cor123
Well-known member
Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: TF Title Tilt!
Pair of TF Sport Corvettes alive for top LMGT3 championship positions in WEC finale
DETROIT (November 3, 2025) – It all comes down to this for TF Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The UK-based team and its pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are prepped and ready for the Eight Hours of Bahrain, which is the eighth and final round on this year’s FIA WEC calendar.
A year after both Corvettes finished on the LMGT3 podium, TF Sport is eyeing bigger things Saturday – namely the class Drivers and Teams championships. Each of the yellow Z06 GT3.Rs remain alive for top-three finishes in the LMGT3 championship with the No. 81 Corvette alive for the title heading to the 3.363-mile, 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit.
No. 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy
A victory last time out for Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy put the trio and the No. 81 Corvette into championship position heading to Bahrain.
It was the long-awaited first WEC win for the trio and the third podium in four races after scoring points in just one of the first three rounds. They were also runners-up a year ago at Bahrain where Eastwood starred late in a push for the class win.
A second triumph wouldn’t clinch the LMGT3 championship for the No. 81 Corvette but it would be close. The championship leader – the No. 92 Porsche – needs to finish fourth or better to eliminate the TF Sport Corvette. But a fifth-place finish for the No. 92 coupled with a third-place finish for the No. 21 Ferrari and win plus a point for pole position would give Eastwood, Andrade and Van Rompuy the championship due to two victories for each but no other podiums for the Porsche. With a win but no pole, TF Sport needs the No. 92 to finish sixth or worse.
Should the Porsche score zero points, the No. 81 Corvette needs to finish second and the No. 21 place no better than sixth. There are also additional scenarios involving the two cars in a head-to-head matchup where tiebreakers can come into play.
No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Daniel Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating
The championship picture for Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating took a major hit after the Fuji race as a post-race penalty sent it out the points and championship contention.
A race win and pole position would put the No. 33 Corvette into a tie with the No. 92 if the latter doesn’t score points; the tiebreaker would go to the Porsche.
Winners in the season-opening race in Qatar, the Juncadella/Edgar/Keating trio can still become only the second entry to take two LMGT3 victories this year by capturing the race at Bahrain.
Juncadella was part of the third-place lineup in class a year ago in TF Sport’s second Corvette. Keating drove a Corvette C8.R at Bahrain on his way to the GTE Am championship, and Edgar has Formula 3 experience at the circuit in the past.
The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. AST / 6 a.m. ET Saturday. Full, live streaming coverage of the race and Friday’s 4 p.m. AST qualifying is available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the United States. Friday’s Free Practice 3 will be available on both apps plus the FIA WEC’s YouTube channel.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT QUOTES
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We have a good chance at second or third in the championship. We won’t have any of success weight, so we will have that advantage over our rivals. Last year we had a really good delta on tire deg compared to the other cars. That’s where the weight will have some impact. It’s a very particular track with the heat and tire deg, which is incredibly high. We have a harder compound this year, which isn’t as good as the medium tire for us. But still, I’m hopeful for a positive result for both cars. Hopefully, there are reasons to celebrate after the race. We should be competitive and it’s a cool place to race and the track is nice. There is a lot of asphalt runoff, which normally isn’t a favorite for me. Being so dusty and sandy with the wind, anything other than the ideal racing line is very slippery. It’s a cooler and more fun track than I thought when I first got there.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Bahrain last year obviously was very good for the team with a double podium. I think with it being a high-deg track, we should expect to be pretty good on the tires. The Corvette is normally pretty good on tires. I’m looking forward to being back at a track that I’ve been to before. From Le Mans onward, all the tracks have been new to me so it’s nice to be back at a track that I’ve been to before. I know the track quite well so I’m excited to go back. Hopefully, we can finish the year with a good weekend. We’ve had quite a lot of bad luck from quite early in the season, and it would be nice to finish with a good race.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “There is still a lot at stake for us at Bahrain, namely a top-three finish in the championship. That would be a really good achievement in my first year back with TF Sport and the Corvette in the WEC. I’ve won this race before and enjoy the track. Let’s see how it goes but we will go out racing hard, for sure.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “If you go into a championship race with a chance and don’t believe you can do it, it’s definitely the wrong mindset. I totally think we can get the championship. It doesn’t take much with so many points on offer. I did the permutations the other day that the Porsche needs to finish sixth or something like that. But in such a tight field like we saw in Fuji, in a blink we win it and in the same blink the 33 finishes eighth. We were very similar in pace and very similar in every sense. Back in 2020, I had a 20-point lead going into the last race and lost. Going in this year 24 points behind, hopefully we can win it this time. It’s not vastly different from our situation going into Portimão for ELMS, and that worked out great for us. So hopefully we can get a repeat of that at Bahrain. The Corvette is super good around there. We were very fast and nearly got our first win there last year. As a team and driver crew, we are better than we were this time last year. The hard tire will help some of the others, for sure. But I am very much looking forward to it.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm excited to have the opportunity to go into Bahrain and still have a shot at the championship. We didn’t have the easiest of starts to the year but since Le Mans the entire 81 crew has been on fire with three podiums and a special win in Fuji. It won’t be easy but we will give it our all, just like we did at Portimão in winning the ELMS championship. It will be a long and difficult race but after our Corvettes finished P3 and P2 in last year’s Eight Hours of Bahrain, everyone at TF is very motivated to try and climb one step higher on the podium and finish the year on a high."
2025 FIA World Endurance Championship Points
LMGT3 Drivers Standings
1. Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz/Ryan Hardwick – 105
2. Alessio Rovera/Francois Heriau/Simon Mann – 94
3. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 81
4. Ben Keating/Daniel Juncadella/Jonny Edgar – 66
5. Ian James/Mattia Drudi/Zacharie Robichon – 63
LMGT3 Teams Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey 1ST Phorm – 105
2. No. 21 Vista AF Corse – 94
3. No. 81 TF Sport – 81
4. No. 33 TF Sport – 66
5. Heart of Racing Team – 63
CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: By the Numbers
• 1: One manufacturer, one brand and one race program for 26-plus years – Chevrolet, Corvett and Corvette Racing
• 1: Championships this year already for TF Sport – the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams titles in the European Le Mans Series
• 2: Podium finishes for TF Sport at Bahrain last year to close the first season for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• 2: FIA WEC victories for TF Sport this year Qatar for Dani Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating and Fuji for Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy
• 4: Number of Corvettes for the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series – two for TF Sport and two for Johor Motorsports Racing
• 4: Number of Corvettes set for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2026 with a potential fifth in one of the Z06 GT3.R teams wins the ALMS championship
• 8: Hours difference between Manama, Bahrain and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone
• 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 17: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R across six different series. Three have come via TF Sport across the FIA WEC and ELMS
• 33: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 40: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Tom Van Rompuy at Fuji in September
• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 74: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Adam Ali for Steller Motorsport in International GT Open at Barcelona
• 154: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 118 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, five in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia and GT America and two in the European Le Mans Series
• 356: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
• 459,117.65: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
Corvette Racing at Bahrain
2022 – No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE Pro
2023 – No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone – 7th in GTE Am
2024 – No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 2nd in LMGT3
No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 3rd in LMGT3
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: TF Title Tilt!
Pair of TF Sport Corvettes alive for top LMGT3 championship positions in WEC finale
DETROIT (November 3, 2025) – It all comes down to this for TF Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The UK-based team and its pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are prepped and ready for the Eight Hours of Bahrain, which is the eighth and final round on this year’s FIA WEC calendar.
A year after both Corvettes finished on the LMGT3 podium, TF Sport is eyeing bigger things Saturday – namely the class Drivers and Teams championships. Each of the yellow Z06 GT3.Rs remain alive for top-three finishes in the LMGT3 championship with the No. 81 Corvette alive for the title heading to the 3.363-mile, 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit.
No. 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy
A victory last time out for Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy put the trio and the No. 81 Corvette into championship position heading to Bahrain.
It was the long-awaited first WEC win for the trio and the third podium in four races after scoring points in just one of the first three rounds. They were also runners-up a year ago at Bahrain where Eastwood starred late in a push for the class win.
A second triumph wouldn’t clinch the LMGT3 championship for the No. 81 Corvette but it would be close. The championship leader – the No. 92 Porsche – needs to finish fourth or better to eliminate the TF Sport Corvette. But a fifth-place finish for the No. 92 coupled with a third-place finish for the No. 21 Ferrari and win plus a point for pole position would give Eastwood, Andrade and Van Rompuy the championship due to two victories for each but no other podiums for the Porsche. With a win but no pole, TF Sport needs the No. 92 to finish sixth or worse.
Should the Porsche score zero points, the No. 81 Corvette needs to finish second and the No. 21 place no better than sixth. There are also additional scenarios involving the two cars in a head-to-head matchup where tiebreakers can come into play.
No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Daniel Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating
The championship picture for Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating took a major hit after the Fuji race as a post-race penalty sent it out the points and championship contention.
A race win and pole position would put the No. 33 Corvette into a tie with the No. 92 if the latter doesn’t score points; the tiebreaker would go to the Porsche.
Winners in the season-opening race in Qatar, the Juncadella/Edgar/Keating trio can still become only the second entry to take two LMGT3 victories this year by capturing the race at Bahrain.
Juncadella was part of the third-place lineup in class a year ago in TF Sport’s second Corvette. Keating drove a Corvette C8.R at Bahrain on his way to the GTE Am championship, and Edgar has Formula 3 experience at the circuit in the past.
The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. AST / 6 a.m. ET Saturday. Full, live streaming coverage of the race and Friday’s 4 p.m. AST qualifying is available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the United States. Friday’s Free Practice 3 will be available on both apps plus the FIA WEC’s YouTube channel.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT QUOTES
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We have a good chance at second or third in the championship. We won’t have any of success weight, so we will have that advantage over our rivals. Last year we had a really good delta on tire deg compared to the other cars. That’s where the weight will have some impact. It’s a very particular track with the heat and tire deg, which is incredibly high. We have a harder compound this year, which isn’t as good as the medium tire for us. But still, I’m hopeful for a positive result for both cars. Hopefully, there are reasons to celebrate after the race. We should be competitive and it’s a cool place to race and the track is nice. There is a lot of asphalt runoff, which normally isn’t a favorite for me. Being so dusty and sandy with the wind, anything other than the ideal racing line is very slippery. It’s a cooler and more fun track than I thought when I first got there.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Bahrain last year obviously was very good for the team with a double podium. I think with it being a high-deg track, we should expect to be pretty good on the tires. The Corvette is normally pretty good on tires. I’m looking forward to being back at a track that I’ve been to before. From Le Mans onward, all the tracks have been new to me so it’s nice to be back at a track that I’ve been to before. I know the track quite well so I’m excited to go back. Hopefully, we can finish the year with a good weekend. We’ve had quite a lot of bad luck from quite early in the season, and it would be nice to finish with a good race.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “There is still a lot at stake for us at Bahrain, namely a top-three finish in the championship. That would be a really good achievement in my first year back with TF Sport and the Corvette in the WEC. I’ve won this race before and enjoy the track. Let’s see how it goes but we will go out racing hard, for sure.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “If you go into a championship race with a chance and don’t believe you can do it, it’s definitely the wrong mindset. I totally think we can get the championship. It doesn’t take much with so many points on offer. I did the permutations the other day that the Porsche needs to finish sixth or something like that. But in such a tight field like we saw in Fuji, in a blink we win it and in the same blink the 33 finishes eighth. We were very similar in pace and very similar in every sense. Back in 2020, I had a 20-point lead going into the last race and lost. Going in this year 24 points behind, hopefully we can win it this time. It’s not vastly different from our situation going into Portimão for ELMS, and that worked out great for us. So hopefully we can get a repeat of that at Bahrain. The Corvette is super good around there. We were very fast and nearly got our first win there last year. As a team and driver crew, we are better than we were this time last year. The hard tire will help some of the others, for sure. But I am very much looking forward to it.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm excited to have the opportunity to go into Bahrain and still have a shot at the championship. We didn’t have the easiest of starts to the year but since Le Mans the entire 81 crew has been on fire with three podiums and a special win in Fuji. It won’t be easy but we will give it our all, just like we did at Portimão in winning the ELMS championship. It will be a long and difficult race but after our Corvettes finished P3 and P2 in last year’s Eight Hours of Bahrain, everyone at TF is very motivated to try and climb one step higher on the podium and finish the year on a high."
2025 FIA World Endurance Championship Points
LMGT3 Drivers Standings
1. Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz/Ryan Hardwick – 105
2. Alessio Rovera/Francois Heriau/Simon Mann – 94
3. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 81
4. Ben Keating/Daniel Juncadella/Jonny Edgar – 66
5. Ian James/Mattia Drudi/Zacharie Robichon – 63
LMGT3 Teams Standings
1. No. 92 Manthey 1ST Phorm – 105
2. No. 21 Vista AF Corse – 94
3. No. 81 TF Sport – 81
4. No. 33 TF Sport – 66
5. Heart of Racing Team – 63
CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: By the Numbers
• 1: One manufacturer, one brand and one race program for 26-plus years – Chevrolet, Corvett and Corvette Racing
• 1: Championships this year already for TF Sport – the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams titles in the European Le Mans Series
• 2: Podium finishes for TF Sport at Bahrain last year to close the first season for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R
• 2: FIA WEC victories for TF Sport this year Qatar for Dani Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating and Fuji for Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy
• 4: Number of Corvettes for the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series – two for TF Sport and two for Johor Motorsports Racing
• 4: Number of Corvettes set for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2026 with a potential fifth in one of the Z06 GT3.R teams wins the ALMS championship
• 8: Hours difference between Manama, Bahrain and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone
• 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
• 17: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R across six different series. Three have come via TF Sport across the FIA WEC and ELMS
• 33: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
• 40: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Tom Van Rompuy at Fuji in September
• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
• 74: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Adam Ali for Steller Motorsport in International GT Open at Barcelona
• 154: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 118 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, five in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia and GT America and two in the European Le Mans Series
• 356: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
• 459,117.65: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!
Corvette Racing at Bahrain
2022 – No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE Pro
2023 – No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone – 7th in GTE Am
2024 – No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 2nd in LMGT3
No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 3rd in LMGT3
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
