cor123
Well-known member
Press Release:
CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Season-Best Sixth for DXDT
Wickens leads early, traffic and contact ruin chances for GTD victory
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2026) – DXDT Racing led early but traffic and contact issues forced the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Robert Wickens and Mason Filippi back into the pack and a sixth-place finishing position in the GTD class of Saturday’s 100-minute Grand Prix of Long Beach.
For the third consecutive race in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the DXDT Corvette led laps and contended for its first GTD class victory. Saturday, Wickens began from pole position – his first in GTD – and led for the entirety of his 25-lap stint. It came a year after his debut in the DXDT Z05 GT3.R that is equipped with hand controls and Bosch’s electronic braking system.
The team made its lone pit stop of the race at the 37-minute mark and swapped Wickens for Filippi, who made his first career appearance at the Long Beach street circuit. The driver change was a quick one and preserved what was a seven-second lead. Shortly after that, the race went under full-course yellow for the second time and erased the team’s advantage.
The hectic restarts and traffic around Long Beach bit the DXDT Corvette, which suffered multiple hits and damage not long after the restart. Filippi still was able to challenge for the top-five toward the end.
DragonSpeed’s Giacomo Altoé and Henrik Hedman finished just out of the top-10 in 12th place with their No. 81 Corvette, which required extensive repairs before Long Beach following a hard crash for the team at Sebring. They were one spot ahead of 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell and Orey Fidani in their No. 13 Corvette, but the result was enough for Fidani to retain his lead in the season-long Bob Akin Award championship, which goes to the highest points-scoring, Bronze-rated driver at the end of the year.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R program’s next race in IMSA is the Monterey SportsCar Championship on May 1-3 from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "To be honest, that was a fairy-tale stint. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R was just so nice to drive around this track. Every lap is a dream. It was a good stint and a little fortunate with Danny Formal having a mechanical problem, and then I don't know what happened to the 57, but suddenly we had quite a decent amount of space behind. We were a little nervous for our driver change on if we would lose time or at least maintain status quo. So the goal for me was to build a gap, just in case. Mason did an amazing job, and I am pretty sure I just found out we had the fifth-fastest in the pit lane. I'll take that all day."
MASON FILIPPI, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We were all right on the pace all weekend. We got stuck driving behind some of the lap traffic there and got into it a little bit with the GTP car at the fountain. Then we got pushed into the wall pretty hard by another car. When that happened we lost kind of all of the momentum. Since it was right after a restart, everyone kind of came through. It's a bummer, you know, for the team. They did a fantastic job this weekend. We'll get it. It is what it is, but go to the next one and aim for the front again."
GIACOMO ALTOE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We want more, but there are positives to take from this race. The pace was very strong during my stint; I was able to get back onto the lead lap and make some overtakes. I had a really good feeling behind the wheel. Thanks to the team for the work done throughout the weekend, especially for the race. The work will pay off and we’re on the right path to the top.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Unfortunately for the second year in a row, Orey's part of the race was affected by a competitor. That had a lasting effect on our race. We were carrying damage the rest of the way, but the 13 Autosport guys still gave me a fast car to go out there and try to do something with. It was the nature of the race... a few things didn't go our way. We couldn't move forward like we hoped but still finished a few places ahead of where we started. Just one of those days where it didn't work out for us. We'll regroup, head to Laguna Seca for the next race and see if we can target the Akin win and even better when we get there."
Ryan Smith
CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Season-Best Sixth for DXDT
Wickens leads early, traffic and contact ruin chances for GTD victory
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2026) – DXDT Racing led early but traffic and contact issues forced the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Robert Wickens and Mason Filippi back into the pack and a sixth-place finishing position in the GTD class of Saturday’s 100-minute Grand Prix of Long Beach.
For the third consecutive race in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the DXDT Corvette led laps and contended for its first GTD class victory. Saturday, Wickens began from pole position – his first in GTD – and led for the entirety of his 25-lap stint. It came a year after his debut in the DXDT Z05 GT3.R that is equipped with hand controls and Bosch’s electronic braking system.
The team made its lone pit stop of the race at the 37-minute mark and swapped Wickens for Filippi, who made his first career appearance at the Long Beach street circuit. The driver change was a quick one and preserved what was a seven-second lead. Shortly after that, the race went under full-course yellow for the second time and erased the team’s advantage.
The hectic restarts and traffic around Long Beach bit the DXDT Corvette, which suffered multiple hits and damage not long after the restart. Filippi still was able to challenge for the top-five toward the end.
DragonSpeed’s Giacomo Altoé and Henrik Hedman finished just out of the top-10 in 12th place with their No. 81 Corvette, which required extensive repairs before Long Beach following a hard crash for the team at Sebring. They were one spot ahead of 13 Autosport’s Matt Bell and Orey Fidani in their No. 13 Corvette, but the result was enough for Fidani to retain his lead in the season-long Bob Akin Award championship, which goes to the highest points-scoring, Bronze-rated driver at the end of the year.
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R program’s next race in IMSA is the Monterey SportsCar Championship on May 1-3 from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "To be honest, that was a fairy-tale stint. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R was just so nice to drive around this track. Every lap is a dream. It was a good stint and a little fortunate with Danny Formal having a mechanical problem, and then I don't know what happened to the 57, but suddenly we had quite a decent amount of space behind. We were a little nervous for our driver change on if we would lose time or at least maintain status quo. So the goal for me was to build a gap, just in case. Mason did an amazing job, and I am pretty sure I just found out we had the fifth-fastest in the pit lane. I'll take that all day."
MASON FILIPPI, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We were all right on the pace all weekend. We got stuck driving behind some of the lap traffic there and got into it a little bit with the GTP car at the fountain. Then we got pushed into the wall pretty hard by another car. When that happened we lost kind of all of the momentum. Since it was right after a restart, everyone kind of came through. It's a bummer, you know, for the team. They did a fantastic job this weekend. We'll get it. It is what it is, but go to the next one and aim for the front again."
GIACOMO ALTOE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We want more, but there are positives to take from this race. The pace was very strong during my stint; I was able to get back onto the lead lap and make some overtakes. I had a really good feeling behind the wheel. Thanks to the team for the work done throughout the weekend, especially for the race. The work will pay off and we’re on the right path to the top.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Unfortunately for the second year in a row, Orey's part of the race was affected by a competitor. That had a lasting effect on our race. We were carrying damage the rest of the way, but the 13 Autosport guys still gave me a fast car to go out there and try to do something with. It was the nature of the race... a few things didn't go our way. We couldn't move forward like we hoped but still finished a few places ahead of where we started. Just one of those days where it didn't work out for us. We'll regroup, head to Laguna Seca for the next race and see if we can target the Akin win and even better when we get there."
Ryan Smith
