AWA “Process-Focused” in First Race With Corvette

AWA is not focused on results for its first weekend racing the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with team owner Andrew Wojteczko saying “it’ll be a successful weekend regardless of where the car finishes” if the team is able to execute well in its first race in GTD.

The Canadian squad is fielding a pair of Corvette’s new-for-2024 GT3 challenger in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, which will mark the first time it has competed in the GTD category after switching from LMP3.

AWA took delivery of its pair of cars last November and has seen its ranks bolstered by the addition of high profile drivers like Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood and Cadillac Hypercar star Alex Lynn for the Florida endurance classic.

Despite that, Wojteczko told Sportscar365 that the team is “process-focused” and not trying to look at targets to achieve for its first race outing with Corvette.

“I don’t set results as a goal because I don’t think that’s the right approach,” he said.

“We’re process focused and if we can go through and execute and carry out our processes correctly, then it’ll be a successful weekend regardless of where the car finishes.

“There’s a lot that can happen on the track that’s outside of our control. So we’re going to do what we do to the best of our abilities and if we do that, then it’ll be a success.”

When asked if getting both cars to the finish on Sunday afternoon would be a strong outcome for the team, Wojteczko replied: “that would be lovely.”

Amidst its switch to Corvette, Wojteczko has bolstered the team’s ranks by recruiting several notable figures to key positions.

Keith Willis, co-owner of the AIM Autosport operation that was previously part of the Lexus GTD effort, was named team manager while Jeff Braun has been appointed as competition director and race strategist for the No. 17 entry.

“My goal has always been to surround myself with the best people I can,” said Wojteczko.

“I think that’s one of the keys to succeeding. Having the most capable people around me is a big goal of the team and that’s not new.

“I think one year at a time, we’ve been able to grow and build relationships and I think we create a great home that’s a culture based around respect.

“That makes for a great home for some of this talent to operate out of and that they’re happy to be here.”

Despite the switch from running LMP3 to GT3 machinery, Wojteczko said that the team has had to make relatively few alterations from an operational perspective, adding that the move to Corvette ‘isn’t as much change as perceived.’

“We’ve expanded on our engineering depth, outside of that, it’s still the same,” he said.

“We’re still operating in the same series, running a similar schedule. I don’t think it’s as much change as maybe is perceived for us on a team side.

“The car itself, yeah, we need to learn that and understand it and that takes time and preparation. But as far as the team goes, our structure I’d say is still very similar to what we were doing.”

When it comes to learning the specifics about the new car, Wojteczko adds that they’ve been able to lean on support from GM and Pratt Miller in order to speed up the process of understanding.

“The team is very experienced, like the Pratt Miller guys and the GM guys,” he said.

“They’ve been very welcoming and helpful getting us up to speed and getting the cars where we need to be ahead of the race.

“They understand the car very intimately. So as we have questions and learn the car, they’ve been very helpful getting us up to speed. So I’m grateful for that.”