CORVETTE RACING WANTS OVERALL VICTORY AT LE MANS

General Motors is considering chasing overall victory at Le Mans with Corvette Racing thanks to changing class structures in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Currently, the Cadillac DPi-V.R competes in IMSA’s top class, while Corvette Racing’s C8.R runs in the series’ GT Le Mans class.

IMSA’s GTLM class is currently in a state of crisis with just three cars scheduled to contest the entire calendar, two of which belong to Corvette Racing.

Normally, Corvette Racing will make a cameo appearance in the GT Pro class at the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the C8.R hasn’t made the trip to France yet after Chevy pulled out of the rescheduled 2020 event.

Newly appointed Chevrolet sports car program manager, Laura Wontrop Klauser, is actively evaluating the shifting motorsports landscape in an effort to determine where Corvette Racing may compete going forward.

In an interview with Sportscar365, Wontrop Klauser revealed Corvette is open to participating in the new top-shelf LMDh prototype class. The decision is far from being made, but it’s certain the Corvette nameplate must compete for world championships.

The LMDh prototype class is a joint venture between IMSA and the ACO, and is an effort to unify the two biggest endurance racing championships.

Should we see Corvette Racing develop a hybrid LMDh program, the brand would be able to compete for overall victory at Le Mans, something Corvette has never achieved. “The fact that [LMDh] has been a joint effort between the ACO and IMSA makes it very appealing,” Wontrop Klauser said to the racing outlet.

“We’ve always wanted to go back to Le Mans in the top class as we have some unfinished business there.”

The other option could see Corvette step down to the GT3 class, where Chevy would be required to supply customer cars for teams to purchase and run on their own, alongside the factory-backed Pratt & Miller effort. But obviously, that option carries far less prestige than a Corvette Racing overall victory at Le Mans.