The # 33 Corvette officially celebrates it’s 2023 WEC GTE AM Championship at Bahrain finale

There was little at stake for the # 33 Corvette team, having wrapped up the WEC GTE AM championship way back in July at the Monza circuit in Italy.

Video: LMGTE AM Champions: https://twitter.com/i/status/1720902208038793651

The goal is to ALWAYS do their best however 7th place was the best they could score for several reasons in the 8-hour race that starts as 2 pm and ends in darkness.

Per balance of performance rules, power for the # 33 Corvette was choked by restricted air intake, speed was slowed by extra weight and they had to conserve more fuel to compensate for reduced fuel capacity.

Tire wear inflicted by grit from sand storms is also a big factor at Bahrain, not to mention occasional rain squalls.  

Ben Keating qualified 5th and drivers Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varonne ran as high as 4th before falling to 7th at the checkered flag.

The all-female team of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting, racing for Iron Dames, made history by winning the GTE AM class in their # 85 Porsche 911 RSR, a first for an FIA World Championship event.

Bahrain is a tiny country in the Persian Gulf, accessed from Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd causeway.  The oil-rich monarchy pays up to host the WEC race, thereby raising its status among better-known hosts like France, Italy and Japan.

The 15 - hour 6,600 - mile flight was never an issue for the indefatigable photographer Richard Prince to whom we express our thanks.