Chevrolet’s latest Corvette racecar will compete in the legendary Rolex 24 at Daytona next January.
“The opportunity for innovation is what makes GRAND-AM’s Daytona Prototype Class such a good fit for Chevrolet,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet vice president, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Sports car and endurance racing is an outstanding platform for manufacturers like us to test and learn.”
New Corvette Daytona Prototype, above, mixes it up in today's practice with the Fifty Plus Racing BMW-Riley driven by AC/DC rocker and Sarasota Cafe Racer, Brian Johnson. Photo by Juha Lievonen, http://www.photosbyjuha.com/
Corvette has a storied history at Daytona. Zora Arkus-Duntov – the father of the Corvette and chief engineer working on the Corvette in the 1950s-1960s – set a flying-mile speed record in excess of 150 mph in a Corvette on Daytona Beach, one of a number of record runs on the beach for him. When Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, Duntov turned the fastest laps – 155 mph – in the legendary Corvette SS racer. More recently, in 2001, a Corvette driven by Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon took the overall win in the Daytona 24-hour. Another Corvette finished fourth, with Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins.
“The 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype, above, GRAND-AM photo, was developed by a multi-faceted team, involving Chevrolet, Corvette Designers, Pratt & Miller and GRAND-AM. Chevrolet also worked closely with chassis builders Riley, Coyote and Dallara,” said Mark Kent, GM Racing director. “The IMSA GTP Corvette Prototype campaigned by Hendrick Motorsports in the 1980s was the inspiration for this new Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype. And, like the GTP Corvettes, the new Corvette Daytona Prototype contains numerous styling cues from the production Corvette.”
Four teams will campaign the Corvette Daytona Prototype in 2012: No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing; No. 10 SunTrust Racing; No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, and the Nos. 5 and 9 Action Express Racing teams.
The Corvette Daytona Prototype is testing today at Daytona and will make its competitive debut in the 50th anniversary of the GRAND-AM Road Racing Series Rolex 24 at Daytona, January 26-29, 2012.
For more information about Corvettes that you can buy, please visit, http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette-sports-cars/