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New GT3-Spec Corvette Not Expected Until 2024

Corvette poised to continue with modified C8.Rs for two seasons in GTD Pro…

Photo: John Dagys

An all-new Chevrolet Corvette built to the FIA GT3 regulations is not expected until 2024, with Corvette Racing poised to run its existing Corvette C8.R, modified for the new GT Daytona Pro class, for the next two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship seasons.

Multiple industry sources have indicated to Sportscar365 that the Pratt & Miller-run operation is preparing to utilize its GTE-based C8.R for the 2022 and 2023 WeatherTech Championship seasons instead of what was initially believed to be a one-year run.

IMSA is understood to have given Chevrolet a waiver on the car — with several modifications to bring it to GT3 performance levels —  through the end of the 2023 season in GTD Pro.

It would be ahead of the rollout of an all-new GT3-homologated car the following year, that will include customer sales and support.

While not confirming its plans for 2022 and beyond, Chevrolet sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser told Sportscar365 that they are “carefully” evaluating the “landscape and potential future changes” of the future GT platforms.

“We made a large financial commitment to the C8.R program,” Klauser told Sportscar365. “Unfortunately we are not getting the years we hoped out of that investment.

“Any decision we make for the future of Corvette Racing will be another large financial commitment.

“We want to be sure we invest wisely into a strategy that will meet our brand needs and have longevity.

“This is why we are taking the time to carefully evaluate the landscape and potential future changes. We do not want to rush into a costly decision that we may have to alter in a short period of time.”

Having made its debut in 2020, the Corvette C8.R is currently in its second season of competition and would thus have a four-year run should GM decide to run the car in GTD Pro through the end of the 2023 season.

Sportscar365 understands that work on Corvette’s all-new GT3 car has already begun and will be based on a different road car model than the C8.R, which was launched alongside the Corvette Stingray.

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

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