Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Gearing Up for the Rolex

Five Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs from four teams set to open 2025 IMSA season

DETROIT (December 12, 2024) – Corvette Racing's influence in the Rolex 24 At Daytona continues to grow with the release of the entry list for next month’s season-opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are taking part in the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 on the road course at Daytona International Speedway – the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. A total of 18 drivers – seven of them Corvette factory pilots – will drive the Z06 GT3.R, which is starting its second season of global competition.

· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella(No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)

· AWA – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Martin Kirchhoeffer (No. 13 Corvette)

· DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Pipo Derani (No. 36 Corvette)

· Trackhouse by TF Sport – GTD PRO: Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Corvette)

Each of the collection of Corvettes will participate in the three-day Roar Before the 24 the week before the Rolex.

The 2024 season was one of success and learning for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and its teams. Among the highlights were 11 race victories in North America – one of which came from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – the Bob Akin Award (and an entry for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans) for AWA’s Fidani and the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

In addition, DXDT Racing scored 10 victories in GT World Challenge America with the Corvette – including the Z06 GT3.R’s first global win – and TF Sport claimed a double-podium to close the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The Corvette brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2000.

Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.

The Roar Before the 24 is set for January 17-19 with seven sessions scheduled across the three days. The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23.

CORVETTE RACING FACTORY DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I am more anxious to race at Daytona than I have been in several years. There is a lot that everyone at Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller has going for us ahead of the Rolex 24. Obviously we expect a lot in the second year with the Z06 GT3.R after a win and some poles last year in IMSA. The other programs in WEC and World Challenge performed really well, especially in the second half of their seasons. The pace of the car is there, and I’m confident that so is the reliability. Our lineup should be very, very strong with having Alex and Dani having another year with this team. There are big reasons for us to be confident and I hope we can achieve our goal of winning another Rolex 24 in a Corvette.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s going to be really nice to go into the season with an understanding of the team that I have around me and continuity having worked with Antonio and Dani. Knowing it will be the same this year is great, along with Andy Ramsey as our race engineer. We’ve built up a really good understanding together so I hope we can build on that, and I feel like we might be a little bit further down the road for the first few races in terms of our understanding of one another. It’s not going to create any massive differences in terms of performance but it’s nice from a personal point of view to have that nice working atmosphere of who you’re going to be with.”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Expectations are high for my second year in IMSA has a Corvette factory driver. Now that we have a full year of development of the Z06 GT3.R, it should make our life a lot easier. We finished the season with a test at Sebring which was really positive in all areas. I think we have a really good starting point for the season coming up. I can’t wait to go again. I love Daytona and starting the season with such a big event including the Roar and Rolex 24. I’m excited for that and to see how we fare against the competition.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A year of racing… there’s no better test of a machine and driver than a full season of racing in IMSA. I feel like we’re not worried about or thinking about having a brand new car like we did at the start of 2024. We have a Corvette now that has had a full year’s worth of running in several series. It’s the same car with some smaller updates to make the car more comfortable to drive and more reliable. We’ve had that experience now and can focus on the things that are different this year, like the torque axle sensors. Luckily for us, the TF Sport guys and Corvette Racing in WEC have a year’s worth of experience with that. We’ll use that and all the knowledge that Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller have for Daytona and put that toward giving us the best chance to get a win.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For 2025, I have good hopes because I think we are a lot further along with the development and understanding of the Corvette than we were last year. So coming into the Daytona 24 Hours, I generally do believe that we have a chance to win it whereas last year was a little bit more of exploration of what the car would do and where we would be. But I do believe we have a serious shot. There are some changes from IMSA which to me are very positive. We can be a bit more focused again on racing the people we need to race. I’m personally a very big fan of that. I’m looking forward to some tough battles. I think we will have a full grid as well for Daytona.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I can’t express how happy I am to join the Corvette team again in IMSA, now with Pratt Miller. It’s exciting to be in the GTD PRO program and it gives me vibes of 2023 where we won the World Championship together in WEC. It’s my first time running in the U.S. in the GTD PRO car. It will be really special to represent Corvette in such an important series. There are a lot of fans at the races in America, so it will be super fun. I also get to share again the weekends with the mechanics and engineers that I know. I love all those people that make up the team, and I’m looking forward to giving my best and being in the best form of my life to bring the results that the Z06 GT3.R deserves. The car in its first year showed a lot of potential. Hopefully we can put it together in 2025 for some of these big race wins. It will be tough work to join Tommy and Nicky, but I think we have a great lineup to fight for big things. I’m super-excited and looking forward to it.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m really looking forward to joining DXDT Racing. I think the lineup with have in GTD is as strong as any on paper. We had a strong test with the team at Daytona. There is an amazing bunch of guys and girls within the team. You can see why they had so much success in GT World Challenge America in 2024 because they have so many great qualities and so many great people working within the team. I was looking forward to the season before the test, and now I can’t wait to get started since the test. I think we have a really good chance to get some big results, which I’m gunning to make sure that I make sure to do in 2025 and my second year with Corvette.”

Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick