Varrone: AWA Pro Role “Doesn’t Change Anything”

Nico Varrone insists his approach to racing will not change amidst his upgraded role as a Corvette Racing factory driver in AWA’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program.

Varrone will partner Bronze-rated Anthony Mantella aboard one of the Canadian squad’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs next year, remaining with the team as it transitions from LMP3 to the GTD category.

The Argentinean driver enjoyed a breakthrough season with Corvette in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, joining Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg in taking three GTE-Am class wins en route to the title, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

His strong season earned Varrone a spot on Corvette Racing’s expanded factory driver roster for the 2024 season, alongside Earl Bamber, Daniel Juncadella and Charlie Eastwood.

Varrone told Sportscar365 that he remains level-headed about his promotion and the increased responsibilities that come with it.

“I feel like it will be mostly the same, right?” said Varrone. “Setup-wise, I always do my job, I say what I think of the car and we work with the engineers to get the best performance.

“Then it’s just doing my job. I try to set up the car for my Bronze for everyone on the team. I mean, this season I did it a few times, not only on the LMP3, but here in the WEC, on the GTE.

“So it’s kind of the same, for sure. It’s only that they changed some names and categorization, but it’s still the same, right? We are all drivers and you have to do your job. It doesn’t change anything for me.”

With much change going on for both himself as well as his team, Varrone views it as a benefit that he was able to already build a relationship with Mantella through their outings together in the Duqueine D08 Nissan as part of the Michelin Endurance Cup.

It was highlighted by class victory in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“We worked [at] only four races this year, the endurance ones, but we also had tests going on,” said Varrone.

“I feel like with Anthony we built not only a good relationship on the track, but we have a really good friendship. So it also makes it fun, going to the weekends with him and spending time with him.

“I think it will be a great season with a lot of new challenges, because for sure it’s a new car, a new series, a new team in that class. So I think there will be a lot of challenges, but we like that.

“We like it when it’s tough and we would like to be on top at some point of the season.”

Varrone said he will be able to bank on experience driving Ferrari machinery in recent years in order to smoothly transition from GTE to GT3 competition, taking into account the various nuances between the two platforms.

“I did the Spa 24 Hours this year with AF Corse [in] the 296 GT3 and I think that helped me quite a lot,” he said.

“I also did 24 Hours of Barcelona back in 2022 with WTM by Rinaldi Racing. Kind of that helped me a bit, the way GT3 is driven, because it’s quite different with the ABS.

“It’s kind of a really other type of driving. Maybe I would say like the LMP3, you drive it more like a GTE, it’s more similar.

“But the GT3 is completely different with the ABS, it changes the way of driving. So it was good kind of to have like more laps in, more kilometers and to understand better what the car’s like.

“For sure this will be a new car, a new brand. But in general, the way you drive a GT3, mostly the braking, is the same.”