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I give these AO guys a lot of credit by making racing fun for the casual fan. If you recall, last year one of the Corvettes and Rexy the Porsche got into quite a heated and rough battle at Detroit. This year, Rexy is ready for another street fight with his boxing gloves and mouth guard...
I give these AO guys a lot of credit by making racing fun for the casual fan. If you recall, last year one of the Corvettes and Rexy the Porsche got into quite a heated and rough battle at Detroit. This year, Rexy is ready for another street fight with his boxing gloves and mouth guard...
Good qualifying in Detroit, P1 (#3) and P2 (#4). Simms said the car is fast but does not feel good and is hard to drive....hopefully they can keep the pace up for the full race....
CORVETTE RACING AT DETROIT: Front-Row Sweep at Home!
PRESS RELEASE:
CORVETTE RACING AT DETROIT: Front-Row Sweep at Home!
Sims narrowly edges teammate Milner in Corvette 1-2 GTD PRO qualifying show
DETROIT (May 29, 2026) – The Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports locked out the front row Friday in GTD PRO qualifying ahead of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the city’s downtown street circuit.
Alexander Sims put the No. 3 Corvette on pole position with a lap of 1:09.354 (85.387 mph), his second of the year, and narrowly beat out fellow Corvette factory driver and teammate Tommy Milner.
The pair of yellow Corvettes will start side-by-side out front for the second time in three Detroit appearances.
Sims and Antoino Garcia will try to improve on their runner-up class finish from last year, a result that helped them to the GTD PRO Drivers Championship at the end of the season. Garcia was the pole-winner two years ago in the Z06 GT3.Rs first race in Detroit, and Sims set the fastest race lap in 2025.
Milner, only 0.043 seconds off Sims’ pole-winning time, continued his strong form on the city street circuit. He was the fastest GTD PRO driver in the 2024 race, and he and teammate Nicky Catsburg arrived in Detroit with the Drivers Championship lead. The pairing hasn’t finished lower than fourth in any race this year and have led Chevrolet’s charge to the top of the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship standings.
The two Corvettes flexed their muscle early and often. Catsburg was the fastest driver in Friday morning’s opening practice, and Sims set the fastest GTD PRO practice time in the afternoon session. Corvette drivers set the three best times across the two practices, aided by recent Driver-in-the-Loop simulator sessions as part of the team’s Detroit prep.
This is the third appearance for the Corvette/Pratt Miller squad and the rest of the GTP and GTD PRO cars at the downtown Detroit circuit, which runs around the Renaissance Center and is the shortest on the calendar at nine turns and 1.654 miles around. The program previously scored three victories at the Belle Isle circuit.
The Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. It will air live on NBC at 4 p.m. ET with streaming coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA’s YouTube channel internationally. IMSA Radio will provide audio coverage at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – GTD PRO POLE-WINNER: “Firstly, it's fantastic to get both Corvettes on the front row. The cars are working really quite well around here in Detroit. It's awesome to be driving around these awesome bumpy, fun streets around the RenCen and in GM’s home city. It has a nice home race feel about it with Pratt Miller just down the road, as well. We worked pretty hard through practice to get our Corvettes working better and better, particularly over the bumps, and get the balance there. It seems like on our car, we really needed until qualifying to put it together. Just toward the end of FP2, it started to work, and then, yeah, the car was working really nicely and qualifying. Great credit to Pratt Miller for keeping on tuning on our Corvette.”
(On improvements from practice to qualifying) “For us on the 3 car, it was really just balance. I was struggling with the front axle and scrubbing through most of the corners through practice. I just couldn't hook a lap together very well. That was our main focus; we kept trying to improve the front but then the rear would bounce around more and we couldn't quite access the right setup changes in session. But between FP2 and qualifying but thankfully, between FP towards the end of FP2 and between that and qualifying, we made some other changes which seem to bring the car a bit more life.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “Great to put it all together, obviously, when it matters a little bit and qualifying there. Great for the team, for Corvette Racing and for everyone at GM here. I’m really happy for both cars to be on the front row. We've had fast cars in practice all day. So glad we're able to put it up front. That's big for the race, no question about it. Being upfront is going to be huge. Obviously having our teammates there with us is big and hopefully makes our life a little bit easier for the race tomorrow. The pace of these Corvettes is good, but there are other cars that have more top speed than us. So being out front is going to be huge to hopefully stay there.”
But doesn't IMSA issue BOP adjustments for the race? I mean when Corvette qual 1 & 2 that is usually a bad sign they are to be neutered for the race. Can't have them run too fast ya know.
But doesn't IMSA issue BOP adjustments for the race? I mean when Corvette qual 1 & 2 that is usually a bad sign they are to be neutered for the race. Can't have them run too fast ya know.
Quartet of Corvettes seek to extend program’s winning history at French classic
DETROIT (June 3, 2026) – Chevrolet and Corvette Racing will look to extend its run of success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs that will contest the famed French endurance race on June 13-14.
The Corvette quartet at the twice-around-the-clock classic is the largest group of Corvettes at Le Mans in a decade, and all are under the Corvette Racing umbrella. The program has a stellar record at the race with nine class victories – the most recent coming in 2023. The GT3-spec Corvette finished third in class at Le Mans in 2025, its first podium in the race since its 2024 debut.
The Corvette lineup includes three cars from TF Sport – including its two FIA World Endurance Championship entries plus a third that will feature drivers and crew from Johor Motorsports Racing. The fourth Corvette is from 13 Autosport, which is back at Le Mans after winning a second consecutive Bob Akin Award in the 2025 IMSA season.
All four entries will take part in Sunday's Test Day, which is the first time for the field to run on the 8.48-mile circuit since the end of last year's race. The lineup:
TF Sport’s No. 33 and No. 34 Corvettes hope to use a Le Mans victory or podium to propel up the FIA WEC LMGT3 championship standings. The 24 Hours is a double-points race, and success there usually bodes well. Every LMGT3 championship winner since 2021 has won in class at Le Mans.
Catsburg, Edgar and Blake McDonald – subbing for an injured Keating in the first two events – are fourth in points on the strength of a runner-up finish in the season-opening race at Imola. Meanwhile, the No. 34 trio finished ninth in the most recent race at Spa-Francorchamps to score its first championship points of the season.
The No. 2 TF Sport Corvette is the result of the team claiming the 2025 European Le Mans Series championship. Of the three drivers, only Hanafin has raced at Le Mans although his two teammates have extensive experience in the Corvette at races like the Spa 24 Hours and Bathurst 12 Hours, where they were Pro-Am runners-up in February.
13 Autosport placed 10th in its Le Mans debut a year ago. The striking Canadian red Corvette was an instant hit with fans, and the driver lineup is the same as in 2025.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 13. Live streaming coverage of all on-track sessions – including qualifying and Hyperpole – plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage of all sessions as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The last time (in a Corvette at Le Mans) it worked out well! 2023 is the last time I raced there in a Corvette. I have raced the years in between in a prototype. So I feel like I’m still up to date with the track and so on. But it’s been a few years since I’ve been there with Corvette. I haven’t been there yet in a GT3-spec car, so that’s going to be new. But it’s something I’m really, really looking forward to. So let’s see.”
(What makes Le Mans special?) “Le Mans is simply the most prestigious endurance race out there. And I always like the moment before the weekend when we all get to go to the drivers briefing. It’s just one big room and it’s just a collection of all motorsport legends… former legends, current legends, the who’s who of motorsport. I always feel very proud to be a part of that.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “One step at a time, one day at a time. You know what? All I need to worry about right now is trying to win Le Mans. I’ve often said that every car in this race is a long shot, and I still feel that way. But there are even more variables this year than normal to me. Just because of my elbow and this is my first time to be in this car, in this specific chassis. We were missing a little something last year. I’ve done a lot of work in the offseason to try to help find it. I would say I go into Le Mans with a lot of anticipation that hopefully we can be competitive. Hopefully, we can have a clean race and everybody that drives around us keeps their head on straight and doesn’t wreck into us. If we can have a reliable car and a clean car for the full 24 hours, then I think that we have a pretty good chance.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We do need to just start getting some proper results, and no better place for it than Le Mans. The Corvette’s always so good there. It’s been great the last two years, and it’s a great chance for us to get 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the good thing on my side is I can literally do half of the race… up to 12 hours of it. So I am doing everything I can to get myself ready for those long stints, lack of sleep and try to manage the adrenaline so that you are not completely busted after a couple of stints, but I like the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was great. That’s three of the last four starts at Le Mans for me with one being a win. The record there is going pretty well. But I’d like to get another win on the board, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t.”
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think we’re going there in the mindset that, hopefully, it’s our strongest race of the year, and we can try to get a result for the two cars. Obviously, we want to win and so do our teammates. But if he can get two of them on a podium together, I think that would be a huge success. I think that’s our goal. We’ve been building all year to be ready to perform for 24 hours, and then after that you worry about the rest of the year. But we’ve been building, I think, at a good rate over the last first two events to go there and perform. And I think the team is ready for it.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It wasn’t my first one last year, but it was all the team’s. I would say they were leaning on me for my experience and advice on how to approach a lot of things and also specific things to focus on.
“Now I am seeing everybody go, ‘Right. Let’s go and grab this by the horns.’ Which is exactly the response that I kind of thought a competitive team like we have would go back with. It’s actually been really a joy to watch everybody go through that process and analyze what we all did and what we can do better. There is certainly a lot of hunger in the team.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “(Le Mans in 2025) definitely exceeded my expectations. You hear about it, but till you actually go and experience it, it’s two different stories. It’s absolutely in a world of its own. I was dumbfounded; my head was on a swivel and I was just taking everything in. It’s absolutely amazing.
“For me, there’s a better understanding of things like the slow zones and learning all that. I think we got one or two penalties because of that last year. It’s one thing looking at them on a map, and it’s another thing looking at them at speed at 300 kph. So now I have a better understanding of where those are, the rules and the procedures. Hopefully we can eliminate those penalties because I mean, it’s tough. Once you fall behind there, you never get it back.”
BEN GREEN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s always been the dream to go to Le Mans. I think it’s every endurance or GT driver’s dream. I had some chances before that never came off, and now it’s fantastic obviously to join with Prince Jefri and Johor Racing to go to Le Mans in the Corvette. It’s going to be a fantastic week or two weeks even. I’m really looking forward to it.”
HH PRINCE JEFRI IBRAHIM, NO. 2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is a race that I’ve always wanted to do, a race that I’ve always wanted JMR to compete in. It took us seven years to get here, and finally it’s happening. Unlike some of our previous endurance races, this time we have two other categories racing together at the same race. That will be the challenge of having those other cars around you as well. And it’s an iconic track, so I can’t wait to see how we go there.”
In Her Own Words: Andrea Hidalgo, Corvette Racing Program Manager
How have the first six months on the job been for you?
“It’s been really busy but also really exciting. Luckily I came into this role already familiar with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and with many of the teams and drivers. My past experience was mainly in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA, so I’ve been learning more about how some of the other series operate. I’ve been to races in both championships plus the Paul Ricard round for GT World Challenge Europe round. Each race has been eye-opening in seeing how much fan engagement there is and the crowd turnout. In my past role, I was mainly based in and around the garage with the cars and crews. Now I’m learning more about the world outside of the garages – the championship organizers, the drivers, team managers, press, media and of course the fans. It’s all been very educational and very rewarding.”
Having spent time as powertrain support on the factory team and then with TF Sport, is there a sense of pride that comes with leading the Corvette Racing program?
“Absolutely. There is so much history in Corvette Racing, and there is definitely a sense of pride and gratitude that comes with being able to lead this program. I was extremely fortunate to have been able to contribute to our Le Mans win in 2023, then help develop and launch the GT3 program. So now the opportunity to lead the program is an amazing one. I care deeply about Corvette Racing and its relevance to the road car, as well as its legacy of success in motorsports.”
We’re now on to Le Mans. What is the outlook for the four Corvettes in the race?
“It's a big opportunity for us to support four Corvette GT3s in this year’s race. This is our third year there with the Z06 GT3.R, but we know that Le Mans is a race that never gets easier. Much of that is because the quality of the teams and manufacturers keeps rising year after year. That places extra importance on the preparation that our group does to assist each of our teams. Our Corvette Racing factory drivers are contributing as well via sessions in our Driver-in-the-Loop simulator. All of that data and feedback informs our pre-race recommendations for TF Sport’s three cars plus 13 Autosport’s entry. Then it comes down to the execution by each of the crews, engineers and drivers. Each team has proven they can win races, and we will be there in full force to support them in this year’s quest.”
What makes Le Mans special to you?
“Le Mans has always been the biggest race of the year, and competing there was one of the reasons Corvette Racing began. For me personally, Le Mans represents the pinnacle of endurance racing and all the emotion that comes with it. There was nothing like winning the race in 2023 – it was the highlight of my career – and there is nothing that hurt like the end of the 2022 race – it’s something I never want to repeat. Plus there is everything else that makes Le Mans special: the history, the circuit, Le Pesage, the parade through the town and the electricity that fills the paddock and city leading up to the race. There is nothing like it and I am so excited to get back this year.”
Detroit Grand Prix Race Info
