Corvette Racing Looks to Add to Rolex 24 Success
Images courtesy of Corvette Racing
By Dennis Krause
Heading into this weekend’s 64th running of this country’s premier sports car race, Corvette Racing has scored five GT-class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. The Corvette Racing factory team scored additional class wins in 2015, 2016 and 2021, and 13 Autosport won in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) last year under the AWA banner for the Z06 GT3.R’s first Rolex 24 triumph.
This weekend, five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs from four full-season teams are set to kick off the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.
After three days of testing last weekend at the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona, driver Antonio Garcia feels everything is going in the right direction for the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R in the GTD PRO class.
"We may have a couple of minor issues, but both our cars have run pretty much every lap that has been available. I'm happy with it and there is a lot of data to collect. We'll put everything together from these days ahead of Thursday’s qualifying. We'll have a few things to try then or validate as well. But things are going in the right direction for next week with what we have. We just need to wait and see but I'm happy.”
Garcia’s teammate in the No. 4 entry, Tommy Milner, was equally optimistic going into Thursday’s qualifying.
"My overarching impression after these three days (at the Roar) is that this is the best prepared we've been going into the Rolex and it's the best this car has felt going into the race. We obviously have a lot of notes and knowledge on the GT3 Corvette now so we're able to hone in on something that we like faster than previous. We started by showing up with a car that we were happy with balance-wise. We've continued to tune on it and make some improvements, for sure. There's a lot of continuity between the driver lineup, crew and engineering. I feel like we're in a great place going into this race.”
Along with teammates Matt Bell, Orey Fidani and Lars Kern, driver Ben Green is hopeful of returning the No. 13 Corvette to victory lane in the GTD class on Sunday afternoon.
"I've really enjoyed my first laps here at Daytona. Our Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is feeling fantastic and everyone at 13 Autosport is doing a great job and getting up to speed quickly. We feel ready for the race and have done everything we need to do during the course of the Roar tests to prepare ourselves well for that. I’m really excited to get going and take on the Rolex 24!”
The No. 36 DXDT Corvette Z09 GT3.R returns for its second season of IMSA WeatherTech competition. Driver Charlie Eastwood believes the team is in a much stronger position going into this season and the Rolex 24.
"The jump we've made this year is unbelievable. So many of the crew are the same but there are a few key positions that have changed and I think that's really elevated it even further. The Roar has probably never gone better for myself over the years. The Corvette feels unbelievable. We were chasing it all of last year for 10 days and to be honest never really found it. We arrived for the first session here pretty close and we've chipped away with it. My teammates were happy with it (Saturday) night, and I was happy with it (in the) afternoon. Let's see where the track goes. This track sort of changes over the week and the pace goes up too. But if you have a really good base here, it helps a lot. We definitely seem to have that at the minute. We've collected loads of data and have a lot to process because we've run through seven sessions in three days here (at the Roar). But I think we're in really good shape.”
Having previously raced a Ferrari, GTD class driver Giacomo Altoe is new to the No. 81 DragonSpeed Corvette. For Altoe, last weekend’s Roar was a good opportunity for the Italian to get comfortable with the car.
"It was a nice and smooth first session for us. No issues at all and that was the main target. It was my first ever laps in the Corvette. It's amazing and a very different feeling than what I'm used to. Of course I needed a few laps to adapt. Handling was different but it's also very different with how I'm seated in the car with the seating position, the sound, how the car works. I still need to go through all the systems so there is a lot of homework to do. I just need to find out what the car needs and we will keep progressing.
"I actually really liked being out there in traffic. The rear-view camera works very well and that was something that I like. (Teammate) Henrik (Hedman) did well and is really happy with the car. It's a very positive start.”
The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 24 with qualifying on Thursday, January 22.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.