GTE Am campaign for No. 33 C8.R starts at lone FIA WEC American stop
DETROIT (March 9, 2023) – For the second straight year, Corvette Racing begins its globe-trotting venture in the FIA World Endurance Championship at an all-too-familiar place, albeit in an unfamiliar category.
The 1,000 Miles of Sebring on Friday, March 17 kicks off the seven-round WEC season, which sees Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone team in the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. It’s the first race together for the trio and the first for Corvette Racing in the GTE Am category, which will feature 14 entries in the event.
The entire class and the 37-car field will take part in this weekend’s two-day Prologue test session ahead of the first official practice session on March 15.
The Corvette program is easily the most experienced team in the WEC paddock at the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway circuit. It has 25 years of racing experience at the historic track, which sits on the site of an Army airbase from World War II.
In addition to two previous starts in GTE Pro at the Sebring WEC round – including a runner-up finish last year for Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy – Corvette Racing has 13 victories at the track with 12 coming in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
On the driver front, both Catsburg and Keating have previous starts in the Sebring WEC round. Catsburg finished second in GTE Pro in 2019 while Keating placed third a year ago in GTE Am on his way to the class championship. Meanwhile, Varrone will make his first full-season start as a WEC competitor in the 1,000 Miles.
In addition to Sebring, the Corvette lineup will content the full GTE Am championship including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the No. 33 C8.R will be among 21 entries in class for the French endurance classic.
The 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for noon ET on Friday, March 17. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both level television and streaming coverage. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of all practice sessions, qualifying and the race.
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m massively looking forward to Sebring. It’s the start of a new program for us in GTE Am together with Ben and Nico. I feel like we have a very strong lineup and I cannot wait to get started. We can build on strong results from last year after winning there in IMSA and the guys in the WEC finished P2, so the car obviously has good potential around Sebring.
“The plan is to stay out of trouble and focus on the championship right from the start. I’m looking forward to getting back together with the team and looking forward to going over the IMSA paddock and see everyone on that side again. It’ll be a big weekend, and I’m ready to get started.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’ve said over and over again how excited I am as an American to drive for an American team in an American brand, and I’m excited to be racing in a brand that I sell. Not only are we going to be racing this American brand with an American team all around the world, but the first race in the USA, which is special. There is one race in the United States for the World Endurance Championship, and clearly we want to show well on our home soil. As a team, Corvette Racing has thousands of laps around there during the last 25 years, so I expect the team, the car, the drivers and everyone is going to be well tuned up and ready to go for this race.
“My first laps in the Corvette were at the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain, and it was different enough there that I left thinking that I had a lot to learn about this car. Then we did the test at Sebring and it was a totally different experience. That left me thinking, ‘Wow… this is a really special car.’ Not only is it special from my standpoint of racing it, but the performance level around Sebring is awesome. Sebring is unlike anywhere else in the world – very flat, very bumpy and very different from a typical FIA circuit that we go to in WEC. This is not that; this is an old, historic circuit and the Corvette performed amazingly well at the test. It set my expectations really high for the race. It handles the bumps extremely well, and it’s very comfortable to drive. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as an easy car to drive around Sebring because it’s such a physical track. It will beat you up a little bit. But “the Corvette is such a delight to drive, and it’s easy on the driver.
This also is the first race for me to do with Nico and Nicky. I’m super excited about my teammates. We’ve all gotten along exceedingly well. There are no egos. No one is out there trying to prove what they’re capable of doing as an individual. It’s a great feeling of being great teammates – not just for this race but the whole World Endurance Championship. I couldn’t imagine having a better group of teammates going into the season, and I’m super excited to go racing with these guys.”
NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m really excited to start this new program with Corvette Racing. It’s my first time racing for a factory team so it’s a dream for me, and to do it with this great brand makes it even better! Teaming up with Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating is a great chance for the whole team to achieve some good things in the GTE Am class. Speaking personally, I can learn a lot from them and keep growing as a driver. I simply can’t wait!
“Sebring is really special. I did some laps in the C8.R with Corvette Racing in December and I really enjoyed the track. I cannot think for a better place for my debut with this team than to do it at this legendary track where Corvette has achieved so much success.”
CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: By the Numbers
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for the 25th year at Sebring: Corvette Racing and the Chevrolet Corvette.
• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 23 years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
• 4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows, tied for most in event history.
• 8: Sebring victories – a race record – for Johnny O’Connell, a Sebring Hall of Famer who drove for Corvette Racing from 2001-10. It includes one overall and seven class wins.
• 13: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing – the most of any venue in program history. Twelve of those have come in the 12 Hours, including last year in GTD PRO.
• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
• 26: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 29: Number of wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing, including last year’s Sebring 12 Hours.
• 32: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone will join that list with their participation in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.
• 122: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, eight at Le Mans and one in WEC (outside of Le Mans).
• 267: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 53,631.76: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing at Sebring. That’s more than two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).
• 351,351.25: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon!
Corvette Racing at Sebring International Raceway
1999
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 4th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Scott Sharp/John Heinricy – 7th in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)
2000
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 6th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS
2001
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Chris Kneifel – 3rd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS
2002
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 4th in GTS
2003
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS (Gavin pole)
2004
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 6th in GTS (Gavin fastest race lap)
2005
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1
2006
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1
2007
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1
2008
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)
2009
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)
2010
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT2
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 9th in GT2
2011
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT
2012
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 3rd in GT
2013
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 11th in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 1st in GT
2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Robin Liddell – 6th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap)
2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 1st in GTLM (Daytona/Sebring double)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud – 9th in GTLM
2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 9th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 1st in GTLM (10th Sebring team win)
2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 1st in GTLM (3rd straight Sebring team win)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 10th in GTLM
2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM
2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM
No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE Pro (FIA WEC)
2020*
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM
2020
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTLM (Garcia pole, Catsburg fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM
2021
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 4th in GTLM (Taylor pole, Garcia fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 5th in GTLM
2022
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 1st in GTD PRO
No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE PRO (FIA WEC)
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