Corvette C8.R Public Testing Debut Deemed a Success
Corvette Racing manager ‘couldn’t be more pleased’ with progress of C8.R’s first public testing debut at Daytona International Speedway.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Corvette Racing’s new C8.R race car has completed its first public testing debut at Daytona International Raceway and we couldn’t be more excited. AutoBlog reports that Corvette Racing’s usual pair of cars shake things up with not only the mid-engine layout, but also with a new livery as well. Car No. 3 will wear the traditional yellow paint, but car No. 4 now has a silver and yellow scheme.
Proceedings up to the 24 Hours of Daytona occupy most of the month of January, with the most recent events being open testing, which happened last weekend, Jan 3. through Jan 5. Corvette Racing managed 341 laps between the team cars. The No. 4 completed 180 laps, and the No. 3 Corvette bagged the remaining 161. Project manager Doug Fehan “couldn’t be more pleased” with the progress of the C8.R according to SportsCar365.
Having done this race a number of times before, developing a new platform takes a far different approach than just preparing for the race. Durability is on the top of the list, but regardless of how many computer simulations you can put a car through, nothing beats real world testing. Fehan notes, “Only time can get you there: you just have to turn a bunch of laps.”
Thankfully for the team, the cars seemed to have no real major issues to address. The drivers are also quite happy with the car as well. Jordan Taylor is usually behind the wheel of prototype cars, so his first impressions with the C8.R were revealing. He deemed the car responsive and strong. “We’re not too far off from the quickest GTLM guys, so we have the stuff to keep working on so we can keep ticking it away,” Taylor told Racer.com.
In the practice sessions, minor details were being looked at rather than outright pace. As such, Corvettes brought up the rear of the pack behind Porsche and BMW. Team Manager Ben Johnson pointed out the first year bugs, saying, “you just get through the things that you learn the first time you run a car. We still got a lot of good track time there, but it set us up for using this time to be up there with our competitors and not have those issues.”
The Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place January 25-26 and we cant wait to see how the new mid-engine Corvette will fare against its competition.
