.

The underbody aerodynamic devices work together in complementing the functionality of a new-for-2024 wing that aids in airflow at the rear of the Z06 GT3.R and the creation of downforce for enhanced cornering ability.

Aggressive and efficient ducting will move air to cool internal components. Intakes at the front of the Z06 GT3.R draw in air to cool the front brakes. A single, large opening on the hood a new design philosophy from the C8.R extracts out air after it moves over the radiator.

From the top of the windshield to the rear of the car, the surface elements of the Z06 stayed intact for the Z06 GT3.R, accentuating the tie between production and racing. Most notable are side air ducts behind the doors directly inspired by Z06 production road car that help to cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes.

Corvette production power for Z06 GT3.R

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R will feature a 5.5-liter, flat-plane crankshaft DOHC V-8 engine derived from the production Z06.
This engine began on-track development in 2019 with the initial testing of the C8.R, ahead of its use in the production Z06.

The LT6 engine for the GT3.R originates from the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, the same line on which all production Corvette Z06 engines are built.
The 5.5-liter 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.

“Racing continues to play a key role in the development of our production engines,” said Russ O’Blenes, director, Performance and Racing Propulsion Team. “There were valuable lessons learned during the C5-R through C7.R programs that aided in the development of our V-8 engines for production and racing — many dealing with efficiency, materials and light-weighting. The flow of information from Corvette Racing to production engineering and back has helped us build race and street-car engines that are fast, reliable and efficient.”

Chevrolet and Pratt Miller have worked together to incorporate a number of features into the GT3.R, building on safety construction from the C8.R. The Z06 GT3 features a side-impact crash structure between the driver’s side door and roll cage. Pioneered in the C7.R, the box features an outer casing of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and is filled with an aluminum honeycomb construction.

The GT3 Corvette’s integrated steel roll cage is slightly modified from the current racing Corvette to provide easier ingress and egress.

Testing

The reveal of the Z06 GT3.R follows a two-year testing program. Virtual simulation through Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator began in early 2021.

The first on-track test of the Z06 GT3.R took place in September 2022 which means the Z06 GT3.R will have a full year of on-track development when it gets into the hands of customers in the third quarter of 2023.

“We’re all very pleased with the results from the track testing program so far,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “What’s even more encouraging is the correlation between simulator sessions and what we’re finding in the real-world track testing. It’s another level of validation that gives us confidence in the development process.”

Driven by success

The Z06 GT3.R is the latest in a line of championship-winning Corvette racecars that date back to the late 1990s and the introduction of Corvette Racing and the Corvette C5-R. Entering its 25th season, the program has scored 122 race victories around the world, including 113 in IMSA competition.

Those wins have led to 14 Manufacturer’s and Driver’s championships and 15 Team titles. No team in IMSA history has won more races or championships than Corvette Racing in that span.

The mid-engine C8.R the predecessor of the Z06 GT3.R has won 15 times around the world since its on-track debut in 2020. The 2023 season will be its second and last with a dual program in both the WeatherTech Championship and the FIA WEC. The latter will move from the current GTE regulations to the global GT3 platform beginning in 2024.

Customer support and options

Chevrolet and Corvette Racing is establishing a complete customer support program that will be available to teams running the Z06 GT3.R in North America and elsewhere around the world.

An at-track parts truck will be a fixture at North American race events starting in 2024 with expansion to overseas support ramping up in the first two years of the Z06 GT3.R program.

Corvette Racing will carry full spares packages of bodywork and internal components for its customer teams in supported championships. On the technical side, engineers will assist teams with items such as pre-race documentation, including chassis setup and data sharing plus post-event documentation, data analysis, and relative comparisons.

Full engineering, race strategy and other items also are incremental support options for Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer teams.

Customer integration doesn’t stop at the racetrack. Corvette Racing and GM Motorsports engineers will be available for remote engineering and operations support.

“Supporting our customers is an area where we are putting in a lot of time and effort,” said Christie Bagne, GM assistant sports car racing program manager. “With this being our first customer GT3 offering, we have had meetings with many prospective customers to learn from their previous experiences, find what is important to them from a support standpoint and come up with a program that meets their expectations.”

The 2024 championships

For 2024, Chevrolet and Corvette Racing will continue targeting key sports car racing championships with North American and global entries.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see up to four Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries with a mix of GTD PRO and GTD teams starting with the 2024 Rolex 24.

Two Corvette chassis will be bound for FIA WEC in hopes of a double entry in the yet-to-be-named GT category, which would include the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Chevrolet Motorsports will also be evaluating opportunities to be represented in SRO Motorsports including SRO America and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Specific team announcements including drivers will be announced at a later date.

“This has been an intense but very rewarding process,” Klauser said. “From the time we announced a Corvette GT3 car, I’ve received more inquiries than I can count. It’s a testament to a known product like Corvette, the minds behind design, development and build, and the quarter-century success of Corvette Racing.”

[i] Assembled from US and globally sourced parts.

Chevrolet has unveiled its new customer-focused GT3 car, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, at Daytona International Speedway exactly one year before its projected race debut.

The first Chevrolet racing model designed to meet FIA GT3 regulations will replace the Corvette C8.R as the General Motors brand’s flagship sports car for global use.

Next year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona is set to mark the race debut of the mid-engined GT3.R, which is based on the Z06 production road vehicle and has been developed jointly by GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering and Pratt Miller Engineering.

Chevrolet has stated that “at least four” new Corvettes Z06 GT3.Rs will race in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a “mix” of entries in the GTD Pro and GTD classes.

Plans are also afoot for two chassis to be sent to Europe for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Alongside those programs, Chevrolet is “evaluating opportunities to be represented” by teams in other GT3 championships such as Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli.

GM’s sports car racing general manager Laura Wontrop Klauser told Sportscar365 in October that the initial “bulk of the volume” for the car would be found in North America.

Chevrolet’s factory motorsport operation Corvette Racing plans to establish a “complete customer support program” that will include a parts truck on-site at North American races next year, expanding to other regions within the first two years of the project.

Corvette Racing will also assist customer teams with dedicated engineers.

“The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program,” said Mark Stielow, director of GM Motorsports Engineering Competition.

“This customer-focused race car leverages learnings from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”

Christie Bagne, GM’s assistant sports car racing program manager, added: “Supporting our customers is an area where we are putting in a lot of time and effort.

“With this being our first customer GT3 offering, we have had meetings with many prospective customers to learn from their previous experiences, find what is important to them from a support standpoint and come up with a program that meets their expectations.”

As announced in November 2021, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be powered by a 5.5-liter flat-plane crankshaft DOHC V8 engine that is derived from the production Z06.

According to Chevrolet, the GT3 engine shares 70 percent of its parts with the road car unit including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils and gaskets.

“Racing continues to play a key role in the development of our production engines,” said Russ O’Blenes, director of Chevrolet’s Performance and Racing Propulsion Team.

“There were valuable lessons learned during the C5-R through C7.R programs that aided in the development of our V8 engines for production and racing – many dealing with efficiency, materials and light-weighting.

“The flow of information from Corvette Racing to production engineering and back has helped us build race and street-car engines that are fast, reliable and efficient.”

Simulator testing of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R started early last year before the first on-track shakedown took place in September.

Chevrolet intends to deliver the car to customers in the third quarter of 2023.

“We’re all very pleased with the results from the track testing program so far,” commented Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager.

“What’s even more encouraging is the correlation between simulator sessions and what we’re finding in the real-world track testing.

“It’s another level of validation that gives us confidence in the development process.”

Attached Files GTR3.jpg

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#5930 - 01/27/23 02:15 PM Re: 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R Revealed [Re: teamzr1]  
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Gordan Taylor is going into his second year of driving something of a ‘Frankenvette’, a car designed for one class and tire and adapted to a different class.
It hasn’t always worked as well as the team, or he and teammate Antonio Garcia, would like.
The new Corvette Z06 GT3.R, however, is designed from the ground up to work on a variety of tires used by GT3-based series around the world, and Taylor, who has done several tests with the latest GT3 car, says the difference is huge.

“The [C8.R GTD] was designed for GTLM around the [bespoke] tire and now the new car is designed around customer tires,” Taylor explained.
“So right from the first three laps, you could already feel that the car suits the tire better. It works way better. It feels like a race car again.

“I think it’s a huge step forward from a GTD perspective for us from the Corvette side. Going back and forth at one of our tests this year, we had both cars at the same track at the same time, and going from car to car was night-and-day difference of how the cars handled and work the tire.
The guys definitely did a good job from the design aspect to nail that and, really,
I think it’s going to be a really great product for Corvette. Whichever customers end up with them in the future, I think they’ll be very happy with it.”

The FIA-homologated Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be eligible for many championships around the world, including GTD and GTD PRO in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and GT World Challenge America. The first customer deliveries are expected later this year.

Although General Motors remains mum about potential customers for the just-revealed Corvette Z06 GT3.R, there is at least one team targeting an IMSA program with GM’s new customer-focused GT3 car.

Rebel Rock Racing, which has raced a Camaro GT4.R now in its last year of homologation in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for several years has expressed interest in getting a car. Team Manager Robin Liddell says they’d like to run in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Michelin Endurance Challenge events with a GTD class Corvette.

“We are looking to move into GT3 and the timing of the end of the Camaro package, the state of preparation of the Rebel Rock Racing team, the availability of the new Corvette and our continuing very positive relationship with GM make it a perfect fit with our ambitions,” he said.
Christie Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R program manager, said Chevrolet is targeting four Corvettes on the grid for next year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.




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