Juncadella: Corvette Z06 GT3.R Issues “Normal for New Car”

Corvette Racing drivers Dani Juncadella and Nicky Catsburg say they have no concerns about the amount of reliability issues the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R experienced on its race debut in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Both of the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entries in GTD Pro were delayed by technical problems in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, with the team’s best-placed car, the No. 3, making it home fifth in class, seven laps down.

The car shared by Juncadella, Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims dropped down the order on Sunday morning when it suffered a cracked oil tank, a possible result of contact between Sims and Jenson Button’s No. 40 Acura ARX-06 during the night time hours.

Catsburg, Tommy Milner and Earl Bamber were classified eighth in class, 18 laps down, in the No. 4 car that went behind the wall for power steering problems.

Both AWA Corvettes in the GTD Pro class retired from the race altogether, the No. 13 car with persistent power steering troubles and the No. 17 with electrical trouble.

Juncadella said it would have been unrealistic to expect perfect reliability from the Z06 GT3.R right from the off and is confident that Corvette will get on top of the issues discovered at Daytona quickly.

“We knew it was going to be difficult after a couple of engine changes during the week [leading up to the race],” Juncadella told Sportscar365. “It’s always in the back of your head, whether the car will be reliable for 24 hours. I think we did pretty well. 

“If there’s one brand that can find these little issues with a new car and fix them, it’s Corvette. When you look back when they introduced the C8.R, they had some issues, so it’s a normal thing with a new car. 

“Last year Ferrari had a mess of a race here, so it’s nothing to worry about. Ford as well [struggled this year with the new Mustang GT3]. It’s a difficult task. 

“We were always hoping, and we were leading for a chunk of the race, so that gives us confidence for the next races.”

Catsburg meanwhile described the Z06 GT3.R’s troubled debut as “typical new car stuff,” saying that the No. 13 AWA Corvette suffering problems with its power steering almost immediately didn’t give him any cause for concern.

“It wasn’t mega successful, but I am still proud that we were up there with the fastest cars and we were right there in the fight for a podium,” he told Sportscar365. 

“We need to assess some of those smaller issues that we had, but I think we had a strong package here. There was no indication, all of a sudden it went. It’s typical new car stuff. It’s a difficult 24-hour race and anything can happen.

“It’s something we have to learn from, to improve, but the base was very good.”

Both Juncadella and Catsburg agreed that even with a clean run, a debut victory for the Z06 GT3.R was beyond reach owing to the spectacular late pace of the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, which ultimately took a comfortable class win.

Paul Miller Racing’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 was the other major contender for GTD Pro victory until it slipped to third with a series of brake-related dramas late in the running.

“We didn’t have the pace to beat Ferrari or BMW,” said Juncadella. “Maybe with the issues for the BMW we had the chance to be second, but there’s no way we could have beaten Ferrari.”

Catsburg added: “I don’t think we had enough for BMW and Ferrari, they were too fast for us, but we could have been on the podium.”