TF Sport and Chevrolet did it. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R has officially conquered the FIA World Endurance Championship and claims its very first series victory in a Qatar 1812 km battle. Behind the wheel of the No. 33 Corvette dedicated Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating a spectacular comeback and stormed from the 13th on the schedule to take the checkered flag with less than half a second.
This was not just a victory – it was a statement. The new GT3 Challenger from Corvette Racing had already bent his muscles by winning the GTD class victory over the Rolex 24 in Daytona, and now it has added a FIA WEC trophy to its fast -growing collection. For Juncadella and Edgar it marked their first triumph in both the WEC and a Corvette, while Keating, once the endurance racing veteran, won his eighth WEC victory -four of those with America’s favorite sports car.
Keating put the stage with a load from the 13th to the sixth in the first three hours, shook all the rust from his time since winning the GTE AM title of 2023. Then Edgar then took the baton, made his WEC debut and pushed the fat further into the order while the sun underwent. Juncadella wore the team to the class at the half marking, and from there it was all about stopping the chase package.
With 90 minutes to go, Juncadella put in again for the last run, making a strategic stop for fuel and tires with the left, while second place McLaren chose a full set of fresh rubber. The result? Racing a white-knuckle in the last 30 minutes of nose-to-tail, in which Juncadella turns ruthless pressure while he cuts faster traffic as a seasoned hunting pilot avoiding rockets.
In the meantime, things were not so rosy for the No. 81 Corvette, who only suffered a heartbreaking mechanical failure in the race for an hour. But let’s not think about that- this day was from no. 33.
Ferrari’s AF Corse-Ploeg excluded the stage in a dramatic 1-2-3 finish, where Antonio Fuoco Robert Kubica is declining to win the victory in no. 83 Ferrari 499p.
In the Hypercar class, Ferrari’s AF Corse team closed the stage in a dramatic 1-2-3 finish, where Antonio Fuoco Robert Kubica kidds to win the victory in number 83 Ferrari 499p. BMW, Toyota and Cadillac all had flashes of sparkle, but Ferrari’s trio turned out to be too strong.
Back in LMGT3, the heroic deeds of Juncadella were not just about survival; They were blooming. He resisted ruthless attacks by McLaren’s Grégoire Saucy in the dying moments of the race, so that Corvette’s second victory of 2025 was sealed in as many major sustainable events.
“Looking at my heartbeat, I think I was 35bpm higher in the last stint than in the first, so that tells you almost everything!” Juncadella joked after the race. “We hoped for a solid start of the season, maybe a top five, but win? That’s something else. “
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R has officially arrived in the FIA WEC, and it is not just here to come up with the figures. Next stop: the 6 hours from Imola, where the ‘fat will look to let the momentum roll.
I have been written about the sport of Nascar for more than three decades and previously worked full-time for the Sporting News and SCRIPPS showard News Service. I am also a contribution to two chicken soup for the soul books, including the NASCAR edition, published in 2010 and the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of Nascar: The Definitive Viewers” Guide to big-time Stock Car Auto Racing. ” I am a winner of several National Motorsports Press Association Award. Early in life I spent 23 years with a combination of active and active reserve military service, many of them in and around the special operational community that served to support Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm and ended my military career to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
