Fifth-, seventh-row starting spots for team’s Corvettes to start 2026 FIA WEC
IMOLA, Italy (April 18, 2026) – TF Sport will begin its 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with its pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs starting on the fifth and seventh rows of the LMGT3 grid for the season-opening Six Hours of Imola.
The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey will start 10th in a tight field of GT3 cars that saw the top-six entries in the 10-car Hyperpole session separated by less than seven-tenths of a second.
Getting into Hyperpole was quite an accomplishment with series and Corvette rookie Dempsey posting the fastest time in the opening qualifying session at 1:41.642 (108.056 mph). Yoluc had just set his best lap in Hyperpole when he spun off-track to bring the session to an early end.
The No. 33 TF Sport Corvette of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Blake McDonald will start 14th in class.
McDonald, who drives for the team in the European Le Mans Series, was a late call-up to replace the injured Ben Keating for the first two laps. As a result, his qualifying run was his first in the series and the circuit. Of note, Edgar had the second-fastest time of all LMGT3 drivers across the three free practice sessions leading into qualifying.
The 2026 season is the fifth for Corvette Racing in the WEC. In that span, Corvettes have captured six victories plus the 2023 GTE Am championships. Two of those victories came via TF Sport in 2025 – one for each of its two entries – with the team looking for new heights in its third season as a Corvette Z06 GT3.R team.
The Six Hours of Imola and opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is set for 7 a.m. ET / 1 p.m. CET on Sunday. Live streaming coverage plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The weather forecast for the Prologue looked a lot worse than it actually was. We thought we would only get wet running, but it was great and we got quite a bit of dry running. Peter has never been here. Salih has never been here in a GT, so we needed that dry running to get some laps under the belts for everybody. It looked pretty decent. As always with the Corvette, it goes well with the higher track temps. We struggled a little to switch on the front tire in the Prologue but now with the higher track temps, we seem really strong. New for 2026 is single-stinting all the tires but even with that there is enough degradation around here that if the temps stay as they are, we should be strong in the last 10 laps of the stint. It continues to go well.”
(On new tire allocation rules for 2026) “I think the lesser cars come into the picture. So the likes of the BMW, they struggled in a double-stint last year so they will now be in the picture a lot more fighting for wins when they were never really there versus cars like us who were similar in the first stint. So it doesn’t really change much. It will get more people fighting for the win.”
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “That felt fantastic. It was my first qualifying session in a long time so I was a bit nervous before I started. But once I rolled out of the lane I felt pretty comfortable. TF Sport and Corvette gave me the tools for the job for Racing for Turkey so I’m really happy with that performance.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The weekend has been great so far, to be honest. We’ve been really fast all week in the Prologue and now as well. Unfortunately for Blake in qualifying, he didn’t really put it together but he has the pace to be inside the top-10. Jonny had a great chance to fight for pole. The car and the team are working well. I’m having a good time. It’s great to work with Blake and Jonny. The sister car was super-fast with Peter in Q1 but unfortunately Salih had an incident. But I think we all will show great pace tomorrow and we can move forward.”
(On being back in WEC) “It’s great to be back. It’s a paddock that I’ve missed. When I’m in IMSA, I miss WEC. And when I’m in WEC, I miss IMSA. So why not just do both! I’m a really lucky guy and it’s great to be back. Having Ben here is great for moral support. I’ve missed hanging out with him. It’s good to have him back and hopefully he recovers quickly so we can share the car again soon.”
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