Corvette Targeting “Quality” Approach With New Customers

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Corvette Racing is aiming to maintain a “quality” approach with its pool of customer teams over quantity with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R according to its new GT3 program manager Jess Dane.

Dane, who takes over from Christie Bagne in leading GM’s burgeoning customer effort, said the addition of a TF Sport LMGT3 entry in the European Le Mans Series and Steller Motorsport’s two Corvettes, which could appear in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, has been part of the brand’s measured approach.

They join TF’s existing two-car LMGT3 effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship, DXDT’s dual IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and GTWC America programs, as well as AWA’s Corvette in the WeatherTech Championship as confirmed customers for this year.

AWA claimed the car’s first 24-hour race victory in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“My approach with the program is definitely to retain that quality approach and treating each of our customers like partners,” Dane told Sportscar365. “That’s definitely the approach we want to take.

“Customer racing is new to GM and last year being the first year was about finding out feet, establishing those teams that we are fortunate enough to partner with, and then this year taking that foundation that we laid in 2024 and expanding from there and making sure we keep that consistency with the approach to our customer support program.”

DXDT Racing gave the Corvette its first win in global competition at the GTWC America event at Circuit of The Americas in May and went on to score eight consecutive Pro class wins with Tommy Milner and Alec Udell.

The factory-supported Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports squad, meanwhile, gave the car its first WeatherTech Championship win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last July.

“Back at this time last year, it’s no secret that the car was not as reliable as you need it to be to go endurance racing,” admitted Dane.

“The goal of ’24 was to improve the durability to the point where we can enter this race this year fully confident that we could complete that 24 hours.

“The work that has gone in across the engineering teams, the GM engineering teams that are working closely with the Pratt Miller engineering teams because they’re our constructor partner, the work that has gone in to improve that durability and to improve that reliability has been massive.

“That was a big goal in terms of the car itself in ’24, getting to a point where we can now sell cars, saying we know this is a fantastic car. It’s [now] reliable. The Pro team won the IMSA Endurance Championship, so I think that’s testament.”

Dane said the goal for this year is to gradually increase the number of customers.

She hinted that several programs with customers in other parts of the world, believed to be in the Asia-Pacific region, have yet to be announced for the 2025 season.

“There are cars that have been sold to a couple parts of the world that I’m not at liberty to talk about their programs because they haven’t been formally announced yet,” she said. “The teams want to look after their own announcements.

“It’s really exciting. I can’t wait to have Corvettes racing in parts of the world where we haven’t before.”

Dane added: “The goal for me and the goal I have for the program is to continue growing it so we have Corvette representation around the world but keeping the program in a manner where we can retain that partner relationship.

“We’re not interested in selling cars to customers and just saying, ‘Here’s your car, see you later.’

“It’s about growing that relationship and having that partnership so that we can support them and being successful where they’re representing the Corvette Racing brand around the world.”

Dane: No Timeline for Corvette Z06 GT3.R Evo

The U.S.-based Australian, daughter of Triple Eight Race Engineering co-founder Roland, said that GM has not yet established a timeline to roll out an Evo version of the Corvette.

“Every manufacturer is constantly evaluating what that looks like,” said Dane. “You’re always taking feedback from your customers, from the data, from everything on how you can improve the car.

“It’s something that’s constantly being evaluated. It’s always a work in progress.”