ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA – AN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT FOR THE NEW CORVETTE C8.R

The 58th Rolex 24 at Daytona, the first round of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, saw the first race for the new Corvette C8.R, the participation of an all-female driver line-up, 2019 NASCAR champion Kyle Busch’s first start in a 24-hour race and Ben Keating at the wheel of two different cars.

A NOTEWORTHY DEBUT FOR THE NEW CORVETTE C8.R

The #3 Corvette C8.R finished the first 24-hour race of its career in fourth place in GTLM (the equivalent of LMGTE Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans). Drivers Antonio García, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg encountered zero problems with the car and completed 785 laps (nearly 5,000 kilometers). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the #4 Corvette C8.R of Gavin-Milner-Fässler. As the car was in the top 5 in its class going into the ninth hour, an oil leak caused the car to return to its garage. The leak was found to be in an area that forced the mechanics to remove the engine for repair and the work took almost nine hours. The #4 was then able to hit the track again and finished the race in 36th place.

Much like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona is an extremely challenging race. To make it to the checkered flag with an all-new car is already a major accomplishment for Corvette Racing. The American team’s next stop is the 6 Hours of the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday 23 February in Austin, the fifth round of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

AN ALL-FEMALE DRIVER LINE-UP

All-female driver line-up Christina Nielsen, Katherine Legge, Tati Calderon and Rahel Frey shared GEAR Racing powered by GRT Grasser’s Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the GTD class, but the car was forced to retire after a fire.

KYLE BUSCH ENJOYS HIS FIRST ENDURANCE RACE

2019 NASCAR champion Kyle Busch took the start in his first Rolex 24 at Daytona at the wheel of the AIM VASSER SULLIVAN team’s Lexus RC-F GT3. Along with teammates Parker Chase, Jack Hawksworth and Michael de Quesada, Busch finished 26th overall and ninth in the GTD class. The American driver pulled off a double and a triple stint without the slightest mistake and said after the race he really enjoyed the experience and hopes to return for the overall win.

BEN KEATING DOUBLES DOWN

Ben Keating participated in his 10th Rolex 24 at Daytona at the wheel of not one but two cars: the #52 ORECA 07 fielded by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports in the LMP2 class and the #74 Mercedes AMG-GT3 fielded by Riley Motorsports in GTD. Both cars crossed the finish line, the #52 ORECA 07 in 10th place overall and second in its class two laps from the winners, and the #74 Mercedes AMG-GT3 in 29th place overall and 11th in its class. This was the fifth time Keating participated in the race with two different cars.

Source: 24H LE MANS

January 29, 2020 | Categories: 2016, 2018, 2020, 2020CorvetteC8Stingray, 2020MidengineCorvetteC8Stingray, 2020Stingray, 900 hp, advance technology, American Race Cars, Antonio Garcia, Bowling Green, KY, burnout, C7, C7 Corvette, C8 Corvette ZR1, C8 Z06, C8 ZR1, C8R, C8Z06, car, car of the year, carbon fiber, carbon fiber bobsleigh, carbon fiber composite, carbon fiber extreme, carbon fiber product, cars, Corvette, Corvette Assembly Plant, Corvette C7.R, Corvette C8, Corvette C8.R, Corvette GXE, Corvette Heros, Corvette Racing, corvette z51, CorvetteZ06, Daytona Beach, Daytona International Speedyway, debotech inc, deBotech, Inc, Detroit, drivers, Employee Appreciation, F1, F1 champ, Formula 1, freeway, General Motors, Germany, Hans deBot, Hennessey, Henry Ford, Henry Ford Museum, highway, hybrid system, IMSA, interstate, Iredell County, Japan, Lake Norman, Lake Norman, NC, las vegas, Los Angeles, Manufacturing Jobs, Marcel Fassler, Mark Reuss, Mary Barra, Michigan, mid-engine, Mooresville, NC, performance, Rick Hendrick, Roar Before the 24, Rolex 24, SEMA, semashow, semashow2019, Silver No. 4, Sports, sportscar, supercar, Tadge Juechter, z06, z51, ZR1 | Tags: 2020 Corvette, 2020corvetteC8Stingray, 24 hours of Daytona, c8, C8 Corvette ZR1, c8 reveal, C8.R, C8R, carbon, carbon 65, carbon accessories, carbon fiber, carbon fiber extreme, carbon fiber products, carbonfiber, carbonfiberextreme, carbonhans, cars, carshow, chevorlet, chevrolet, chevy, corvette, corvette assembly plant, Corvette C7.r, Corvette C8, corvette c8 Z06, Corvette C8.R, Corvette GXE, Corvette heros, Corvette Racing, corvette reveal, Corvette Stingray, Corvette Stingray C8, CORVETTEC7, corvettez06, corvettez51, daytona, Daytona International Speedway, daytona prototypes, deBotech, detroit, formula 1, Hans deBot, Hennessey, Henry Ford Museum, Iredell County, Lake Norman, le mans, mark reuss, mary barra, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, michigan, mid engine, mid-engine, Mooresville, Mooresville NC, National Corvette Museum, new c8, North Carolina, Sportscar, supercar, Tadge Juechter, Town of Mooresville | Leave a comment