Keating: “Speed Came Pretty Quick” Adapting to Corvette

Ben Keating says the “speed came pretty quick” for him at the wheel of the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R which he will race in the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE-Am class this year.

The Bronze-rated Texan has switched from Aston Martin squad TF Sport to Corvette Racing for his GTE-Am title defense, and will be joined by two new co-drivers in General Motors factory ace Nicky Catsburg and Argentine prospect Nico Varrone.

Keating told Sportscar365 during a video call with reporters that he was initially perplexed after a brief stint in the Corvette during last November’s Bahrain rookie test, however a follow-up test at Sebring later in the year proved to be an eye-opener.

The Corvette C8.R, which has been active since 2020, will be the sixth different GTE car that Keating has driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I got to do a few laps on the rookie test day after Bahrain,” he recalled.

“I got to do 10 laps exactly; we were more focused on testing Silvers and watching Nico go fast around Bahrain.

“When I first got in the car at Bahrain, I know looking at it that it’s a mid-engine car, so I kept trying [to think about] how I’m supposed to drive this car.

“Am I supposed to drive it like a Ford or like the Porsche or like the Ferrari? Those being other mid-engine cars.

“I will say that I was quite disappointed with my performance in Bahrain. I came back and looked at the data and realized that you drive this car completely differently than any of those.

“So while I was leaning on my experience of how to go fast in all those other cars, I wasn’t able to find it. Then fast-forward [to when] we went testing at Sebring.”

Keating described the session at Sebring, where the new WEC season kicks off next week, as “incredible” as he gained more mileage in the Corvette alongside his co-drivers.

“The speed came pretty quick for me, I would say,” he recalled.

“I felt very comfortable in the car, and I feel like I made some huge steps in learning how this car likes to be driven. It’s significantly different than all the others.

“For me personally, it’s taken a little bit to get used to. I’ve been in a turbo car for the last couple of years, and the big V8 has a lot more torque instantly at low RPMs than having to wait for that big turbo to wind up, so you don’t have that lag which takes a little while to get used to.

“The year before, I was in the Porsche RSR and again it doesn’t have the same level of torque that a big V8 has. They all have slightly different handling characteristics.”

Keating added that the Sebring session gave him a feeling of preparation heading into the 1000-mile WEC season-opener at the Florida circuit.

“After Bahrain I was worried, but after Sebring I’m excited,” he exclaimed.

“I made the transition and was really happy with my performance after the test.

“After that, I’ve been testing in the LMP2 there as well, and I feel there is a decent crossover between the two cars at this particular track. I’m ready.”