Corvette need victory at Imola to rejoin top 2 GT3

WECHyperCar

Jul 11

Manthey 1st Phorm arrives in Brazil leading the LMGT3 class after winning its class at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari is second, with 5 points gap. Corvette is third, 11 points behind the leading Porsche.

top 3 LMGT3 ahead of São Paulo — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Spa and Imola. Top 3 LMGT3 ahead of São Paulo

Manthey 1st Phorm aims to defend its points lead in Brazil

Manthey 1st Phorm arrives at round five of the FIA WEC with strong momentum, after recently securing the LMGT3 class win at Le Mans with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. In the #92 entry, factory driver Richard Lietz teams up with Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera. The trio currently leads the drivers’ championship with two class victories at Imola and Le Mans.

📷© Luc Warnotte at 6 Hours of Imola. #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R

Riccardo Pera (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): “After our class victory at Le Mans, we’re now also leading the championship. The atmosphere and motivation couldn’t be better. I’m really looking forward to Brazil, as it will be my first time racing on that fantastic circuit. We need to continue just as we did last time – if we manage another clean race without any incidents, we can maintain our position at the top of the overall standings.” Source: Porsche

📷© Luc Warnotte: #92 Porsche 911 LMGT3 R at 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025 (left); at Imola (right)

#21 Ferrari second

After finishing second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans the #21 296 LMGT3, Ferrari returns to action in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the 6 Hours of São Paulo in P2 for the FIA ENDURANCE TROPHY FOR LMGT3 TEAMS & DRIVERS, five points behind the #92 Porsche.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. #21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 ahead of sister #54.

The #21 car, driven by François Heriau, Simon Mann and official driver Alessio Rovera, arrives in Brazil riding the momentum of a win at Spa-Francorchamps and a second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Source: Ferrari

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R and TF Sport third

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R and TF Sport enter the second half of the FIA World Endurance Championship with solid momentum after Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi captured victory in the Four Hours of Imola on Sunday for the first European Le Mans Series win for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as well as for Corvette Racing.

#33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is looking for a race win to move up in the Drivers and Teams championship standings as they are currently third .

The trio of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating sit third in points with 11 points deficit to the leading Porsche after their season-opening race win at Qatar. Of the three, only Juncadella has raced at Sāo Paulo and his debut at the circuit came last year.

Following the victory at Qatar and subsequent championship lead, the #33 Corvette was the heaviest car at both Imola and Spa-Francorchamps by more than 50 pounds. Much of that success ballast comes off for Sāo Paulo, which gives the 33 side of the TF Sport garage optimism for its first Hyperpole appearance of the season and a return to the class podium.

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "The good news is we are going to lose a lot of weight. We have a gluten-free diet going to Sāo Paulo! Which is nice because we have been heavy all year. We are still third in the championship, which is fantastic after a difficult Le Mans. I think the second half of the year we will be strong and will be fighting to get back to where we belong."

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This will be my first time to Brazil, so it's a new track for me and Ben. We'll try to learn it as quickly as possible. Luckily, Dani has been there so I'm sure he will be able to help us a lot. I'm sure he'll be able to help us a lot. It'll be nice to have as much success ballast. Obviously it's nice to have it because you've obviously won something! But I think we'll have a tiny bit from our championship position, but much less than previous races. So I think that should be helpful. Hopefully we can have another good weekend and score as many points as we can."

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "My main goal is to win the championship, and we are still in that hunt for sure. For the last several races, we've been carrying around so much success ballast. I'm glad to know that the two people in front of us in the championship are now going to be very heavy. And we're going to be considerably lighter. I've never been to Sāo Paulo. But I've spent a lot of time on my simulator and learning it. So I'm looking forward to being back toward the front." Source: Corvette Racing