Corvette Portimao Entry Confirmed; SCG to Miss Opener

Corvette Racing’s entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener at Portimao has been confirmed on the 32-car entry list for the eight-hour race on April 4.

A single Chevrolet Corvette C8.R driven by Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia will compete against the full-season GTE-Pro factory efforts from Ferrari and Porsche.

It will mark Corvette’s first appearance in the WEC since the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas in February 2020, which represented the C8.R’s debut in the global series.

Additionally, Gavin is set for his return to the Pratt & Miller-run team after being replaced by Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Corvette for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

It will mark the first time that Chevrolet sports car program stalwarts Gavin and Garcia have shared a Corvette in competition.

As reported by Sportscar365 earlier this month, Corvette is expected to enter the Portimao and Spa WEC rounds as a potential precursor to a 24 Hours of Le Mans entry.

The team was due to give the C8.R its Le Mans debut last year, but it withdrew from the race due to logistical complications brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The entry list for the 8 Hours of Portimao includes three cars in the new Hypercar top category, with both Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus entries not shown.

SCG yesterday conducted the first shakedown of its non-hybrid SCG 007 LMH, while the team expects its second chassis to appear on track two weeks before the WEC opener. The team will focus on testing and development rather than start the season at Portimao.

“Our purpose is to be fast and try to win Le Mans,” SCG team owner Jim Glickenhaus told Sportscar365.

“It’s not to show up at Portimao in a rush and be there at Portimao. We might join at Spa and race there and Le Mans.”

SCG’s absence leaves Toyota Gazoo Racing as the only team running a vehicle built to the new LMH prototype regulations.

The reigning WEC champion and defending Le Mans winner will face opposition from Alpine Endurance Team which is running a grandfathered Gibson-powered LMP1.

A total of 11 cars are set to race in the LMP2 category, while GTE-Am is the largest of the four classes with 13 entries.