First introduced in 1953 as a concept, the Chevrolet Corvette has steadily evolved into a central piece in America’s sports car story. The ‘Vette, as it is commonly known, is now in its eighth generation, making it one of the longest-running sports car names in the automobile industry. That’s quite an accomplishment in a typically unforgiving landscape with countless performance car brands jostling for market share.
Widely regarded as ‘America’s sports car,’ the Corvette owes its place in history to a design and performance that’s been able to keep pace with time. A huge chunk of its reputation is also due to its exploits in motorsports. Records indicate that the Corvette first hit the race track as early as 1954, only a year after its debut.
One such event was an SCCA-sanctioned outing at Andrews Air Force Base in May 1954. However, it was mostly driven during practice sessions for evaluation purposes. It was not until the Corvette received a more powerful V8 in 1956 that it started to come into its own, better able to compete with rivals. Since then, the Corvette has racked up countless victories on multiple race tracks across different events. Here, we check out some memorable Corvette triumphs on the competitive circuit.
An Encouraging Outing in 1955
The fledgling Corvette was struggling to find its footing in the early days. Its engine was an Achilles heel and one of its biggest obstacles – a Blue Flame inline-6 unit that made a paltry 150 bhp, lower than most of its rivals that were all already established race cars. That changed in 1955 when GM gave the Corvette a small-block V8 that cranked out a healthy 195 hp, immediately making it much more competitive.
Chevrolet dealer Addison Austin took a chance on the Corvette and entered a few races in 1954 and 1955. The dealership’s efforts finally paid off in 1955 when a ’55 Corvette won its class at a B-Production race at the Thompson Speedway. It should be mentioned that the only other car that raced in the Corvette’s class was a Ford Thunderbird. Still, a victory is a victory, and the Corvette’s performance set the stage for what was to come.
An Impressive Run at the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring
The 1956 12 Hours of Sebring was one of the first major racing competitions where the Chevrolet Corvette had a chance to show its potential. Five Corvettes were entered for the event. Four were 1955 chassis engineering cars with redesigned 1956 bodywork. The fifth was a pure 1956 model, purchased by Chevrolet Engineering from Manufacturing and delivered through Don Allen Chevrolet in Miami.
The cars started strong, but after three laps, one of the first Corvettes suffered a broken axle and became the first retirement of the race. In the end, three of the five Corvettes crossed the finish line. The Number 1 Corvette, driven by John Fitch and Walt Hansgen, finished ninth overall but, more impressively, emerged as a class winner. It was registered in the Sports 8000 Class, where there was only one other entry, a Kurtis-Lincoln 500K, which did not even race in the event. However, the Corvette’s strong performance enabled it to cross the line as a top-ten overall finisher after completing 176 laps.
GT Class Win at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is widely regarded as the world’s oldest and most prestigious endurance racing event. A win at Le Mans was a great boost to the reputation of any manufacturer, and in 1960, Chevrolet finally got its chance.
That year, three Corvettes were registered for the event, each equipped with every racing option offered by the factory at the time. The cars were further modified to prepare for the gruelling endurance race. Briggs Cunningham, a wealthy sportsman who brought the Corvettes to the ’60 Le Mans, not only made sure the cars were correctly set up for the race but also hired some of the best American drivers of that era to drive the cars with him.
During the race, one of the Corvettes, with William Kimberley at the wheel, crashed and burned. The second one lost its engine as the race entered its closing stages. At some point, it looked like the last Corvette would share the fate of the others when it started overheating with just a few hours left in the race. However, the team were able to keep the car running. That Corvette, driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman, would eventually cross the line as the winner of the GT Class. It was the first-ever class win by a Corvette at Le Mans, kicking off a new chapter in the American sports car history.
A Brilliant Farewell to the LMGTE Era
2023 ended the LMGTE era at Le Mans with the arrival of LMGT3 cars from 2024 onwards. The 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans was also known as the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMGTE class fielded teams from Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari and Chevrolet, represented by Corvette Racing.
The Corvette C8.R, the only Corvette in the race, dominated qualifying, securing pole position. The race was filled with challenges for the Corvette, and at one point, it even ran in the last position among all the other LMGTE cars.
However, the Corvette C8. R was able to reel in the competition, proof of the car’s durability and the skill of the drivers. By the end of the race, the Corvette crossed the line first. It was Corvette Racing’s ninth win at Le Mans and the first for a mid-engined Corvette.
A First Win for Corvette Racing
Corvette Racing was set up in 1999, the result of a partnership between General Motors and Pratt Miller to compete in sports car racing. Corvette racing served as an official platform, allowing GM to run Corvettes in official events. The partnership has now ended, and GM has chosen to focus on customer teams with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Corvette Racing continues to exist, though, now run by Pratt Miller and renamed to Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.
Corvette Racing had its debut at the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it was not long before the outfit notched its first victory. That happened during the 2000 American LeMans Series Season. On a Labor Day weekend, No 3 Corvette, a C5-R, driven by Andy Pilgrim and Ron Fellows, emerged victorious in the GTS class, securing the win over rivals Viper Team Oreca.
…And the 100th Race Win for Corvette Racing
The first win in 2000 set off what has been a remarkably successful run for Corvette Racing. In 2016, just six years after its official debut, the outfit clinched its 100th race victory at the Lime Rock Park Northeast Grand Prix.
In that race, the No. 4 Mobil 1/Sirius XM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, piloted by drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, achieved that memorable landmark for Corvette Racing. It was the third win of that season, after back-to-back victories at Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. With that victory at Lime Rock, Corvette Racing also became the first team in International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) history to notch up 100 event wins.
Up and Running with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
As mentioned earlier, GM split from Corvette racing in 2023 to focus on customer teams running the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, a GT racing car designed and built by Pratt Miller Engineering and Chevrolet, is primarily used to compete in the LMGT3 and GTD & GTD Pro classes of the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship, respectively.
In May 2024, DXDT Racing chalked up the first victory for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the GT World Challenge America event. The car, driven by Chevrolet factory drivers Tommy Milner and Alec Udell, took the chequered flag at the end of the 90-minute race at the Circuit of the Americas. The Corvette beat the competition by 3.706 seconds, a very healthy margin in competition racing.
First IMSA GT3 Win by Corvette Racing
For a team as successful as Corvette Racing (now operating under the name Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports), the inability to win a GT3 race at IMSA was something of an enigma. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car had already secured a debut win, but it was operated by another team.
That all changed in July 2024 when the Pratt Miller-run team Corvette finally secured victory and also nabbed second place for good measure, at the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The winning Z06 GT3.R race car was driven by Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. For Garcia, he made history with the maiden GT3 win for Corvette Racing, having also participated in debut wins for two other generations of the Corvette race car – the C7.R and the C8.R.
