TF Sport # 33 Corvette comes from behind to win at Le Mans
Ben Keating and co-drivers Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar, starting from 17th on the grid, overcame a setback that cost 2 laps to repair a broken damper and went on to win the LMGT3 class by over 20 seconds in the # 33 Z06 GT3.R Corvette for the UK-based TF Sport team.
Four (4) Z06 GT3.R Corvettes were entered in a field comprised of twenty-five (25) LMGT3 cars from nine (9) manufacturers. TF Sport Corvettes # 33 and # 34 chassis number 025 and 026; Team 13 Autosport # 13 chassis number 022 and Johor # 2 chassis number 031.
Returning from an injury that kept him from the first 2 rounds of the WEC Series, Keating was the ironman, doing six hours behind the wheel before Edgar and Catsburg surged to the front in the tenth hour, maintaining a comfortable lead even after a safety car period erased that advantage.
Credit victory in the 94th edition of the world’s premier road race to no mistakes and no penalties under ideal weather, day and night while conserving 15 sets of tires during 36 pit stops (about every 11 laps around the 8.467-mile circuit)
Edgar was the driving force at the end, earning his first victory at Le Mans in the course of securing a second win for Catsburg and a third win for Keating.
All told, the “perfect win” resulted from (a) a strategy devised to suit the drivers, (b) mistake-free execution and (c) a bit of luck as is typically the case if you will read on.
The Porsches of the rival Manthey team met adversity when the # 91 crashed out from a steering failure, and the # 92 finished 13th after an early trip to the garage to fix a broken tie rod.
Aston Martin & Lexus ran up front throughout the race while contending Fords, McLarens and BMWs grappled with strategy and restarts and fell back.
TF Racing Team Turkey, Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluc rejoiced when teammate Peter Dempsey qualified the # 34 Z06 GT3.R Corvette to start on the pole.
Joy became despair when officials disqualified the car for excessive wear on the underside of the rear diffuser and sent it to the back of the grid. Give them credit for fighting back to finish 6th.
The # 2 Johor team headed by Malaysian Prince Jefri Ibrihim, a top driver in the SRO GT World Challenge Asia Series, plus Ben Green and Lorcan Hanafin started 23rd and persevered to finish 14th.
The # 13 Team 13 Autosport Corvette owned by the billionaire Orlando Corp from Canada and led by family member Orey Fidani with Matt Bell and Lars Kern started 24th. Five hours into the race, it was the first car to drop out when Bell and Rue Andrade in the # 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMGA tangled up and collided.
Team management also played a role. Andrea Hidalgo is the latest in a succession of Program Managers in the wake of Laura Wontrop Klauser, Christie Bagne and Jessica Dane. Andrea was responsible for several customer teams while working for TF Sport. Today is a far cry from the years when the legendary Doug Fehan managed GM’s Corvette Racing Team.
Midnight fireworks, lavish pre-and post-race ceremonies, and victory exposed the Corvette to a crowd of 350,000 hailing from Europe and the world.
The Z06 GT3.R is built on a road-going frame manufactured in Bowling Green, KY. Pratt & Miller in Michigan adds a bunch of safety features plus a rear wing and carbon fiber splitters, front and rear, that provide downforce. Z06 styled side air ducts behind the doors help cool the engine, transaxle and rear brakes. The similarities carry over to the hand-built 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine that is derived 80 percent with components from the production Z06. Each car is assigned a specific chassis number that has reached thirty-one and counting.
In our view, the Corvette victory in 2026 at Le Mans will be among the greatest of all time.
Photo credits Nigel Dobbie, Charles Chagneau for AMP and Stephane Lusteau.
