Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing brand are making their debut in GT World Challenge America this weekend at Sebring International Raceway with DXDT Racing set to enter a single Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the series’ extremely competitive Pro-Am class.
Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson – each driving a Corvette in competition for the first time in their careers – will share the No. 08 DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R in a pair of 90-minute races around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit.
The pair will contest the rest of the season in the Corvette and will be joined by a Pro-class entry starting in two weeks at Circuit of The Americas. Alec Udell and Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner will pilot the No. 63 Corvette starting at COTA.
DXDT Racing announced in October that it would field two Corvettes in GT World Challenge America. The team took delivery of its cars earlier this month and tested – appropriately enough – at Sebring with the Z06 GT3.Rs for the first time.
To help with the familiarization process, Sellers and Smithson also spent a day in Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator near Charlotte – the first time that a Corvette customer team has used the facility. The session was ahead of their first on-track test with the Z06 GT3.R.
Corvette is a known quantity and a successful brand at Sebring. Since 2002, Corvette GT cars have won 14 races in the American Le Mans Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. The track also played a large role in initial testing and development of the Z06 GT3.R.
DXDT will contest its first GT World Challenge America races at Sebring. Race One is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with Race Two at 11:15 a.m. ET on Sunday.
DXDT RACING PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
BRYAN SELLERS, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “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.”
(Driver-in-the-Loop experience): "I was blown away. For someone like me who doesn't use simulators and doesn't spend much time on things of that nature, it was really eye-opening, and obviously it's very different than anything I've ever used. I was amazed at the similarities between the car and the DiL. The attention and the level of detail that Pratt Miller and GM went to in replicating the inside of the car versus the simulator was impressive. The seat position was the same, the pedal boxes were the same, the steering wheel... all the ergonomics were the same.
"Being able to run through a variety of setup changes and correlating real life to virtual was huge. I honestly wasn't really sure how it would work. But when we got the racetrack, we found that all the things we ran through - aside from one small item - was as represented on the simulator. That was eye-opening and the defining moment for me of how useful this tool really is."
SCOTT SMITHSON, NO. 08 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “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!”
CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER: “We are proud to see DXDT Racing debut the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GT World Challenge America. The anticipation for this first race has been building since our initial announcement at the Indy 8 Hour. 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.
"Having DXDT use our Driver in the Loop simulator ahead of Sebring is a milestone event for our Corvette GT3 program. It is a tool that has been refined for several years by Corvette Racing engineering. We are happy to make it available to our customer teams as part of our engineering support program."