The General Motors
brand made its debut in 2022 with a single Corvette C8.R in the GTE Pro class for Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner, having previously only competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and sporadically in other races.
Corvette recently announced that it will continue its program next year in the GTE-Am class, which will be the last season for the C8.R before being replaced by a new version of the C8 road car, built from the ground up according to the rules. of GT3 in 2024.
It will be joined in the WEC by sister brand Cadillac, which will take on Toyota, Peugeot, Porsche and Ferrari in the top hypercar class next season with a single Chip Ganassi-operated V-LMDh shared by Alex Lynn. Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook.
Klauser believes
that the Cadillac program, for which he is also responsible, will benefit from the work Corvette has done to link up with series organizers and allow the GM organization to become more involved in racing to become more familiar with the WEC.
She told Autosport: “It’s very clear what having a party here all season has done for us. It has provided us with great relationships with everyone in the paddock.
“We had learned the little nuances that come with every different series you race in and we felt comfortable and the team was performing well, not just the drivers.
“If you looked at the mechanics and engineers, they felt comfortable because it was familiar to them and they knew it, and I think it was great, to be honest.
“And as we look to the future, in everything we do with Corvette and Cadillac, building those relationships has also been critical to the business.”
She added: “It’s always good to know who to turn to if you need a little help or just want to share an idea.
“And one of the things that for me personally has been great about being here is getting to know all the different teams in the WEC paddock, getting to know them, getting to know the OEMs better, which are more spread out here than in America and that was great. .
“So I think any sports car racing program that comes out of GM in the future will benefit from that.”
Corvette heads into next weekend’s Bahrain season finale in search of a second victory to add to the first WEC regular race victory the American marque achieved in July at Monza in what will be the final GTE race Pro of the series.
Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating have been named as the first two drivers for the 2023 GTE Am brand entry, which will again be run alongside a single-car entry in the GT Daytona Pro class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
