AWA has announced that the #17 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Anthony Mantella and Nico Varrone will take no further part in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Mantella has decided not to continue with his current racing programme and offered the green and red #17 Corvette up for sale on his social media accounts – which was confirmed to DSC by team owner Andrew Wojteczko.
This follows two very troubled races for the team that won the LMP3 class in the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. In the car’s debut race, the #17 Corvette of Mantella, Varrone, Thomas Merrill, and Charlie Eastwood retired after three-quarters of the race due to an electrical issue.
At Sebring, the trio of Mantella, Varrone, and Merrill didn’t take the green flag due to an alternator issue and eventually retired after completing just two laps.
AWA will continue its activities from Long Beach with the single #13 Corvette of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell, which finished ninth in GTD at Sebring after retiring from Daytona with a power steering failure.
AWA released a short statement overnight:
“Anthony Mantella has elected to step away from the GTD program at this moment in time. The #13 car will continue to proceed as planned and will be present at the upcoming round in Long Beach.”
Feature image © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
