Long-awaited C8.R mid-engine Corvette debuts at the 24 hours of Daytona
GM racing brass Mark Kent and Jim Campbell were among the faithful celebrating 21 years of Corvette leadership since the 1999 C5.R intro.
What we know:
The “Roar before the 24” is the first real measure against the competition.
The Pratt & Miller boys occupied row 2 right behind last year’s championship Porsche 911.Rs after doing hundreds of test laps with these completely new cars.
What we don’t know:
There was speculation about electrical gremlins, heat transfer issues and # 4 Corvette oil leak at the 8-hour mark. A lengthy disassembly and repair put it out of contention.
All these cars are heavily instrumented so, the team used the balance of the race to measure various set ups and parameters.
Not unlike problems with the new Ford GT in its debut in 2014.
IMSA Balance of Performance remains a mystery. Corvette pre-testing BOP was minimum weight: 1260 kg, Air Restrictor: 44.0mm, Red-line: 7400 rpm, Minimum Rear Wing Angle: 2.25 deg, Gurney Minimum Height: 15.0mm, Fuel Type: E20, Minimum Lambda Number (don’t ask): 0.88, Maximum Fuel Capacity: 89 liters, Minimum Full Refueling Time: 34.0 sec.
It took a perfect race but BOP surely helped “last year’s” Rahal-Letterman front-engine BMW M8 GTE win GTLM again this year against 2 mid-engine Porsches, 2 mid-engine Corvettes and 1 Ferrari. The GTLM Porsches & the winning BMW repeatedly swapped positions.
Caution periods were few. Routine pit stops like this played no significant role. https://www.facebook.com/timea.flak.1/videos/10221836291083014/?t=5
The # 3 completed the longest distance ever for a Corvette at Daytona, despite finishing 4th. Could have been 5th had not a tire exploded on the # 62 Ferrari in the closing 2 hours.
What to expect:
Quick progress up the learning curve is crucial. All eyes are on the Sebring IMSA 12-hour race and a WEC 6-hour race on March 19-22. It takes a different driving style to wring the most out of mid-engine cars per Jordan Taylor who raced his dad’s # 10 DPi before coming on board the # 3.
Photos thanks to team photographer Richard Prince and others.
We hope you enjoy this report. Please keep in mind that in addition to facts it reflects observations and opinions from a variety of sources and has possible errors and omissions.
