Corvette hopes dashed as expected in the WEC Lone Star Le Mans 6-hour race at CoTA

There’s an old saying, “hope for the best but expect the worst”.  Ben Keating expected the worst, starting 17th in the championship-leading # 33 TF Sport Z06 GT3.R Corvette, citing extra weight (success ballast) and the drawback of CoTA as opposed to a “momentum” track.

Trouble began on the first green flag lap of the race that began under caution.

Thomas Flohr in the # 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 crashed into Keating with little effect; but later crashed him again in turn 1 at the top of the hill, spinning the Corvette off the lead lap.

Officials penalized the Ferrari for avoidable collision but hopes were dashed for Keating, Nicky Catsburg, and Jonny Edgar, dropping them to a 12th-place finish in the LMGT3 class.

 The # 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey fell 3 laps behind during the seven minutes it took to replace a broken toe link in the right rear suspension. 

Dempsey noticed the car was veering to the right, radioed his crew and dove into the pits for the repair.  The damage was caused by extra stress imposed in the tight turns in the latter section of the track, suggesting that beefing up the chassis is a good fix for all the Z06 GT3.R Corvettes out there.  The lost time resulted in a 14th-place finish in the LMGT3 class.

The # 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 piloted by Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi won the race.

The # 33 TF Sport Corvette still leads in the WEC championship that moves on to the 6-hour race in Japan at Fuji on Sept. 27 followed by re-locations to Spain and Italy in lieu of Qatar and Bahrain for races that were cancelled by hostilities in the middle east.

Now get this!  55-year-old Team leader Ben Keating, a top bronze-rated driver who brings along some sponsorship monies, announced he will cut back when the season ends to pursue more “fun stuff” as he calls it...