Brits manning up and going Corvette Racing ! ?

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The first customer team for the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R was just announced. Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager Christie Bagne has confirmed that TF Sport will be switching from Aston Martin to Corvette for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship and will be competing with two new Z06 GT3.Rs in the new LMGT3 class.

The British team owned and run by Tom Ferrier will be racing two of the eight Z06 GT3.R racers confirmed for the 2024 racing season.
The Z06 GT3.Rs are replacing the Corvette C8.R which was first introduced in 2020 and will be retired at the end of the year.

“We are excited to welcome TF Sport to the Corvette Racing family,” said Christie Bagne, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program manager.
“Tom Ferrier and his organization showcase the elements we were looking for in a team to run our Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the FIA WEC– a first-class operation, strong collaboration and a history of success. We look forward to working with Tom and his team to make the Z06 GT3.R a success in the WEC and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024 and beyond.”

No drivers have yet to be announced for TF Sports, but it has been speculated that Corvette’s factory drivers may be part of the line-up.
TF Sport has been campaigning the Aston Martin since 2014, and they won Le Mans in the car in 2020 while also taking the WEC GTE-Am class championship in 2022.

Ferrier expressed his gratitude to Aston Marin and discussed his move to Corvette:
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to represent such an iconic brand on the world stage,” he said. Corvette Racing has an immense history at Le Mans, and we will be looking to continue that run of success.

I’d like to thank everyone at Aston Martin Racing for the support and success we have had over the past six years and seven Le Mans, but now I feel the time is right for a new challenge in the WEC.
“We still have a job to do in this year’s WEC, now lying second in the championship. And will give it our all to finish on a high.”

TF Sport will still need approval from the WEC to run the new Z06 GT3.R Corvettes, but series organizers are expected to give preference to manufacturers who are also racing in the Hypercar class, and Cadillac has already announced two LMDh racers will be fielded in the WEC next year.
To support its European racing support efforts, GM plans to run its customer operation out of a new location in Europe.

“To do a proper job in Europe we want to make sure we have a setup that will likely include some type of headquarters that we can run parts in and out of,” GM sports car racing program manager said.
Stay tuned, as additional customer team announcements for IMSA and SRO America series will be made in the coming weeks.

 

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TF Sport will benefit from a “bespoke level of parts distribution support for 2024″ as part of the GM brand’s increasing presence in Europe for its new customer GT3 program. GM has told RACER that the plan is to run its customer operation in Europe out of a new permanent location on the continent.

“To do a proper job in Europe, we want to make sure we have a setup that will likely include some type of headquarters that we can run parts in and out of,” GM sports car racing program manager said.

Ferrier who has guided his team to five British GT titles, international titles in GT3, GTE and LMP2, and a Le Mans class win in 2020 and 2022 says he feels the time is right for the team to move on from competing with Aston Martin Racing.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to represent such an iconic brand on the world stage,” he said.
Corvette Racing has an immense history at Le Mans and we will be looking to continue that run of success.

I’d like to thank everyone at Aston Martin Racing for the support and success we have had over the past six years and seven Le Mans but now I feel the time is right for a new challenge in the WEC.

“We still have a job to do in this year’s WEC, now lying second in the championship. And will give it our all to finish on a high.”

In addition to the confirmed two-car efforts for TF Sport and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsport with the Z06 GT3.R,
Corvette is set to reveal two further customer teams for 2024 shortly.
The four remaining cars are expected to run with new customers in IMSA GTD and SRO America, respectively.

With TF Sport making the switch to Corvette, Aston Martin’s LMGT3 plans are currently unknown. Currently, the Northwest AMR effort in the WEC GTE Am class (that runs alongside TF Sport’s pair of Vantages) is being operated by Heart of Racing, after Paul Dalla Lana stepped away from racing after Round 2 of the current season at Portimao.

RACER understands that an evo kit for the Vantage GT3 is currently being developed behind the scenes and could debut as soon as 2024.

While there are no concrete guarantees just yet that TF Sport and Corvette will be granted spaces on the 2024 LMGT3 grid due to the size of the Hypercar field,
GM is confident its plans will come together.
This is because it remains committed to Hypercar with Cadillac in 2024 and Hypercar manufacturers are expected to receive priority when applying for LMGT3 grid spaces.