teamzr1
Supporting vendor
DETROIT (March 13, 2024) – The new-look Corvette Racing program is headed to one of the toughest and most extreme tests in all of motorsports the 72nd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac.
The rough-and-tumble Sebring International Raceway in central Florida is steeped in Corvette Racing lore with countless tests plus 29 races during a quarter-century of Corvette competition. That should bode well for the fortunes of the four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries entered for this America’s oldest sports car race.
Two of the Corvette GT3 cars are entered in each of the GT classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship a pair for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO and an additional two for AWA in GTD.
The goal for each team is to put Corvette back on the top step of the podium a place Corvette Racing has stood 14 times leading into this year’s running. Operated by Pratt Miller Engineering, the Corvette factory team has tasted victory each of the last two years 2022 in GTD PRO and 2023 in the GTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The current Corvette/PMM team tested the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Sebring in November in order to gather valuable data on the first-year car ahead of the season’s most grueling race across the bumps and concrete of the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit.
The lineups remain the same from the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 3 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette with Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber sharing the No. 4 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette.
The six Corvette factory drivers have a combined 11 victories at Sebring.
In GTD, the AWA team will make its second start with the Corvette brand after debuting at Daytona.
The squad enjoyed a solid Sebring 12 Hours a year ago in LMP3 with the No. 13 trio of Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern finishing second in class.
They will team again in this year’s race while 2023 fourth-place LMP3 finishers Anthony Mantella and Nico Varrone a winner last year for Corvette Racing in the FIA WEC’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring are set to drive with Rolex 24 teammate Thomas Merrill.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is Chevrolet’s first car built to global GT3 regulations. It’s based on the production Corvette Z06 supercar with the two sharing a significant amount of DNA.
The racecar is built on the same production aluminum chassis frame from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green (Ky.) Assembly plant as the road-going Z06. Similar carbon-fiber splitters for front downforce, and the surface area from the top of the windshield to the rear of the Z06 remained intact on the Z06 GT3.R. That includes side air ducts behind the doors directly inspired by Z06 production road car that help to cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes.
The similarities carry over to the hand-built 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine in the Z06 GT3.R. Both original from the Bowling Green factory with the racing version sharing 80 percent of the production content from the Z06, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets and a variety of other sensors.
Celebrating Mobil 1’s 50th Anniversary
To mark the 50th anniversary of Corvette technical partner Mobil 1, both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will contest Sebring with special Mobil 1-inspired liveries. Both cars plus the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R in GTP will feature celebratory Mobil 1 gold along with the Mobil 1 Pegasus, which throughout its history has symbolized speed and power within the brand.
The Mobil 1 brand and its partners will be highlighting the brand’s legacy and future at Sebring, as well as off the track through the rest of this monumental anniversary year.
For more than 25 years, the Mobil 1 brand has been an integral part of the Corvette Racing program. It was the only lubricant used by the factory racing effort dating back to the first on-track tests of the Corvette C5-R in 1997. The Mobil 1 brand continues as a primary sponsor of the Pratt Miller run Corvette Z06 GT3.R team, and since 1993 has been the factory fill for all new production Corvettes.
Chevrolet Motorsports Display, Ride and Drive Return to Sebring
In addition to the many happenings on the racetrack at Sebring, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. That’s because two locations at the circuit Chevrolet’s Motorsports Display and the Chevrolet Ride and Drive will be full of Chevy vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend.
The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday plus 8 a.m. Saturday in the Sebring Midway. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include
• The Corvette Z06 GT3.R showcar along with the 2023 Corvette Z06 coupe
• Corvette Stingray convertible
• Additional Chevrolet products such as Traverse Z71, Blazer EV RS, Silverado 1500, Colorado ZR2, Tahoe RST, Silverado 2500HD
• An example of the LT6.R engine in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• An opportunity to receive a 2024 Chevrolet Motorsports t-shirt
Also beginning Thursday, fans visiting the Sebring Skidpad outside of Turn 17 can sample a Chevrolet vehicle for themselves at the Ride and Drive event. Starting at 9 a.m. each day, spectators have the chance to test a wide variety of Chevrolets including Blazer RS, Tahoe High Country, Silverado 1500, TrailBlazer Active and Trax Active.
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 16. The race will air on USA Network from 4-10 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock at 9:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning at IMSA.com along with Sirius 216, XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and 100.9 FM at the circuit.
The rough-and-tumble Sebring International Raceway in central Florida is steeped in Corvette Racing lore with countless tests plus 29 races during a quarter-century of Corvette competition. That should bode well for the fortunes of the four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries entered for this America’s oldest sports car race.
Two of the Corvette GT3 cars are entered in each of the GT classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship a pair for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO and an additional two for AWA in GTD.
The goal for each team is to put Corvette back on the top step of the podium a place Corvette Racing has stood 14 times leading into this year’s running. Operated by Pratt Miller Engineering, the Corvette factory team has tasted victory each of the last two years 2022 in GTD PRO and 2023 in the GTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The current Corvette/PMM team tested the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Sebring in November in order to gather valuable data on the first-year car ahead of the season’s most grueling race across the bumps and concrete of the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit.
The lineups remain the same from the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 3 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette with Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber sharing the No. 4 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvette.
The six Corvette factory drivers have a combined 11 victories at Sebring.
In GTD, the AWA team will make its second start with the Corvette brand after debuting at Daytona.
The squad enjoyed a solid Sebring 12 Hours a year ago in LMP3 with the No. 13 trio of Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern finishing second in class.
They will team again in this year’s race while 2023 fourth-place LMP3 finishers Anthony Mantella and Nico Varrone a winner last year for Corvette Racing in the FIA WEC’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring are set to drive with Rolex 24 teammate Thomas Merrill.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is Chevrolet’s first car built to global GT3 regulations. It’s based on the production Corvette Z06 supercar with the two sharing a significant amount of DNA.
The racecar is built on the same production aluminum chassis frame from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green (Ky.) Assembly plant as the road-going Z06. Similar carbon-fiber splitters for front downforce, and the surface area from the top of the windshield to the rear of the Z06 remained intact on the Z06 GT3.R. That includes side air ducts behind the doors directly inspired by Z06 production road car that help to cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes.
The similarities carry over to the hand-built 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine in the Z06 GT3.R. Both original from the Bowling Green factory with the racing version sharing 80 percent of the production content from the Z06, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets and a variety of other sensors.
Celebrating Mobil 1’s 50th Anniversary
To mark the 50th anniversary of Corvette technical partner Mobil 1, both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will contest Sebring with special Mobil 1-inspired liveries. Both cars plus the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R in GTP will feature celebratory Mobil 1 gold along with the Mobil 1 Pegasus, which throughout its history has symbolized speed and power within the brand.
The Mobil 1 brand and its partners will be highlighting the brand’s legacy and future at Sebring, as well as off the track through the rest of this monumental anniversary year.
For more than 25 years, the Mobil 1 brand has been an integral part of the Corvette Racing program. It was the only lubricant used by the factory racing effort dating back to the first on-track tests of the Corvette C5-R in 1997. The Mobil 1 brand continues as a primary sponsor of the Pratt Miller run Corvette Z06 GT3.R team, and since 1993 has been the factory fill for all new production Corvettes.
Chevrolet Motorsports Display, Ride and Drive Return to Sebring
In addition to the many happenings on the racetrack at Sebring, fans will have plenty to see and experience from Chevrolet. That’s because two locations at the circuit Chevrolet’s Motorsports Display and the Chevrolet Ride and Drive will be full of Chevy vehicles that spectators can learn more about throughout the weekend.
The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday plus 8 a.m. Saturday in the Sebring Midway. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include
• The Corvette Z06 GT3.R showcar along with the 2023 Corvette Z06 coupe
• Corvette Stingray convertible
• Additional Chevrolet products such as Traverse Z71, Blazer EV RS, Silverado 1500, Colorado ZR2, Tahoe RST, Silverado 2500HD
• An example of the LT6.R engine in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• An opportunity to receive a 2024 Chevrolet Motorsports t-shirt
Also beginning Thursday, fans visiting the Sebring Skidpad outside of Turn 17 can sample a Chevrolet vehicle for themselves at the Ride and Drive event. Starting at 9 a.m. each day, spectators have the chance to test a wide variety of Chevrolets including Blazer RS, Tahoe High Country, Silverado 1500, TrailBlazer Active and Trax Active.
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 16. The race will air on USA Network from 4-10 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock at 9:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning at IMSA.com along with Sirius 216, XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and 100.9 FM at the circuit.