Photo: TF Sport
The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season is likely to be Ben Keating’s final full-time campaign in the globe-trotting series according to the Bronze-rated Texan, who has essentially ruled out a switch to the WEC’s new GT3-based class.
Keating, who was crowned GTE-Am world champion in a TF Sport Aston Martin last weekend in Bahrain, will make the move to Corvette Racing next year, in the final season of GTE-spec machinery.
While forging a new relationship with the Pratt Miller-run Corvette squad, Keating said he doesn’t expect that to extend into Chevrolet’s new Corvette Z06 GT3.R or any other GT3 program for that matter.
“Is there an opportunity? Absolutely,” he told Sportscar365. “I would expect that I build a great relationship with them next year and that I’ll do a good job for them.
“But I don’t expect [for that to continue in 2024].
“What I mean by that is that I expect that next year will be my last year in WEC. I really enjoy not having ABS and really enjoy only having effectively three different manufacturers in the class.
“One of the reasons why I left IMSA in 2019 was because of my frustrations with not only the GT3 racing side of things but also the politics of GT3 racing and trying to balance ten different manufacturers.”
Keating said the elimination of the LMP2 Pro-Am class for 2023, which he had initially earmarked for a future WEC campaign, has also led him to reassess his driving commitments.
“This time last year I would have said that I would have made the move over to LMP2 Pro-Am,” he said.
“Now that’s gone and I don’t think it’s coming back. Therefore, my guess is that I’ll go back to IMSA [full-time in LMP2].
“Where I am right now in my life, this racing is very costly, not only financially but it’s time.
“Generally speaking I spend about one week away from home for any race. I did 13 races this year and 13 is 25 percent of 52 [weeks]. Twenty-five percent of the year has been at a race track.
“For me, it’s a really big commitment. I only want to be in that situation if I feel like it’s a fair fight, if I have a chance.
“I’m not willing to give up that time for GT3 racing.”
Keating confirmed he will return for the Michelin Endurance Cup races in the WeatherTech Championship next year with PR1/Mathisen Motorsports, with an eye on revenge after losing his co-drivers Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker to fellow Bronze Steven Thomas, who has moved to TDS Racing.
“I’m highly motivated to make sure the 11 car doesn’t win the championship but I couldn’t give up the time,” Keating said. “I did that in 2021 and it was a killer.
“I’ve got other ways. The 52 car will be there for a full season. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure the 11 car doesn’t win the championship.”
Keating said it’s “yet to be seen” if he will again pull double-duty between two cars at January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, admitting he’s been in discussions with GTD teams.
“An Honor” to Join Corvette Racing as Team’s First Customer
The 51-year-old has taken great pride in having been selected by Corvette Racing for its GTE-Am campaign next year, in what will mark the team’s first customer program in its quarter-century history.
Keating will team up with Nicky Catsburg and a yet-to-be-determined Silver-rated driver in the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the WEC next year.
“Clearly, it’s an honor,” he said. “I say it that way because Corvette is not here because they want to make money at it. They’re here because they want to win.
“While they are getting set up to have customer teams for 2024, they also clearly want to be selective on who they have as a customer. Because they don’t want to go out there and run around the back of the pack.
“As I look back through the years, I find it interesting.
“The reason I chose to do the GTC class in the ALMS in 2013 was because I wanted to stay close to SRT because my goal was to drive a Viper and to get them to build a GT3 car, which I was successful in doing.
“The only reason I was successful was that I chose to do ALMS at the same races where SRT was racing, so I could stay close with them instead of going to World Challenge in my Viper.
“That all came together because of a year’s relationship of racing together.
“I think a big part of why I was given the opportunity to be the only privateer to race the Ford GT was because of my relationship with Ford that I built through the years.
“And I think the reason I’m here is because Corvette Racing did a full season in WEC, and they’ve been able to pay attention to my performance all year long.
“Before this year, I was probably just another American Bronze driver who wanted drive a Corvette.
“I was off their radar. But when we can race together for a full season here, I’m much more on their radar and I think a big part of that has been my ability to build that relationship over the whole year, trying to get my foot in the door and build a wedge in there to open the door wider.
“It’s a big part of it, because I think back through the years of when I’ve been able to pull that off.”
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