Three-time Australian Supercars Champion, 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner, and current IndyCar Series star Scott McLaughlin will headline Johor Motorsports Racing’s (JMR) all-star Pro Corvette entry in the 49th edition of the Suzuka 1000km.
Having teased “homework” involving Suzuka Circuit hours earlier on social media, today JMR and Corvette Racing have confirmed that McLaughlin will drive the #2 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Pro category. He will share the cockpit with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports drivers Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg.
Sims helped give the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its first victory in Pan-Asian competition when he and Prince Jefri Ibrahim of Malaysia won during the opening round of the GT World Challenge Asia season at Sepang. Sims currently leads the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTD PRO Championship, while Ibrahim is a close second in the GT World Championship Asia Drivers’ Championship.
Jefri and his brother, Abu Bakar Ibrahim, will race together in the Pro-Am #99 Corvette, joined by Konsta Lappalainen of Finland, a race winner in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup.
McLaughlin said today: “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the JMR team heading to Suzuka for the 1000km. I’ve always wanted to race Suzuka and it’s a bucket-list track for me. It’ll be an exciting race there in the Pro class with my GM friends Nicky Catsburg and Alex Sims, who are two amazing Corvette racers. I’m sure I’m going to learn a lot about the team and more about the Corvette, which I haven’t raced since Daytona. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel, have a lot of fun, and hopefully come back with some silverware.”
Though he is in the midst of a frustrating season reflecting the greater struggles at Team Penske’s IndyCar programme, McLaughlin’s seven wins and 19 podiums since joining the series full-time in 2021 have made the Kiwi a standout talent of the IndyCar circuit. In January, he shared a Corvette Z06 GT3.R entered by Trackhouse Racing and TF Sport, driving alongside Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, and Ben Keating.
His Highness Prince Jefri Ibrahim remarked: “We’ve had a tight calendar this year, but the Suzuka 1000km has always been a race I wanted to do. Having a JMR Pro car has always been the plan; we chose Alex and Nicky as they both race Corvettes and have lots of experience with the cars and the team.
“We wanted an awesome lineup, so to have Scott McLaughlin, who is also part of the GM family, and now part of JMR, will be a really great addition. Personally, I’m feeling confident and really looking forward to racing at Suzuka alongside my brother in the same car. We have three wins already this year, and the more laps I get in the Chevrolete Corvette Z06 GT3.R the more comfortable I become.
“I’m really happy with how this season has gone so far for the team and our partnership GM and Chevrolet. We’re both on the same page – we want success, and most importantly, we’re thinking of our long-term plans together with Chevrolet and Corvette Racing.”
Of the six JMR drivers entered in the Suzuka 1000km, only Catsburg has raced in Japan’s oldest endurance sports car race previously. The Dutch driver raced in the 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours, the most recent edition of the event before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the race to go on a five-year hiatus.
“Suzuka in the Corvette is something that I’m massively looking forward to, and being part of JMR’s Pro line-up is very cool,” said Catsburg. “I’m excited that I get to race with my good friend and Pratt Miller team-mate Alexander, and with Scott. He’s a very, very talented driver who already has some experience in the Corvette at Daytona, and I’m looking forward to working with him and the whole Johor Motorsports Racing team. Hopefully this means I could work more with JMR in the future – I’ve heard a lot of really good things about the team from Alex, so I cannot wait for it.”
“I’m really excited to race at Suzuka with JMR in the Pro class. It’s a circuit that I’ve watched a lot of racing at over the years, but have never driven myself,” added Sims. “It’s been awesome to be a small part of JMR’s quick progression this year with their new Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in Asia and Spa 24-Hour. The team has done a superb job, and now, to share one of their cars with Scott and Nicky is a real privilege. I want to make the most of the opportunity and believe we have a package that can fight at the front.”
McLaughlin, Sims, and Catsburg will attempt to give Chevrolet and Corvette the first Suzuka 1000km win for an American automaker.
Jessica Dane, the Programme Manager of Corvette Racing, said: “It’s tremendously exciting to see JMR step up to the Pro class at the Suzuka 1000km with Alexander, Nicky and Scott with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. They are three world-class drivers and everyone at Corvette Racing is looking forward to watching them go up against the best GT teams and drivers on the Intercontinental GT Challenge global stage. JMR’s success with three race wins so far in their first year with the Corvette has been impressive. We’re extremely proud of our partnership with Prince Jefri, Prince Abu Bakar and the whole JMR team, and can’t wait to see how both entries perform at Suzuka.”
Images courtesy of General Motors
