Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports officials have announced the first full-season programme for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R today at Watkins Glen.
Pratt Miller will run a pair of new Z06 GT3.Rs in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD Pro category, with factory support under the ‘Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ banner.
The first race for this new programme will be the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in January. The roster of drivers is set to be announced at a later date, along with Corvette’s additional two-car customer programme for the GTD class with the new car.
This effort sees a natural link-up between Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports (PMM). Pratt Miller currently operates the full-factory Corvette Racing programme with the outgoing C8.R in IMSA and the FIA WEC, in what is the effort’s 25th season. It also builds the Z06 GT3.R chassis and has played a key role in developing and testing the car.
“Chevrolet and Pratt Miller have collaborated for more than 25 years on the Corvette Racing programme, and we are thrilled that we are able to continue together into the GT3 era,” said Christie Bagne, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R programme manager.
Going forward, as part of the transition to customer racing, all Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer teams will compete under the umbrella of Corvette Racing, which will provde customer and technical support.
“It makes sense to have Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports lead the competition element of the Z06 GT3.R program in the GTD PRO championship starting in 2024,” Bagne said.
“We couldn’t have a better representative than the same group that has been part of the development, build and testing processes for our new Corvette racecar. The learnings we will take from testing and competition will flow to our other Z06 GT3.R customer teams to ensure that the Corvette brand is a championship contender around the world.”
Since September of last year, Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller have accumulated nearly 9,000 kilometres (5,500 miles) of testing with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which has been put through its paces at a variety of circuits.
The Z06 GT3.R is currently undergoing its final homologation testing in Europe with additional testing planned for the summer and fall to fine-tune the Z06 GT3.R to multiple brands of tyres for use across an array of championships around the world.
“This is an exciting time for everyone at Pratt Miller,” said Brandon Widmer, Pratt Miller Vice President, Motorsports. “We’ve experienced a lot of successes, race wins and championships with Chevrolet through the Corvette Racing program. Now we move into the GT3 era. Everyone is pleased with the progress of our testing and development programs, and new car builds are underway.
“We’re appreciative of the decades-long relationship with Chevrolet. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports is looking forward to continue showing our expertise in race operations and management to our fans, our commercial partners and new prospects as we go forward.”
For more on Corvette Racing’s future, read DSC’s deep dive HERE >>>
Images courtesy of Chevrolet/Corvette
