Corvette extends points lead with mighty LMGTE Am Le Mans victory
The points leading No.33 Corvette Racing squad of Ben Keating, Nicolas Varrone and Nicky Catsburg took their third WEC victory of the season with a hard-earned win the final LMGTE Am category race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The trio fought back from a difficult start which saw them fall to the rear of the field when they had to change a damper in the early stages.
Due to a combination of strong stints from all three drivers and some fortune with the new safety car procedure the yellow Corvette became a factor in the challenge for class honors in the early morning period.
Varrone and Catsburg consolidated the position with epic triple stints and they were able to pull a sizeable gap on their competitors by the late morning period.
The victory sealed Corvette's eighth WEC win and the first at Le Mans since they won the LMGTE PRO category in 2015. They also became the first GTE Am polesitter to finish on the LM GTE Am podium.
Keating celebrated his seventh in WEC, consecutive at Le Mans in what was Corvette's 11th class win in the 2000s, earning them level pegging with Ferrari.
Taking the runners-up position was the ORT by TF Sport trio of Charlie Eastwood, Ahmed Al Harthy and Michael Dinan as they fought passed the Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy.
'The Dames' took fourth ahead of the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon
The final rung on the podium goes to the GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Mike Wainwright, Riccardo Pera and Ben Barker who go one better after finishing fourth in 2022.
The new-look Northwest AMR Aston Martin squad of Ian James, Alex Riberas and Daniel Mancinelli completed the top six in the category.
It's victory at Le Mans for the #33 Corvette Racing #WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary @CorvetteRacing pic.twitter.com/1OUOKXW0SZ
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 11, 2023
