Tweet
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Setting the Stage
Test Day sessions provide positive steps toward upcoming 24 Hours
LE MANS, France (June 4, 2023) – Corvette Racing went through its paces Sunday to wrap up its preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with six hours of running around the famous 8.5-mile track.
All three Corvette drivers – Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone – cycled through the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the pair of three-hour test sessions. It was the only track time for the Corvette trio and the rest of the 62-car field for next weekend’s Centenary celebration of Le Mans.
Catsburg turned in the Corvette’s best time and placed the C8.R 14th among the 21 entries in the GTE Am category. He, Keating and Varrone arrived at Le Mans with two wins in three races and the Drivers Championship lead in the class.
The morning session was a little difficult with time spent in the garage to correct a mechanical problem. In contrast, the afternoon running was smooth sailing. Keating got valuable seat time to familiarize himself with the C8.R in Le Mans trim after a baseline run by Catsburg to tune the car for his teammates.
The No. 66 Ferrari was the fastest car in class across both sessions. The first official practice and qualifying sessions are Wednesday.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 10. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, the latter beginning with Wednesday’s opening practice. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of free practice, qualifying and the race.
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We had some small mechanical issues in the morning that we solved quickly. Right now everything feels pretty normal. We are getting the car in the window again. I feel like the track is a little different than last year so balance-wise it is a little different, but we are working on it. The Corvette feels good. It seems like the Ferraris are a bit too fast for us right now, but in general we can’t complain too much. We are getting back up to speed with everything, so I am quite happy.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s amazing how quickly the Test Day goes. The lap is so long that you never get that many laps in. We had slow zones and safety cars in the morning and afternoon, and each of those take about 30 minutes out of your day. This morning, I think each one of us got three to four laps. In the afternoon, I had the luxury of doing two stints, and I loved it. I still feel like I’m learning and getting better and better. It was a big benefit to me in order to learn how to find lap-time in this car and this track. I feel good about the times I ran and that I will continue to improve. I’m looking forward to watching video of not only my driving but also the driving by Nicky and Nico. It was a very successful Test Day, I’d say. We had a nice recovery this afternoon from the morning. I’m looking forward to getting a start on the real race week!”
NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was a tough day in the way red flags worked and the new safety car rules that the organizers were trying. So we lost quite a lot of green-flag track time. In my case, I think I did five laps total so that’s not so many. Luckily I know the track from Road to Le Mans and this race last year. So it is a different car, different team and different setup. I’m getting comfortable and things were quite OK. It was a positive day for us. We still have a few things to work on. We weren’t strong in low-speed and mid-speed corners, but this is nothing that we cannot improve. Now the engineers have all the data and info from today to work from and get the car ready for Wednesday.”
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
Comment