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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Fourth-Row Start for No. 82 Z06 GT3.R
Juncadella, Baud, Koizumi starting seventh in LMGT3 after Hyperpole session
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LE MANS, France (June 13, 2024) – TF Sport’s No. 82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start from the fourth row of the LMGT3 field Saturday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the debut appearance at the French endurance classic for the GT3-spec Corvette.
Hiroshi Koizumi piloted the Corvette in Thursday’s 30-minute Hyperpole session, which set the top eight positions in each of the three classes in this year’s race. Koizumi’s lap of 4:03.681 (125.082 mph) was his fastest of the weekend heading into Thursday night’s final practice and then Saturday’s race.
He will drive with Frenchman Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, whose lap in Wednesday’s qualifying secured a spot in Hyperpole.
The two Corvettes – including the No. 81 of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy that will start 18th – are part of a 23-car grid in LMGT3. Saturday’s race will mark the first time that GT3 cars will take part at Le Mans, and nine manufacturers are presented in the class.
The No. 70 McLaren qualified on the class pole.
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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. MotorTrend will air live television coverage with streaming coverage available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. plus the audio call on Radio Le Mans.
TF SPORT POST-HYPERPOLE DRIVER QUOTES
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “It’s my first Le Mans and my first Hyperpole. I’m so thankful to the team and everyone who is supporting us. Tomorrow is a full schedule with the parade, which I am looking forward to doing, and getting ready for the race. Dani, Seb and I will analyze our runs from today with our engineers. We will absorb all the data and learn from it, and hopefully that leads to a good result Sunday.”
SÉBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: It was a good result and a good lap time for Hiroshi. He is very consistent and is careful, which is very important for a race like Le Mans. This is the biggest job. Hopefully Dani can push for the top-three or top-four to put us in a good position. My job is to maintain our position, and I’m focused on that. I’m very excited now about the race. Tomorrow is the parade, which is a great moment for us as drivers, for the fans, for our sponsors, and for Corvette and Cadillac. We hope to keep the good energy into Saturday.”
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Fourth-Row Start for No. 82 Z06 GT3.R
Juncadella, Baud, Koizumi starting seventh in LMGT3 after Hyperpole session
*
LE MANS, France (June 13, 2024) – TF Sport’s No. 82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start from the fourth row of the LMGT3 field Saturday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the debut appearance at the French endurance classic for the GT3-spec Corvette.
Hiroshi Koizumi piloted the Corvette in Thursday’s 30-minute Hyperpole session, which set the top eight positions in each of the three classes in this year’s race. Koizumi’s lap of 4:03.681 (125.082 mph) was his fastest of the weekend heading into Thursday night’s final practice and then Saturday’s race.
He will drive with Frenchman Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, whose lap in Wednesday’s qualifying secured a spot in Hyperpole.
The two Corvettes – including the No. 81 of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy that will start 18th – are part of a 23-car grid in LMGT3. Saturday’s race will mark the first time that GT3 cars will take part at Le Mans, and nine manufacturers are presented in the class.
The No. 70 McLaren qualified on the class pole.
*
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. MotorTrend will air live television coverage with streaming coverage available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. plus the audio call on Radio Le Mans.
TF SPORT POST-HYPERPOLE DRIVER QUOTES
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “It’s my first Le Mans and my first Hyperpole. I’m so thankful to the team and everyone who is supporting us. Tomorrow is a full schedule with the parade, which I am looking forward to doing, and getting ready for the race. Dani, Seb and I will analyze our runs from today with our engineers. We will absorb all the data and learn from it, and hopefully that leads to a good result Sunday.”
SÉBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: It was a good result and a good lap time for Hiroshi. He is very consistent and is careful, which is very important for a race like Le Mans. This is the biggest job. Hopefully Dani can push for the top-three or top-four to put us in a good position. My job is to maintain our position, and I’m focused on that. I’m very excited now about the race. Tomorrow is the parade, which is a great moment for us as drivers, for the fans, for our sponsors, and for Corvette and Cadillac. We hope to keep the good energy into Saturday.”
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick