Corvette Racing have confirmed their racing plans for 2014 as they announced their driving line-up for the coming season.
The team have been granted a pair of entries in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class with the new Corvette C7.R. However, the mainstay of the team’s driving line-up will remain unchanged with the final American Le Mans Series GT champions Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia leading the team. Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin will share the sister car.
For the first two rounds of the TUDOR Championship season, January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona and The 12 Hours of Sebring in March, Corvette Racing have added to new names to their roster of drivers. Indycar regular Ryan Briscoe will make his GT racing debut join Magnussen and Garcia in the #3 while Scot Robin Liddell will join the works team in the #4 car with Milner and Gavin.
While both new to Corvette Racing neither man is an entirely new name to Team Chevy, Briscoe having driven a part schedule for Chevrolet powered Indycar team Panther Racing in 2013, before joining Chip Ganassi Racing – themselves a new convert to Chevrolet power for 2014 – in place of the retiring Dario Franchitti.
Liddell, meanwhile, has been a the GT class of the Rolex Series behind the wheel of a Stevenson Motorsports run Camaro. Driving with John Edwards Liddell won four times in 2013, finishing third in the class points.
“I’m delighted to join the team. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me – the best I’ve had in my career,” said Liddell. “To be asked to drive this car for Chevrolet and with Pratt & Miller involved, I couldn’t ask for anything more. The new C7.R is a great car, and a real head-turner too. We’re all very much looking forward to the first two races of the year at Daytona and Sebring. All the pieces are there to do a fantastic job and achieve great results.”
“If you’re in any kind of GM or Chevrolet road-racing situation, getting the chance to drive the Corvette is the Holy Grail moment. I fully recognize and appreciate the opportunity.”
Corvette Racing will also run a pair of C7.R in the LMGTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Jordan Taylor and Richard Westbrook reprising their third driver roles in the #3 and #4 cars respectively. Both will drive Chevrolet Corvette DPs in the Prototype class of the TUDOR Championship, Taylor hoping to follow on from his Rolex Series winning 2013 season.
“I’m honored and grateful to be part of the Corvette Racing program at Le Mans once again,” he said. “For a sports car driver, Le Mans is the biggest race in the world. It will be terrific going back with Corvette Racing alongside my teammates Antonio and Jan. Le Mans is a very unique and challenging event where you gain massive amounts of experience each time you’re there. Last year we packed a full year’s worth of racing into one 24-hour event with changing conditions throughout. I’m looking forward to going back with that knowledge in 2014. Being able to drive the new C7.R there will make this year’s Le Mans the most important one for myself, the team and Chevrolet.”
The C7.R race cars will be seen in public for the first time at the Roar Before the 24 test days (January 3-5) at Daytona International Speedway. The Rolex 24 (January 25-26) will mark Corvette Racing’s first race at Daytona since the 2001 Rolex 24 which the squad won overall with Corvette C5-R driver by Johnny O’Connell, Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon.
