Statesville, NC (April 29, 2024) — After months of preparation and planning, DXDT Racing will debut the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R when drivers Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers compete in this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS event at Sebring International Raceway.

Sporting the No. 08 that has become synonymous with Smithson and Sellers in recent years and competing in the Pro-Am class, the green flag in Race 1 will mark the car’s first appearance in global SRO competition.

Alongside the FENEX-branded No. 08, longtime Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell will join the team in the No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R Pro class entry at the following round at Circuit of The Americas in Austin on May 17-19.

Milner – who joined Corvette in 2011 – brings a wealth of experience and a history of success to DXDT. He has twice won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also claimed multiple IMSA championships with the marque. Having helped develop the Z06 GT3.R – based on the eighth-generation Corvette Z06 supercar – he also comes to the team with an innate understanding of the car, which will pay dividends on both sides of the garage.

While a newcomer to the Corvette platform, Udell joins the team with plenty of experience in mid-engined sports cars. Udell, the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup Champion, returns to the GT World Challenge paddock after a couple of years of racing in the IMSA GTD class, which saw him capture three podiums – including an impressive third-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring – in 2023.

“We are proud to see DXDT Racing debut the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GT World Challenge America,” said Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager Christie Bagne. “The anticipation for this first race has been building since our initial announcement at the Indy 8 Hour last year and we’re looking forward to the green flag at Sebring.  The collaboration between the DXDT Racing team and Corvette Customer Support is strong and the team has been in lockstep with us to benefit from the learnings from our IMSA and WEC programs.”

“I’m just super excited,” said Team Principal David Askew. “When the opportunity was coming into focus and we were able to get the deal with them, I knew it was going to be daunting and there was a lot of work we would have to do. But, the team stepped up, and they’ve been doing a lot of work even before we got the cars. I’m just really looking forward to working with one of the best teams in the world in Corvette Racing. They’ve made pretty much all of their resources available to us, and we’re going to take advantage of that. Their equipment, their know-how, their people, they’re all stepping up to help us, and I’m just super excited to be a part of it.”

You can catch the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s debut this weekend at Sebring, with practice starting on Friday, May 3rd, followed by Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 of the weekend on Sunday. For more updates, follow DXDT Racing’s social media channels and watch along for free on GT World Challenge’s YouTube channel, which can be found at www.youtube.com/@GTWorld.

From the Drivers

Scott Smithson, No.08

“I’m super excited, and naturally a little nervous too. It’s totally new for me. I’ve never raced in a mid-engined car, so it’s a brand new experience for me with the Corvette. With that said, our first test went really well a couple weeks ago and I felt at home pretty early on. I’m super excited for the rest of the season and to see what we can accomplish together!”

Bryan Sellers, No. 08

“First you have to say, Mercedes has been a great partner for many years and I’m super thankful for that partnership. But, as time goes on, there’s a point in time that you have to look for something else and I think we’re all super excited for the future and for this new partnership with Corvette. We want to see what that brings and how that builds. Personally, you’re always excited to get in a new car and see something new, see something fancy. Corvette will be the newest of the GT3 cars currently and that brings a lot of excitement—a lot of noise around the paddock and around the program. We’re all super ready to get our hands on it and really see what we can do with that. We’ll turn the page from a great partner to another great partner and I’m just thankful for both of them at the moment.”

Alec Udell, No. 63

“I’m really looking forward to driving with DXDT in GTWCA this season. David and Erin [Gahagan, Team Manager] have assembled a fantastic group of people. Investing in talented minds within the team and partnering with Pratt Miller and Corvette is no small feat. It’s a well-meshed group and it seems like they’re starting to hit their stride. Also, being able to learn from Tommy and Bryan is a huge plus, and I’m excited to soak up all the knowledge available. At the first test, I really enjoyed hopping into the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and getting into SRO with the car, I’m sure there’s competitive results coming. Having been in and out of SRO in the US and Europe over the years, it’s great to be a part of that story again!”

Tommy Milner, No. 63

“I can’t wait to go racing with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R with DXDT. David Askew and his team have been working very hard over the last few seasons to improve in all areas and this opportunity to make the final push to the top with the new Corvette is coming at the right time. We had a very good first test with the cars at Sebring and I’m looking forward to working with Alec, Bryan, Scott, and the rest of the team to make this a successful debut season for the Corvette.”

Copyright (C) 2024  DXDT Racing. All rights reserved.

Huntersville, NC – August 11, 2023 – Pratt Miller, a global leader in engineering innovation, is excited to announce its latest acquisition of an advanced Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator system. Scheduled for installation in the fall of 2023 and operational by January 2024, this state-of-the-art DiL system supplied by AB Dynamics will revolutionize vehicle simulation capabilities for both motorsports and non-motorsports customers.

With a rich tradition of excellence in motorsports, Pratt Miller’s DiL system, originally proven in Formula 1, stands as one of four of its kind in North America and eight in the world.

Drawing from a decade of experience, Pratt Miller boasts unparalleled expertise in DiL system operation and development. The company’s history in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, and WEC demonstrates the company’s proven success in extracting maximum value from DiL technology, resulting in numerous race wins and championships.

While rooted in motorsports, the Pratt Miller DiL system extends its services to both motorsport and non-motorsport users. Customers have the flexibility to integrate their own vehicle models or collaborate with Pratt Miller’s team to develop bespoke vehicle models tailored to their unique requirements. Once requirements and environments are set, the Pratt Miller DiL system empowers teams to collaborate seamlessly on-site and remotely, offering a dynamic platform for innovation and advancement while also ensuring operational efficiency and delivering optimal returns on customers’ investments of time and resources.

“The acquisition of the DiL system aligns perfectly with Pratt Miller’s commitment to driving technological excellence across the markets we serve,” said Matt Carroll, Pratt Miller’s CEO. “The DiL is just one more advanced tool in our product development toolbox, enabling our team to do their jobs faster, better and more efficiently than the day before. And when our team is faster, better, and more efficient so are our customers. It’s quite literally a win, win.”

Jon Plyler, Pratt Miller’s DiL Operations Director, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Pratt Miller’s record of success, both on and off the track is something we take immense pride in. The DiL system ensures that we maintain a competitive advantage for years to come. Whether in the realm of motorsports or beyond, Pratt Miller remains the go-to solution for truly remarkable engineering.”

About Pratt Miller:
Founded in 1989, Pratt Miller is a groundbreaking engineering and product development company. Our winning roots in motorsports enable us to deliver ingenious solutions to our clients’ most challenging problems — and wildest ideas. That history enables our team of highly adaptive innovators to apply speed, agility, and engineering expertise to every project, swiftly transforming what’s possible in our clients’ industries — taking what they do to the next level and changing their world for the better.

For further information or to book the Pratt Miller DiL system, please contact: Luke Sagur Pratt Miller Motorsports Business Director Email: lsagur@prattmiller.com

For media inquiries, please contact: Brad Zimmerman, Motorsports Marketing & Partnership Director, 704.277.334 bzimmerman@prattmiller.com

MONZA, Italy (July 9, 2023) – Campionato, Corvette!

Corvette Racing clinched the GTE Am Drivers and Teams titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship on Sunday with a fourth-place finish at the Six Hours of Monza for the trio of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone. The No. 33 Corvette C8.R team finished ahead of its closest championship competitors to wrap up the program’s first title in WEC competition.

It’s been a dream season for Corvette Racing with three victories – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1000 Miles of Sebring and Six Hours Portimão – in addition to a runner-up finish at the Six Hours of Spa.

“Congratulations to Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone on their championship in the first year for Corvette Racing in the World Endurance Championship’s GTE Am class,” said Mark Stielow, Director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Engineering. “This was not an easy accomplishment despite the results this season. The strategy and execution by the entire Corvette Racing team – the drivers, the crew and the engineers – has been excellent throughout the season. This was a deep and competitive class and we are grateful that Corvette Racing has come out on top. It gives us great momentum going into the end of the season and 2024 when the Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer program arrives in WEC.”

There were a number of scenarios in play to clinch the title. The most straight-forward options were to win or finish second Sunday, or place ahead of its two nearest challengers – the No. 25 TF Sport and No. 85 Iron Dames entries. The latter worked just fine.

Keating set the tone for the Corvette team early. He started sixth but picked up spots on consecutive laps to run third prior to a safety-car period at the 15-minute mark. The Corvette crew elected to bring the C8.R into pitlane for a fuel top-off. By the time Keating made his second stop at 80 minutes running, he had worked his way back up to second as the varying pit strategies came into view.

He gave way to Varrone just past the two-hour mark but a rare in-race mistake meant the C8.R was called in for a drive-through penalty due to speeding in the pitlane. Varrone slid back to sixth but steadily worked his way back to the lead with strong pace and the pit stop cycle. By the time his driving time was complete just prior to the four-hour mark, the C8.R ran third but less than four seconds from the leader.

Catsburg drove the final 92 minutes but was unable to make in-roads to the podium finishers – all of which were from the same manufacturer and ran more than 100 pounds lighter than the Corvette. The C8.R carried 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring.

The next round for Corvette Racing in the FIA WEC is the Six Hours of Fuji on Sunday, September 10.

Garcia, Taylor, No. 3 Corvette C8.R claim season’s first GTD PRO victory

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 9, 2023) – Corvette Racing broke through with a long-awaited victory Sunday at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the team’s first win of the season in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor teamed for the victory in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which was racing for the second time at CTMP. It’s the first win for Corvette at the circuit since 2014 and gave the team an even dozen victories at the historic Canadian venue.

It’s also the 126th win all-time for Corvette Racing and 114 in North American competition. The victory capped a day where Corvette Racing clinched the FIA WEC GTE Am Drivers and Teams World Championships at the Six Hours of Monza.

The groundwork for the Canadian Corvette victory began early. Taylor began from fourth and held his position until diving in for a pit stop at the 33-minute mark. He got out and Garcia got in as the Corvette Racing crew changed tires and added fuel. The move set off a chain reaction with three other GTD PRO cars following suit, and the C8.R emerging after the cycle in third place – but second among cars in class that stopped early.

An even more critical moment came with 70 minutes remaining. Garcia moved to the lead on a restart with 70 minutes left as the two cars ahead of him fought off-track at the exit of the first corner. The Corvette held the proper line and moved by each. The championship-leading 14 Lexus suffered damage in the incident while the No. 9 Porsche emerged behind Garcia.

The top three cars ran within less than four seconds apart for the final 24 minutes with the Corvette taking the win under yellow after a late-race safety car period – the fourth of the day.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday, July 22 from Lime Rock Park.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports to campaign two GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in 2024 | RACER

By Richard S. James | June 23, 2023 11:15 AM ET

A partnership that has lasted a quarter century continues into 2024 and the competition introduction of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, as Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports have announced the creation of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.

Starting with the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will campaign a pair of the new-for-2024, GT3-spec Corvettes for a full season in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The factory-supported effort is the first of two 2024 WeatherTech Championship programs that feature the Corvette Z06 GT3.R to be confirmed, with additional customer programs set to announce in the coming weeks.

The link-up between Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports (PMM), which has been developing the new GT3 car with Chevrolet and will build the cars, was expected as it’s a natural fit. The current full-factory Corvette Racing program is in the midst of its 25th season with 125 race victories to date, the most recent coming at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans for the team’s ninth class win and its first in GTE-Am.

“Chevrolet and Pratt Miller have collaborated for more than 25 years on the Corvette Racing program, and we are thrilled that we are able to continue together into the GT3 era,” said Christie Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager.

General Motors had previously confirmed the cessation of a factory team with the advent of its first in-house customer GT3 car. Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer teams will compete under the umbrella of Corvette Racing, which also will include customer and technical support.

“It makes sense to have Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports lead the competition element of the Z06 GT3.R program in the GTD PRO championship starting in 2024,” Bagne said.

“We couldn’t have a better representative than the same group that has been part of the development, build and testing processes for our new Corvette racecar. The learnings we will take from testing and competition will flow to our other Z06 GT3.R customer teams to ensure that the Corvette brand is a championship contender around the world.”

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is currently undergoing final homologation testing in Europe after nearly 5500 miles of testing since September of last year. Additional testing is planned through the summer and fall to fine-tune the car for the multiple brands of tires used in various GT3-based championships around the world such as WEC (beginning in 2024), GT World Challenge and the 24 Hour Series.

“This is an exciting time for everyone at Pratt Miller,” said Brandon Widmer, Pratt Miller Vice President, Motorsports. “We’ve experienced a lot of successes, race wins and championships with Chevrolet through the Corvette Racing program. Now we move into the GT3 era. Everyone is pleased with the progress of our testing and development programs, and new car builds are under way.

“We’re appreciative of the decades-long relationship with Chevrolet. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports is looking forward to continue showing our expertise in race operations and management to our fans, our commercial partners and new prospects as we go forward.”

In addition to the GTD PRO team and a customer team in GTD, customer teams are expected to race in WEC and Fanatec GT World Challenge America Presented by AWS in 2024. Those teams will be named at a later date, as will the driver lineup for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.

This weekend’s Le Mans marked the 23rd start of Corvette Racing’s successful run at Le Mans. Its last victory came in 2015 with the seventh-generation Corvette, although the mid-engine C8.R led each of the last two years.

The 2022 race was particularly cruel as the No. 64 Corvette was knocked out of the race with six hours to go.   Keating captured pole position Thursday, the second time this year the Corvette started a WEC race out front. Disaster struck not long after as the Corvette crew had to replace the right-front damper after Catsburg, who started the race, radioed in that something didn’t feel right.   The service in the garage was a quick change but it still put the C8.R down two laps. Class pole-winner Keating – who got in the Corvette while the damper was still being fixed – began to claw back time before heavy rain pelted parts of the circuit.

Keating survived the deluge, and Corvette race engineers called him to the pitlane for wet tires. The race’s second safety car period came out moments later, giving the team hope of gaining a lap back because the C8.R would be ahead of the class leader in a train behind one of the three safety cars.

For reasons unknown to the team, a group of cars – including the GTE Am leader – were allowed to exit pit lane before the next of the three safety cars came around. The mistake meant that the Corvette was trapped behind the class leader and couldn’t advance around the track to catch back up after all the safety car queues moved.   Undeterred, Varrone drove a speedy triple stint that saw him make up more than a half-lap on the field with times between four and seven seconds quicker than the rest of GTE Am.  

The heroics continued into the overnight session as Keating drove a triple-stint in the middle of darkness and kept hope going for a miraculous turnaround. It eventually came – albeit gradually – through fast laps by all three drivers, quick decisions by the engineering team and fast pit stops by the Corvette Racing crew, which never had to bring the C8.R back in the garage, change brakes or do anything much beyond adding fuel and tires.   Daybreak saw the Corvette come alive as the gap came down to one lap, then two minutes, then less than 60 seconds as the drivers, crew and engineers worked their magic. Critically, the No. 33 C8.R gained a full pit-stop advantage over the other GTE Am contenders inside the final hours to give Corvette Racing a lead they didn’t relinquish the rest of the way.  

Corvette Racing’s next event in the FIA WEC is the Six Hours of Monza – where it won a year ago in GTE Pro – on Sunday, July 9.