Keating: “Magical” to Secure Title With Two Races to Spare

Corvette Racing has had ‘no shortcomings’ in an FIA World Endurance Championship campaign where it locked up the GTE-Am title with two races to spare according to Ben Keating who described the feat as “magical.”

Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg finished fourth in class during Sunday’s 6 Hours of Monza, bringing the points tally for the No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to 174.

By finishing ahead of its two nearest challengers, the No. 25 ORT by TF Aston Martin Vantage GTE and No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19, it is no longer mathematically possible for the Corvette crew to be surpassed in the drivers’ standings.

The Pratt Miller-run squad enjoyed huge success during its first season in the GTE-Am category, having raced in the final season of GTE-Pro last year.

It won the opening two races at Sebring and Portimao before finishing second at Spa-Francorchamps despite 45 kg of success ballast.

Keating, Varrone and Catsburg then recovered from dropping off the lead lap to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans before sealing the title at Monza where it had 40 kg of ballast and an additional 10 kg from a Balance of Performance change.

“Anyone would be crazy to come into any season expecting it to go this well because it never has,” Keating told Sportscar365 after securing back-to-back GTE-Am titles.

“It’s never gone this well for anyone in any class. I mean, I keep on using the word magical but that’s kind of how it feels.

“You could not expect things to go the way they have gone but as I look back through my four years in WEC and I think about why we ended up where we ended up or where our shortcomings were, this team doesn’t have any.

“This team has not had the bad luck. We’ve had good strategy, we’ve had good pit stops.”

Keating praised his two co-drivers, joking that he was “blessed to be with two Platinum drivers” in reference to the performance of Silver-rated Varrone.

“I keep telling [Nico] he may be the first person to go from Silver to Platinum,” Keating laughed.

“All the drivers have done a great job. The team has done a great job and it’s all just fallen into place.

“But it hasn’t all been about us even though that’s the way it looks on paper.

“The No. 83 Ferrari has been maybe the fastest car in every race but you know they had a big wreck at Sebring and a big wreck at Le Mans.

“You go through the whole field and every other car, the No. 77, the No. 85, the No. 25: everybody’s been unlucky at some point other than us.

“This sounds ridiculous but it almost feels like we were chosen. I feel blessed, I feel like I’ve got some kind of a halo over me.

“Just because if we’ve had problems, they’ve come at the right time. Everything’s just been unbelievable, in the literal sense of the word.

“It has been an incredible season for us and we haven’t been unlucky.”

Catsburg similarly praised his co-drivers, saying that they have been “making the difference” in the championship battle

“This year has really been all about doing it as a team,” said the Dutchman.

“My teammates, Nico and Ben, deserve big credit. Because I always feel that, OK, I’m doing a good job, I’m comparable to all the other Platinums.

“But they are outstanding in their class. They are the best Silver, the best Bronze, in my opinion.

“That’s what kind of makes it easier when you have a complete package like that. I think that’s where we are making the difference.”

Catsburg also credited the positive environment in the Corvette camp as a contributing factor to the team’s success.

“I always say that I function a lot better when I’m comfortable with the people around me, which happens often,” he said.

“It’s not the only team I had before. But I must say this year, amazing atmosphere. Amongst the mechanics, amongst the drivers, we just get along well. We always hang out.

“Sometimes you just have guys where you don’t click as much with and this year has been awesome from the start. That helps a lot.

“It has been such a relaxed atmosphere in the team and amongst the drivers. I always feel like these weekends are a bit of a holiday. Going out with your mates, having fun.”

Corvette will ‘continue where it left off’ for the two remaining races at Fuji and Bahrain.

“If anything, maybe there is a little bit off your shoulders and you can really go for it,” said Catsburg.

“A little mistake doesn’t mean [that] we might not win the championship. So maybe it’s easier from now, but I think it will be deserved.”