DXDT Racing this weekend with a Z06 GT3.R

[teamzr1]

After several months of preparation & planning, DXDT Racing will debut the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R when drivers Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers compete in this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS event at Sebring International Raceway.

Sporting the No. 08 that has become synonymous with Smithson and Sellers in recent years and competing in the Pro-Am class, the green flag in Race 1 will mark the car’s first appearance in global SRO competition.

Alongside the FENEX-branded No. 08, longtime Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell will join the team in the No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R Pro class entry at the following round at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on May 17-19.

Milner who joined Corvette in 2011 brings a wealth of experience and a history of success to DXDT. He has twice won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also claimed multiple IMSA championships with the marque. Having helped develop the Z06 GT3.R based on the eighth-generation Corvette Z06 supercar, he also comes to the team with an innate understanding of the car, which will pay dividends on both sides of the garage.

While a newcomer to the Corvette platform, Udell joins the team with plenty of experience in mid-engined sports cars.
Udell, the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup Champion, returns to the GT World Challenge paddock after a couple of years of racing in the IMSA GTD class, which saw him capture three podiums including an impressive third-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2023.

“We are proud to see DXDT Racing debut the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GT World Challenge America,” said Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager.
“The anticipation for this first race has been building since our initial announcement at the Indy 8 Hour last year, and we’re looking forward to the green flag at Sebring.
The collaboration between the DXDT Racing team and Corvette Customer Support is strong, and the team has been in lockstep with us to benefit from the learning’s from our IMSA and WEC programs.”

“I’m just super excited,” said Team Principal David Askew. “When the opportunity was coming into focus, and we were able to get the deal with them, I knew it was going to be daunting and there was a lot of work we would have to do. But, the team stepped up, and they’ve been doing a lot of work even before we got the cars. I’m just really looking forward to working with one of the best teams in the world in Corvette Racing.

They’ve made pretty much all of their resources available to us, and we’re going to take advantage of that.
Their equipment, their know-how, their people, they’re all stepping up to help us, and I’m just super excited to be a part of it.”

You can catch the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s debut this weekend at Sebring, with practice starting on Friday, May 3rd, followed by Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 of the weekend on Sunday.
For more updates, follow DXDT Racing’s social media channels and watch along for free on GT World Challenge’s YouTube channel, which can be found at www.youtube.com/@GTWorld.

From the Drivers

Scott Smithson, No.08

“I’m super excited, and naturally a little nervous too. It’s totally new for me. I’ve never raced in a mid-engined car, so it’s a brand-new experience for me with the Corvette. With that said, our first test went really well a couple of weeks ago, and I felt at home pretty early on. I’m super excited about the rest of the season and to see what we can accomplish together!”

Bryan Sellers, No. 08

“First you have to say, Mercedes has been a great partner for many years, and I’m super thankful for that partnership.
But, as time goes on, there’s a point in time that you have to look for something else, and I think we’re all super excited about the future and for this new partnership with Corvette.
We want to see what that brings and how that builds. Personally, you’re always excited to get in a new car and see something new, see something fancy. Corvette will be the newest of the GT3 cars currently, and that brings a lot of excitement, a lot of noise around the paddock and around the program.

We’re all super ready to get our hands on it and really see what we can do with that. We’ll turn the page from a great partner to another great partner, and I’m just thankful for both of them at the moment.”

Alec Udell, No. 63

“I’m really looking forward to driving with DXDT in GTWCA this season. David and Erin [Gahagan, Team Manager] have assembled a fantastic group of people. Investing in talented minds within the team and partnering with Pratt Miller and Corvette is no small feat. It’s a well-meshed group, and it seems like they’re starting to hit their stride.
Also, being able to learn from Tommy and Bryan is a huge plus, and I’m excited to soak up all the knowledge available. At the first test, I really enjoyed hopping into the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and getting into SRO with the car, I’m sure there are competitive results coming.
Having been in and out of SRO in the US and Europe over the years, it’s great to be a part of that story again!”

Tommy Milner, No. 63

“I can’t wait to go racing with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R with DXDT. David Askew and his team have been working very hard over the last few seasons to improve in all areas, and this opportunity to make the final push to the top with the new Corvette is coming at the right time.
We had a very good first test with the cars at Sebring, and I’m looking forward to working with Alec, Bryan, Scott, and the rest of the team to make this a successful debut season for the Corvette.”

 

[teamzr1]

Philip Ellis was quickest in Thursday’s pair of test sessions for Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competitors at Sebring International Raceway in the newly named Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. The Mercedes-AMG factory driver reeled off a best time of 1:59.863 in the closing moments of the afternoon’s session, improving on his chart-topping time from the morning.

***Sister team DXDT Racing’s debuting Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R clocked the 14th quickest time, combined with GT America powered by AWS competitors, in the opening session and was followed up by the 11th best lap in the afternoon.
***The No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras led the way in GT4 America testing, thanks to a 2:10.518 lap time set in the morning session. Kay van Berlo was quickest in the afternoon for ACI Motorsports, meanwhile.

***The Fanatec GT America entry has been reduced by one car, with the No. 92 MMG Porsche 911 GT3 R of Alex Tagliani and Jean-Frederic Laberge again being a no-show for the second consecutive event, despite the Montreal-based team’s recent launch and intentions to complete the season.

***DXDT Racing had a “super productive” test at Sebring last month with its pair of new Corvettes, according to Bryan Sellers, where both cars ran trouble-free.
***Sellers told Sportscar365: “Our main goal in that test was just be able to familiarize and get laps in with it being a new car, to let our guys get their hands on it. We were able to do that extremely successfully. We put quite a few miles on, which was our big goal. Furthermore, we were also extremely happy with how the car rolled off the trailer.”

***Scott Smithson, who is on the GT America entry list this weekend with the No. 08 DXDT Corvette, will not contest the pair of 40-minute races has been registered as an “insurance policy” according to Sellers, owing to the fact of the possibility of utilizing additional track time in Friday’s practice sessions.

***Sellers and Smithson became the first non-factory Corvette drivers to get into Pratt Miller’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator with the Z06 GT3.R prior to their test at Sebring, which Sellers said was primarily used as a driver familiarization session.

***The GT America entry list is effectively down to 16 cars for the races, and only one GT2 entrant, following the withdrawal of the No. 127 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 that had listed two-time class winner and points leader Aaron Farhadi.
A team representative told Sportscar365 that Farhadi had never planned to contest the Sebring races, amid his partial season program.

***Both GMG Racing and ACI Motorsports are pulling double duty between SRO America action at Sebring and this weekend’s pair of Porsche Carrera Cup North America races at the Miami International Autodrome, in support of the F1 Miami Grand Prix.

***GMG Racing team principal James Sofronas said: “We are up for and honestly excited about the dual events in Florida this weekend. Running parallel programs is familiar to everyone at GMG Racing. Whether it’s at the same track running multiple cars in different series, or doing the same thing at two different tracks a couple of hundreds of miles apart, it doesn’t change the focus or at-track approach.”

***Sofronas revealed that Kyle Washington, who is again competing in both Fanatec GT America and GT America this weekend in Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, was slated to also contest the Carrera Cup North America races in Miami until a late schedule change by SRO America ruled out such a possibility.

***He added: “Doing the Sebring/Miami double with Kyle was always our intention, but a recent change that moved the Sunday GT World Challenge race up to an earlier start time really threw a monkey wrench into the plan. It basically made doing the Sunday races in both Sebring and Miami impossible, and we had to choose Sebring as Kyle is contesting his first full season of major competition this year in GT World Challenge.”

***While GMG has a pair Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars entered for Carrera Cup action for Sofronas and new client Ofir Levy, ACI has entered a total of five cars in the one-make series, alongside its Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports in GT4 America and GT America for team owner Curt Swearingin, who is joined by Porsche North America Selected Driver van Berlo in the GT4 America races.

***Swearingin and van Berlo currently sit fourth in the GT4 America Pro-Am points standings after their runner-up class finish in Race 2 at Sonoma Raceway.
***Jake Pedersen is set to contest the remainder of the Fanatec GT America races this season in the No. 85 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Trent Hindman but is on Carrera Cup North America duty with Kellymoss instead. The 19-year-old Silver-rated driver, who owns the Type-992 Porsche, is undertaking programs in three different sports car racing series this year, all in Porsches. Spencer Pumpelly is in the car with Hindman this weekend.

***Hindman told Sportscar365: “Jake will be with us starting at COTA but fortunately he was gracious enough for us to get going on the program and have Spencer in the car to help kick-start the learning process for all of us.”
***Michael Cooper, who has also prioritized his Carrera Cup North America drive this weekend, will return to Blackdog Racing’s Nissan Z NISMO GT4 at COTA. Max Root is filling in for Cooper in the GT4 America entry this weekend.

***Johnny O’Connell’s SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II sustained “extensive” front-end damage in GT America Race 2 at Long Beach, which led to a “herculean” effort by the Atlanta-based team to repair the car in time for this weekend’s rounds according to team owner Kent Hussey.

***Hussey explained: “We are so grateful to Philip Creighton and Alton Henry for their herculean efforts this past week getting the car repaired. The transporter arrived back at the shop on Thursday and they worked tirelessly through the weekend to have the car back to race shape and loaded for Sebring.”

***O’Connell is the winningest driver at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with eight class wins, having been inducted into the Sebring Hall of Fame in 2012.
***Friday’s track action kicks off with a 30-minute Bronze test session at 8 a.m. EDT followed by a pair of practice sessions for all series.

 

[teamzr1]

Tom Sargent was quickest in the opening Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS practice session of the weekend at Sebring International Raceway, leading the way for GMG Racing and Porsche.

The Australian driver reeled off a chart-topping 2:00.127 in his No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 R to edge out the No. 28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen by 0.173 seconds.

The No. 85 RS1 Porsche of Trent Hindman and Spencer Pumpelly was third quickest, while Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson made it three Porsches in the top-four, in their No. 120 Wright Motorsports entry.

Robby Foley completed the top-five in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW, meanwhile, followed by the No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of George Kurtz and Colin Braun in sixth.

The Luca Mars and Zach Veach-driven No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 was seventh, followed by the No. 38 ST Racing BMW of Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen in eighth.

The debuting No. 08 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson was back in ninth, ahead of the sister,
Regulator Racing-entered Mercedes-AMG in tenth with Philip Ellis and Jeff Burton at the wheel.

A second and final Fanatec GT America practice session is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. EDT.

 

[teamzr1]

Philip Ellis was quickest on Friday at Sebring International Raceway following a pair of practice sessions for Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
The Regulator Racing driver reeled off the best lap time of 2:00.040 in the No 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the second hour-long session to edge out the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Robby Foley by 0.127 seconds.

It was less than a tenth quicker than Tom Sargent’s time-topping lap from the morning session.
Spencer Pumpelly made a series of late-session improvements to put the No. 85 RS1 Porsche third overall and quickest of the Pro class cars, thanks to a 2:00.757 lap time.

The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Luca Mars and Zach Veach was second quickest of the Pro entries in fourth overall, followed by the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson in fifth.

It was followed by the pair of ST Racing BMWs, with the Pro-Am class No. 38 car ahead of the Pro-entered No. 28 entry.

Bryan Sellers, meanwhile, posted the eighth-quickest time overall in the debuting No. 08 DXDT Racing Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The 60-minute session had a single red flag period in the second half of the running.

Qualifying is set to get underway Saturday at 9 a.m. EDT with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch.

 

[teamzr1]

George Kurtz will start today’s GT America powered by AWS race at Sebring International Raceway from the pole position after storming to the quickest time in qualifying.

The CrowdStrike by Riley driver took his No. 04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to a best lap of 2:01.912 in the 15-minute session, edging out SRO3 class points leader Jason Daskalos by just 0.079 seconds.

Justin Rothberg qualified third in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, followed by Johnny O’Connell’s SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II and the Scott Smithson-driven DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, in its SRO debut.

Despite initially having plans to withdraw from the event following his accident in Friday’s second practice, Kyle Washington has entered GMG Racing’s Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 R for action in the pair of 40-minute races.

While Alan Grossberg picked up top qualifying honors in GT2, it was ACI Motorsports’ Curt Swearingin who picked up the GT4 pole, narrowing, beating out points leader Issac Sherman.

Swearingin’s No. 7 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was just 0.016 seconds quicker than Sherman’s similarly prepared car, while Gray Newell qualified third in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

Race 1 gets underway this afternoon at 12:55 p.m. EDT with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch.

Watch Live:
Saturday Race 1: 3:05-4:35pm ET
Sunday Race 2: 11:15-12:45pm ET

Watch Live Race Streaming and Live Timing | Sebring International Raceway, 3 - 5 May 2024

Watch the Live Race and enjoy Live Timing from Sebring International Raceway, 3 - 5 May 2024

www.gt-world-challenge-america.com

 

[teamzr1]

Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing brand are making their debut in GT World Challenge America this weekend at Sebring International Raceway with DXDT Racing set to enter a single Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the series’ extremely competitive Pro-Am class.

Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson – each driving a Corvette in competition for the first time in their careers – will share the No. 08 DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R in a pair of 90-minute races around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit.

The pair will contest the rest of the season in the Corvette and will be joined by a Pro-class entry starting in two weeks at Circuit of The Americas. Alec Udell and Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner will pilot the No. 63 Corvette starting at COTA.

DXDT Racing announced in October that it would field two Corvettes in GT World Challenge America. The team took delivery of its cars earlier this month and tested – appropriately enough – at Sebring with the Z06 GT3.Rs for the first time.

To help with the familiarization process, Sellers and Smithson also spent a day in Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator near Charlotte – the first time that a Corvette customer team has used the facility. The session was ahead of their first on-track test with the Z06 GT3.R.

Corvette is a known quantity and a successful brand at Sebring. Since 2002, Corvette GT cars have won 14 races in the American Le Mans Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. The track also played a large role in initial testing and development of the Z06 GT3.R.

DXDT will contest its first GT World Challenge America races at Sebring. Race One is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with Race Two at 11:15 a.m. ET on Sunday.

DXDT RACING PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Personally, you're always excited to get in a new car and see something new, see something fancy. Corvette will be the newest of the GT3 cars currently, and that brings a lot of excitement – a lot of noise around the paddock and around the program. We're all super ready to get our hands on it and really see what we can do with that.”

(Driver-in-the-Loop experience):

"I was blown away. For someone like me who doesn't use simulators and doesn't spend much time on things of that nature, it was really eye-opening, and obviously it's very different from anything I've ever used. I was amazed at the similarities between the car and the DiL.
The attention and the level of detail that Pratt Miller and GM went to in replicating the inside of the car versus the simulator was impressive. The seat position was the same, the pedal boxes were the same, the steering wheel... all the ergonomics were the same.

"Being able to run through a variety of setup changes and correlating real life to virtual was huge.
I honestly wasn't really sure how it would work. But when we got to the racetrack, we found that all the things we ran through aside from one small item was as represented on the simulator. That was eye-opening and the defining moment for me of how useful this tool really is."

SCOTT SMITHSON, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I'm super excited, and naturally a little nervous too. It's totally new for me. I've never raced in a mid-engined car, so it's a brand-new experience for me with the Corvette. With that said, our first test went really well a couple of weeks ago, and I felt at home pretty early on. I'm super excited about the rest of the season and to see what we can accomplish together!”

CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER:

“We are proud to see DXDT Racing debut the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GT World Challenge America. The anticipation for this first race has been building since our initial announcement at the Indy 8 Hour. The collaboration between the DXDT Racing team and Corvette Customer Support is strong, and the team has been in lockstep with us to benefit from the learnings from our IMSA and WEC programs.

"Having DXDT use our Driver in the Loop simulator ahead of Sebring is a milestone event for our Corvette GT3 program. It is a tool that has been refined for several years by Corvette Racing engineering. We are happy to make it available to our customer teams as part of our engineering support program."

Visit the GT America website for living timing, video, etc at

https://www.gtamerica.us/

 

[teamzr1]

Second qualify session standings in Pro-Am class

Z06 GT3.R will start in 5th position

 

[teamzr1]

Trent Hindman and Spencer Pumpelly took top overall honors in the first Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race of the weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Hindman drove the No. 85 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R to a 0.789-second victory over the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Elliott Skeer in the 90-minute race, which ran without a full-course caution.

Having started second overall on the 12-car grid, Pumpelly put initial pressure on Philip Ellis in the pole-sitting No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo but ultimately dropped nearly 15 seconds behind the Mercedes-AMG factory driver over the course of the stint.

Hindman took over the overall lead from Ellis’ co-driver Jeff Burton, who was on a reverse Pro-Am driver strategy, with 26 minutes to go in the race and stabilized his lead over Skeer.

Burton dropped to a fifth place overall finish, third in the Pro-Am class, behind the class-winning No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen.

It came despite the BMW having overcome a 4.28-second post-race time penalty for having too short of a pit stop.

The No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW of Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg finished second in Pro-Am and fourth overall, followed by the No. 28 ST BMW of Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey, who completed the Pro class podium with a sixth place overall finish.

Racers Edge Motorsports’ Zach Veach and Luca Mars came home seventh overall and fourth in Pro, followed by GMG Racing’s Pro-Am pairing of Tom Sargent and Kyle Washington.

The No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG rebounded from an early race drive-through penalty due to a race start violation for George Kurtz to finish ninth overall and fifth in Pro-Am with Colin Braun taking it to the checkered flag.

Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Andy Lee and Elias Sabo completed the overall top-ten in their No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

The highly anticipated SRO debut for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ended early when Scott Smithson and the No. 50 Chouest-Povoledo Racing Mercedes-AMG of Ross Chouest collided in the early running, sending both to the pits with damage.

Smithson was handed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility and finished second to last place

Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 11:15 a.m. EDT, with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube page and on Twitch.

 

[teamzr1]

Race 2

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[teamzr1]

RS1’s Spencer Pumpelly and Trent Hindman doubled up with victory in the second Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race of the weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Pumpelly, who was on an undercut strategy, got around the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Adam Adelson with 25 minutes remaining in Sunday’s 90-minute contest.

He finished 7.648 seconds ahead of Adelson to take a sweep of the weekend in their No. 85 Porsche.

Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey completed the overall and Pro class podium in third aboard the No. 28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.

The No. 38 ST BMW of pole-sitter Neil Verhagen led early on but served a drive-through penalty for a race start violation that dropped the Pro-Am class car out of contention.

It opened the door to the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW of Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, who held off George Kurtz to claim his first career GT3 victory.

Rothberg emerged as the overall leader following Foley’s pace-setting opening stint but was quickly overtaken by Adelson that set up an inter-class battle in Pro-Am between the Turner and CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG squads.

A likely podium finish on the debut weekend of DXDT Racing’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was erased when Scott Smithson spun after closing in on the two Pro-Am class leaders with seven minutes to go.

Samantha Tan emerged to finish third in Pro-Am class following her and Verhagen’s recovery drive in the No. 38 ST BMW.

The only incident in the race came with contact from Philip Ellis to the rear of the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Luca Mars, who checked up after an off-course excursion with less than 25 minutes to go.

Ellis, in the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG, had been working through the field after the team’s reverse driver strategy that saw Jeff Burton start the race.

The No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo retired early on with suspension issues.

 

[teamzr1]

DXDT Corvette Shows Potential in Debut GT World Challenge America Weekend

DXDT Racing rolled off the trailer and into the unknown this weekend as the team debuted its new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS competition this weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Taking delivery of two chassis in the weeks following the season-opener at Sonoma, the team had a whirlwind few weeks to get the No. 08 FENEX Corvette, piloted by Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers, prepped for its first race weekend.
That preparation carried over for the drivers into Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions, as the drivers got acquainted and comfortable in the car, which was adorned in an instant fan-favorite, blue-and-green livery.

By Saturday, Sellers and Smithson seemed up to speed and at grips with the car, with the pair both qualifying fifth in their respective sessions. Throughout the weekend, the team had emphasized race-pace over one-lap speed, so expectations were cautiously optimistic heading into the first race of the weekend.
That pace, however, didn’t have a chance to materialize in Race 1 after Smithson came together with the No. 50 Mercedes-AMG in Turn 16, relegating the car back to the garage for repairs and, ultimately, an early retirement.

Sellers started Sunday morning’s Race 2 positively, moving up two spots early on in his stint before settling into a solid rhythm for the remainder of his stint. The race heated up, though, once he handed the car to Smithson in third. Given the platform to fight from, Smithson immediately went on the hunt, steadily pulling in the Pro-Am leaders while simultaneously holding off the charging No. 38 BMW.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, Smithson had pulled to within two seconds of the lead, but disaster struck when he got caught out by the high apex curb in Turn 5 while trying to set up a move for second place, resulting in a spin that ended the chances of a podium for the weekend.

“With the new car, there is a lot to take in and a lot of work for the team,” said Team Principal David Askew. “Everything is brand new. It’s a tall order for the team, but I think we’ve put together the right people with our own team plus the help we’re receiving from Chevrolet and Corvette Racing. That’s going to result in podiums and race wins. But we’re going to walk toward that goal. We’re not going to run toward it.”

The DXDT stable will double in size next time out at the Circuit of the Americas on May 17-19. The No. 08 will be joined by the No. 63 KÜHL Corvette of Tommy Milner and Alec Udell, who will be competing in the Pro class. You can follow along on DXDT’s social media accounts and watch when the team hits the track in a couple week’s time at youtube.com/GTWorld.

From the Drivers

Bryan Sellers

“You can look on the weekend in one of two ways. You can choose a negative or a positive view, and I think the positive view is the way to go. We were delivered a great car from Corvette Racing, Pratt Miller and GM. Our whole team took to the car very quickly, and it performed like we wanted it to perform. We had a solid racecar. For me, this gives me hope for the future that we can turn this into something pretty great.

I’m proud to be a part of it. We certainly have some things that we need to address moving forward, as I’m sure everyone does. But we need to make sure we dig in to get those things done and give ourselves the best opportunity to compete for a win moving forward to COTA.

“To be honest, it’s a big honor to be a part of this Corvette program in any capacity. I’ve spent my whole career watching Corvette and Pratt Miller win races. To be a small part of that organization is quite an honor. I’m very happy with the relationship we’re starting to form and happy with the way they operate, and I’m looking forward to an increased relationship in the future.”

Scott Smithson

“It was a big learning weekend for me, just learning the balance of the car and how it races. Yeah, I feel like I let the team down, and I never like to lose out on a podium when everyone did a great job and the car was there; I just made a mistake.
But we have learned a lot. I feel like going into the next race, there are still some little bugs and getting used to everything about the car that we need to iron out, like controls and migrations and things like that.

That said, overall, the team did a great job. GM did a great job. Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller did a great job.
I feel like the result was all on me, but it was a good learning weekend.”

[On his stint Sunday and chasing down the class leaders]

“I think that was all about the car. [GM and Pratt Miller] put together an excellent car that races really well.
It’s a long-run car that got better as I drove it, even as hot as the track was.
The front tires went away a little bit, so I was dealing with some understeer, but it’s wonderful for long runs.

“I’ve been so impressed by everyone jumping in. They’re willing to help with anything we need. There is a lot of knowledge, and yes this is a new car.
The entire group is all-hands-on-deck. The attitude and willingness is phenomenal. It’s great support, and they put together an awesome car.”

David Askew, Team Principal

“With the new car, there is a lot to take in and a lot of work for the team. Our philosophy and attitude is that this is a long-term relationship. We anticipate running these cars for many years, and this is only the beginning. We’re going to walk into this and do things properly. There are a lot of people involved, and we want to make sure they are all working efficiently together.

We want to make sure the cars and the machinery are working properly. It’s a new car, and there are always going to be development issues with new cars. And the drivers have never driven these cars before. So everything is brand new. It’s a tall order for the team, but I think we’ve put together the right people with our own team plus the help we’re receiving from Chevrolet and Corvette Racing.
That’s going to result in podiums and race wins. But we’re going to walk toward that goal. We’re not going to run toward it.

“When I heard that Corvette was developing a customer racing program and was going to have racecars for sale to customer teams, the idea of it really intrigued me. I always wanted to work with a manufacturer. They’re the ones who design and build these cars. They know their products the best.

What’s really unique about the Corvette program is that they have an in-house team that is racing the cars and also building the cars for GM. It’s really a unique opportunity to almost go back in time to the way it used to be when teams built and raced their own cars.

As someone who wasn’t involved in motorsport at that time, that idea has always been attractive to me. I saw this as a unique opportunity, and I’m leveraging it to the absolute maximum that I can. I’m asking for (and receiving) max support from Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller. They’re happy to help. They want to help.
The more they help me, the more they learn about the car, which applies to their own racing program. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”