Historic Ninth Class Win For Corvette In GTE’s Final Le Mans Dance

Corvette Racing took a convincing victory in the last ever LM GTE-Am competition at the 24 Heures du Mans earlier today.

The first win for the iconic American brand in this class, the result was the perfect showcase for the evolution of the GTE platform, its resilience and – most importantly – its fulfilment in delivery of close racing and spectator entertainment. As usual, the GTE class at Le Mans did not disappoint.

The #33 Corvette C8.R in the hands of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolas Verrone overcame an early damper failure in the second hour that meant a gritty fight-back through the field in atrocious weather conditions would be the theme of their victory.

Second place honours went to the ORT by TF Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Ahmad Al Harthy, Charlie Eastwood and Michael Dinan. The first Omani-flagged team to compete at Le Mans ended with the first trophy for an Omani team and driver. TF Sport ran the car and called on its Le Mans experience as the team endured a similar journey in its pursuit and overhaul of the front runners.

Third place honours were equally well deserved, a long overdue result for Ben Barker, Michael Wainright and Riccardo Pera in GR Racing’s Porsche 911 RSR-19, after a frantic finale that saw the Iron Dames Porsche drop out of the top three when the team was forced to make a brake change at the final round of stops.

The Corvette C8.R had fairly dominated the GTE-Am Le Mans centenary event on pace throughout qualifying, Nicky Catsburg posting fastest lap and setting the scene for Ben Keating to secure the Hyperpole shoot-out.

Catsburg led away from pole position, but was soon into the pits with a handling issue. The car lost three laps replacing a rear damper, which set the scene for its next 22 hours.

Catsburg shared the front row of the ‘Am grid with Charlie Eastwood in the #25 ORT by TF Aston Martin. The distinctive tangerine Vantage headed to the pits with similar issues, settings on the car adjusted but leaving the car with a lot to make up.

The first rain came in a localised deluge at the Porsche Curves that claimed victims from all classes, not least in GTE-Am. Worsening conditions and fading daylight were the prelude to a night of immense challenge, the localised on/off nature of the rain making for treacherous conditions, agile strategies and sheer determination from drivers and pit crews alike. Attrition in this class was harsh; 21 cars starting, nine finishing, only one of which was for mechanical reasons.

Riccardo Pera was one of many experienced drivers to get caught out on slicks in standing water, sent sliding into the tyre wall and delaying the GR Racing Porsche. Any sort of meaningful comeback looked unlikely, GR Racing’s Le Mans luck seemingly consistent.

Slow zones and Safety Car periods prevailed, which prompted a diversity of GTE-Am thinking as teams grappled with strategies that might plot a way through the slippery carnage of the darkness. Experience and clever balancing of driver stints by the Corvette, ORT by TF Aston Martin and GR Racing Porsche teams saw them climb up the order, placing each in positions their quicker drivers would convert into podium positions.

AF Corse’s #54 Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, Franc Castellacci and Davide Rigon shared leading positions with the #85 Iron Dames Porsche of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting, Kessel Racing’s #57 Car Guy Ferrari and the distinctively liveried #56 ‘Rexy’ Project 1-AO Porsche pedalled by Matteo Cairoli, Gunnar Jeanette and P J Hyett.

Surprisingly, the GTE-Am Porsche entries had not featured in qualifying, the 911 RSRs conspicuous by their absence in Hyperpole, but seemed to have the right balance for the conditions.

By midnight the GR Racing Porsche and the ORT by TF Aston Martin were back in the top 10 in class, but the Corvette was still far behind, gaining a lap back and losing it again through slow zone interpretations that were proven wrong by the team but about which nothing could be done by the stewards. The car would simply have to press on.

The Iron Dames Porsche has been strong at recent WEC rounds but found new levels of performance at this event, leading and setting the pace from the front throughout the night and into the morning, trading the lead with the #54 AF Corse Ferrari and the #56 Project 1 – AO Porsche.

It had seemed unlikely, but the management of drivers, pace and conditions had returned the ORT by TF Aston Martin into contention in the top three. Moreover, rapid stints from the flying Nicolas Varrone, and running Ben Keating against other slower Bronze drivers, had made up lost laps throughout the night to put the #33 Corvette C8.R back into contention.

The crew’s pace was stellar and untroubled and a three-way challenge emerged between Iron Dames, ORT by TF and the Corvette.

Although the venerable Porsche 911 RSR-19 looked the well-balanced and quick solution in the changing conditions, the Corvette C8.R showed more than an edge. Just before mid-day Sunday, Catsburg made it past the pink Iron Dames Porsche into the first Mulsanne Chicane and disappeared down the straight.

This left a fight for the podium positions between the Porsche and the rather second-hand looking ORT by TF Aston Martin, now being pedalled by 2020 winner Charlie Eastwood. Much depended on the final fuel stops, but it looked like both cars were home and dry. The Iron Dames Porsche was dealt cruel luck however as a delay in the pits to the aforementioned brake change dropped the car to fourth, Ben Barker’s charging GR Racing 911 RSR-19 snatching Porsche’s third place honours by just a handful of seconds.

This was cruel for the Iron Dames, who showed new levels of teamwork, grit and determination, but seemed fair reward for the UK-based GR Racing team, who have a history of campaigning Porsches at Le Mans without much to show for their commitment.

Ben Keating takes a second GTE-Am win at Le Mans, Nicky Catsburg his first – adding to his GTE-Pro second place with Corvette Racing in 2021. And at 22 years old the mercurial Nicolas Varrone from Argentina becomes one of the youngest winners at Le Mans.

“I have no words even though it’s only just been an hour from the end. It’s just been incredible. Our race basically started two laps down early, but the team was so fast in managing to repair it,” concluded Varonne.

“We went back out and had great pace and a great car. The Corvette Racing team, the engineers and strategy, my teammates Nicky – he’s a legend and did a lot of stints and was really quick – Ben – even though he’s a Bronze, he was flying – all of GM and Chevrolet, my family and everyone… there are a lot of people involved in this.

“It’s a dream come true.”

A stellar win for the Corvette C8.R brings the curtain down on GTE-Am. GT3 may have a hard act to follow.

The level of attrition must be mentioned in closing. GTE races through the years at Le Mans have often been hard-fought on track, with door-to-door battles between some of the best GT drivers in the world. On this occasion, more than half the field retired to incidents, the conditions making the race a chaotic affair that was often incredibly hard to read.

It was a race that had a bit of everything and is one that will live in the memory for years to come.

As for the Hendrick Motorsports Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 of Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller it was mission accomplished.

The John Doonan-led team spent most of the race mixing it with the GTE Am cars, and looked set to finish ahead of all the GT cars and behind the LMP2 field before a gearbox issue forced the car into the pits for a complete change with only a handful of hours to go. Completing 285 laps and staying out of trouble even when the weather was changing rapidly was nevertheless a huge achievement for the effort.

The car was a star of this unforgettable event, wowing crowds with its unmistakable presence. That in itself was a victory of sorts, the attention and coverage the entry generated was a real feat considering the magnitude of the centenary running of the race and the attention paid to the hotly-contested top class.

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