The Corvette was not born to race. It started life in 1953 as a stylish boulevard cruiser with a six-cylinder engine and a two-speed automatic hooked up to a solid axle drivetrain. Since then, it has won Le Mans eleven times and one particular version now cranks out 1,250 hp.
The 1956 265 cu in V8 broke new ground. After GM pulled the plug, privateers driving Corvettes that cost a fraction, simply outran the Mercedes and Jags.
Writers and experts, when recently asked, called the Corvette “a car that makes a lot of noise and is mass-produced by a big bureaucratic company where sports car racing is pretty much beside the point.”
Losing is no fun
To boost sales, Porsche threw money at its biggest export market in the good old USA. Some of that money landed in the pockets of John Bishop who needed to grow his IMSA series. Development reached it peak with the fearsome twin turbocharged 935 that ruled the roost.
Bishop created the AAGT & GTX classes for American sports cars like the Corvette. Despite “re-engineering” to squeeze more out of the long-in-the-tooth C3, our heroes Rich Sloma, Walt Bohrin, Joe Chambelain, Phil Currin and others were doomed from the get go.
Winning is a whole lot better
Soon after the all-new C4 Corvette arrived, SCCA Pro Racing launched the Escort Showroom Stock GT/Super Sports Series.
From 1985 thru 1987, the C4 Corvette racked up 29 straight wins in long-distance races against the Porsche 944 Turbo. The lineup of teams and drivers ranged from fledgling writers like Csaba Cere, Don Sherman and Rich Ceppos of Car & Driver Magazine to pros like Ron Fellows, Andy Pilgrim and Tommy Kendall.
The long losing streak for the Porsche 944 is why the SCCA banned the Corvette. That led to the Corvette Challenge Series which is another story in itself.
Callaway Competition based in Leingarten Germany got the C6 ZO6 Corvette approved to race in Europe. Under the tutelage of Ernst Woehr, it prevailed against Porsche in the ADAC GT Series starting in 2009.
The Equalizers have arrived
When the time finally came to allow customers to race the Corvette, the ZO6 GT3.R was built just for that purpose. A revived IMSA, under the wing of John Doonan, is the major battleground in the US. An “army” of officials is deployed to enforce a Balance of Competition (BOP) set of rules to ensure a level playing field.
The same policy applies to the World Endurance Championship Series (WEC) including Le Mans under the guidance of Frédéric Lequien.
We are living in a “Golden Age” for Sports Car racing. Let’s hope it has a long life. Tell us what you think the odds are.
Photo credits: Brent Martin, Mark Windecker, Kim Baker, Stephane Lusteau, Victory Imagery