Milner: Corvette Prep “Ramping Up” Ahead of Z06 GT3.R Debut

Photo: John Dagys

Preparation for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s competition debut in next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona is “ramping up” according to Tommy Milner, who is looking forward to his full-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship return with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.

The factory supported squad took part in last week’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Raceway with its pair of GTD Pro entries, sporting full race liveries and featuring new and returning drivers to the lineup.

Milner, who hasn’t contested a full WeatherTech Championship campaign since 2021, will share the No. 4 Corvette with Nicky Catsburg, while Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims will be in the No. 3 machine for the full season.

Milner and Catsburg will be joined by Cadillac factory driver on-loan Earl Bamber for the three long-distance races, with ex Mercedes-AMG factory ace Dani Juncadella completing the lineup in the sister car for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.

“It still feels like testing but it’s definitely ramping up,” Milner told Sportscar365 at last week’s test. “We have a livery on the car now and all of the crew guys have new [uniforms].

“It does feel like a new season is coming quick.”

The 37-year-old Virginia native said he “by far” has the most mileage in the new-for-2024 GT3 contender, having been the designated test driver through the car’s extensive development period.

“For me, this car feels old already in some ways. It’s been a year plus [of testing],” Milner said.

“Then you add in all sim work and stuff like that when we drove iterations of this car for another year-plus before that.

“I’ll be excited once we get to the race finally and push it to the grid and get the first race laps in. It would be good.

“The last six months has been the biggest difference of all the different new generation Corvettes we’ve done, just because there’s some of the considerations to customers.

“Having customer teams come to some of the testing and having some of the guys drive the car [has helped development].

“That part of it has been the biggest difference. Other than that, it’s felt as normal as we’ve done with previous generation cars.”

With Corvette back to a two-car full season program in the WeatherTech Championship, Milner said he’s excited for the battles ahead in GTD Pro, which will also feature the return of Ford with its new Multimatic Motorsports-run Mustang GT3s.

“The Corvette a GT3 car, which is obviously the biggest difference, so to speak, but it still feels like what I was used to in GTLM, when you have some big teams, big names,” he said.

“The competition level continues to drive upwards again.

“From that side, I’m really excited about what the class will have in the future. That will be fun to race against our old friends from Ford as well.

“As we saw the last couple of years, the guys from Lexus have been super fast. Ferrari has a nice new car. There’s a lot of good cars, good guys, good teams to race against.

“That usually means a good show. I’m excited for that.”

While the Pratt Miller-run team transitions to a factory supported team, Milner said the biggest change has actually come with the driver lineup.

“Over the last five years, the crew has changed quite a bit. But from last year to this year, it’s very similar,” he explained.

“The biggest difference, realistically, is the drivers, which is not normal for Corvette.

“But it’s fun to have Nicky full-time. Obviously he’s been around here a couple of years now. It’s fun to have Dani. Earl’s driven the car a bit and he’s been a great teammate so far.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John