The British sportscar outfit has partnered with the General Motors brand for the World Endurance Championship's new LMGT3 class and will supply two examples of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R to factory drivers Daniel Juncatella and Charlie Eastwood.
TF Sport's current deal with Corvette only covers the WEC, but team principal Tom Ferrier has revealed he wants to expand the partnership to other races in the coming years.
The Corvette has not placed in two races since 2011, the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the Spa 24 Hours.
Although Corvette cars were only occasionally used by Nordschleife teams in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the C6.R was once a popular choice at the Belgian Enduro and scored two outright wins with the Carsport team in 2007 and '09.
“I think as a team we want to do the big blue Riband GT3 events [like] Spa 24 [and] Nürburgring, but not in 2024, and will be in '25,” Ferrier told Autosport.
Ferrier, whose TF Sport team previously competed in various championships and enduros with Aston Martin, explained that a 2024 entry at the Nürburgring and Spa was unlikely due to the delivery schedule of the third Z06 GT3.R.
„For us, next year, we only have two cars to start the season,” he said.
„So mainly the WEC and then we're looking at the third car in the summer, trying to do some of the same races in the different championships and doing some testing on the drivers next year.
“Then the plan is to have two more in 2024 [for 2025 seasons]. So ELMS, GT World Challenge and Asian Le Mans. Then there will be two more [cars]And then we'll have lots of them!”
Photo: Chevrolet
2024 Corvette Z06 GT3R
Unveiled to the world at Daytona earlier in the year, the Z06 GT3.R was Corvette's first car designed for the FIA's GT3 regulations and replaced the C8.R as the marquee race car.
Corvette will run a factory-supported program with the Z06 GT3.R in the GTD Pro class of the IMSA Sports Car Championship next year, and will also support TF Sport's WEC program.
Beyond additional customer entries in IMSA's GTD category and SRO-run championships, the General Motors brand has yet to announce plans for where else to race its Z06 GT3.R in 2024.
But while the Corvette remains ahead of the big GT3 enduros, General Motors' sportscar racing manager Laura Wontrop Klauser leaves it up to customer teams to decide where to field the marque's new GT3 racer.
„We'll see what our customers want to do,” Glaser told Autosport. “So we've got our IMSA customers, we've got our WEC customer, and then we're going to get our SRO North America customers that will deliver our cars that will be racing in '24.
„Then the deliveries will happen in '24, and it will come down to who wants to get the cars where and when in the '25 seasons.”
Asked if a Corvette attempt at the legendary Nordschleife race was possible, Glaser said: „We're not against anything.
„It makes sense that we work with our customers, making sure we have enough support from a parts and a car standpoint, and see what else they need to do, and if they think they need more support and work. Through all of that.”