Corvette drivers optimistic Portimao will suit C8.R

The 2.891-mile Algarve International Circuit, which will host the second round of the World Endurance Championship this weekend with a Six Hour race, comprises 15 turns and undulations that include a 16 percent drop down sweeping turns.

Nico Varrone, Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg, who together won the GTE Am class in the WEC season-opener at Sebring, all have previous experience at the track, with Keating also spending two days in the Driver In Loop simulator at the GM Tech Center in Charlotte, NC.

Portimao is the only track on the seven-round WEC calendar at which Corvette Racing has no previous experience, but Keating and Varrone sounded optimistic that the C8.R’s handling characteristics, and the quality of the team, could help overcome that deficit in track knowledge.

Keating said: “I’ve only been to Portimao once for a race event. It was a track that was very hard for me to feel like I had learned it and was up to speed. After the three practice sessions and qualifying, I still didn’t feel that way. I remember getting on the radio after my first stint and saying that I’d like to start the whole weekend again right now. That’s how long it took me to be comfortable.

“We will put more energy into our tires at this track than any other track we go to by a significant amount. There is a ton of elevation change, a ton of off-camber and blind corners. It takes a long time as a driver to feel like you have this place figured out. But that’s also what makes it fun.

“Every car has a track that it likes and doesn’t like. I just think the handling of the Corvette… we can carry a higher minimum speed around these low-speed, technical corners, we can carry the momentum better, we can handle the elevation change better and can handle the off-camber and off-balance corners better.”

Said Varrone: “The circuit is very much like a roller coaster, so I think for every driver it’s fun. As a team, we have a lot of confidence. Based on what I know, I think this should be a good track for us.

“We have the success ballast for being the championship leaders and winning at Sebring, so that will be a little bit of a disadvantage for us but we have a great team and great line-up. I’m really confident.

“The aim is to try and score the most amount of points possible. For sure, we are going for the win but if we can’t do that then we will maximize our result and keep getting points for the championship.”

Catsburg, who joined Corvette Racing in 2020 as the endurance race “extra” in the IMSA line-up before becoming full-time in the team’s WEC squad for ’23, sounded a couple of notes of caution.

“It will be a steep learning curve for us,” he said. “There won’t be as much practice time as there was at Sebring. Nico was there last year so he will be someone Ben and I can learn from.

“We’ve had the best season start possible so we’re all very much looking forward to seeing what we can do at Portimão. It will be more difficult here. Some of our competition at Sebring eliminated themselves, and I don’t think that will happen again. We need to be on-point.

“But I feel like we have the right team and right drivers for this race. Let’s continue where we left off at Sebring.”