Just days after Pratt Miller confirmed its plans to race in IMSA GTD Pro with the new Z06 GT3.R, TF Sport has been confirmed as Corvette’s customer team for the FIA WEC.
The Tom Ferrier-owned team will switch from competing with Aston Martin to the GM brand for the first year of LMGT3 in the FIA WEC in 2024 and will race two of the eight confirmed Z06 GT3.Rs that will run globally in its first year of competition. This is a move that has been in the works behind the scenes for many months.
“We are excited to welcome TF Sport to the Corvette Racing family,” said Christie Bagne, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R programme manager.
“Tom Ferrier and his organisation showcase the elements we were looking for in a team to run our Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the FIA WEC- a first-class operation, strong collaboration and a history of success. We look forward to working with Tom and his team to make the Z06 GT3.R a success in the WEC and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024 and beyond.”
TF Sport will benefit from a “bespoke level of parts distribution support for 2024” as part of the GM brand’s increasing presence in Europe for its new customer GT3 programme.
Eventually, GM has told DSC, the plan is to run its Corvette customer operation in Europe out of a new permanent location on the continent.
From Corvette’s side, this decision represents a huge vote of confidence in the highly-successful British team.
Ferrier, who has guided his team to five British GT titles plus international titles in GT3, GTE and LMP2, plus Le Mans class wins in 2020 and 2022, says he feels the time is right for the team to move on from competing with Aston Martin Racing.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to represent such an iconic brand on the world stage,” he said. “Corvette Racing has an immense history at Le Mans and we will be looking to continue that run of success. I’d like to thank everyone at Aston Martin Racing for the support and success we have had over the past six years and seven Le Mans but now I feel the time is right for a new challenge in the WEC.
“We still have a job to do in this year’s WEC now lying second in the championship and will give it our all to finish on a high.”
In addition to the confirmed two-car efforts for TF Sport and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsport with the Z06 GT3.R, Corvette is set to reveal two further customer teams for 2024 shortly. The four remaining cars are expected to run with new customers in IMSA GTD and SRO America respectively.
With TF Sport switching to Corvette, Aston Martin’s LMGT3 plans are currently unknown.
Currently, the Northwest AMR effort in the FIA WEC GTE Am class (that runs alongside TF Sport’s pair of Vantages) is being operated by Heart of Racing, after Paul Dalla Lana stepped away from racing after Round 2 of the current season at Portimao.
DSC understands that an evo-kit for the Vantage GT3 is currently being developed behind the scenes and could debut as soon as 2024. DSC has also uncovered an active programme that is underway for the future that would see the shelved Valkyrie Hypercar programme rebooted.
While there are no concrete guarantees just yet that TF Sport and Corvette will be granted spaces on the FIA WEC 2024 LMGT3 grid due to the size of the Hypercar field, GM is confident its plans will come together. This is because it remains committed to Hypercar with Cadillac in 2024 and Hypercar manufacturers are expected to receive priority when applying for LMGT3 grid spaces.
To learn more about Corvette Racing’s future, catch up with DSC’s deep dive on the new customer programme from last week HERE >>>
