LMGT3 class winner Daniel Juncadella admitted the great pressure on defending the win at the FIA World Endurance Championship‘s Qatar 1812 km.

“For the whole stint, for sure that was a lot of pressure in the last 30 minutes,” said the #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R driver.

“At beginning I didn’t think I could hold [the #59 – Gregoire Saucy] off.

“I just focused on hitting my marks. I could see where he was stronger in places.

“There were a couple of places where he could have gone for it and I think he was unsure.

“So it was good to keep him behind.

“At some point I was thinking we were going to finish second but I was focused on myself, my driving and not making mistakes. And here we are.”

The 2025 season-opener hosted a tense final hour in the LMGT3 category as TF Sport and United Autosports were spurred on by the glory of a maiden victory in the category.

As the other #81 TF Sport Corvette, which looked competitive earlier on, retired due to a broken alternator shaft pulley, the #33 entrant was the team’s sole chance to win after 10 hours.

The #33 fought their way up to contention, having qualified 13th in the LMGT3 class, whilst United Autosports’ #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 EVO lost their winning chances.

This was due to a drive-through penalty from an unsafe pit stop release and so the #59 McLaren became hope for their desire for LMGT3 victory.

‘We had to let others take themselves out of contention’ says Keating

“I couldn’t have imagined this,” said Ben Keating, one of the other #33 co-drivers to Juncadella and a former champion in Corvette machinery.

“Even if you look at the way the race unfolded, we didn’t have the speed to win it.

“We had to let others take themselves out of contention, and we’ll take it any way we can get it! We ran a clean race and a hard race…

“The last 30 minutes of Dani staying in front of the McLaren was just epic.

“To start 13th and end up in first place after 10 hours of hard racing is not easy.”

Meanwhile the other #33 Corvette co-driver, Jonny Edgar, took on his maiden WEC victory alike Juncadella as Keating claimed his eighth.

Corvette had one existing win thus far in 2025 at the IMSA 24 Hours of Daytona on 25-26 January in the GTD category.

The next stop on the calendar for the Corvette brand will be at the 73rd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring on 15 March.

READ MORE: Daniel Juncadella fends off McLaren towards Corvette LMGT3 victory in Qatar

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Corvette Racing has expanded their factory driver roster after bringing on Daniel Juncadella, Earl Bamber, Charlie Eastwood and Nico Varrone, who will compete in IMSA and/or the WEC in the new Z06 GT3.R.

The quadrant of drivers will join the existing selection, featuring Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims, who will contest the full 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

Furthermore, the four additional drivers join the group to compete in IMSA or the FIA World Endurance Championship, or both.

Juncadella and Bamber will take part as Endurance Cup drivers within the two-car IMSA GTD Pro effort from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.

The former Mercedes-AMG driver will join Garcia and Sims, whilst Bamber will join Milner and Catsburg.

Furthermore, Juncadella and Eastwood will join TF Sport for the British team’s LMGT3 programme with Corvette in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“As we move into GT3 and customer racing, it is important that we add to our roster of drivers that are available to teams,” said Christie Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R program manager.

“We are excited about the wealth of experience in our Corvette factory lineup. Both GM and our teams will benefit from the learnings from each driver.”

Juncadella, joining Corvette for the IMSA endurance races, said: “I’ve been a witness to what it means to be a Corvette driver in the U.S. That’s means a really big fanbase. That’s pretty exciting, to be honest.

“At every autograph session in IMSA that I’ve been sitting next to the Corvette tent, there is a queue of 100 people waiting to get an autograph from their drivers, and we were just sitting around! That’s very exciting, I have to say, to see the legacy that Corvette Racing has created in the U.S. and to see the amount of awareness about the brand is very exciting. It makes me proud and it feels quite unique to be a Corvette factory driver.”

Bamber, meanwhile, told media: “It’s really exciting to be joining Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports for the long races. I’ve been a part of some big rivalries for many years in IMSA racing. But this organization has won so many races and championships… it’s really impressive.

“When I did my first test at Road America, you could see why they’ve been so successful. I’ve driven the Z06 GT3.R and I think the package is really good. These guys have built fantastic GTLM cars over the years, and I don’t see why the Corvette GT3 should be any different. It’s a well-balanced car already just in its infancy, so I think they will be a formidable force not just in IMSA but also as this program seeks out to go all around the world. I think it will be one of the benchmark cars into the future.”

Nico Varrone said: “First of all, it’s a big honor to be a factory driver for Corvette. It’s also nice to be back in IMSA next season with everyone at AWA.

“These are people that I know from this year and doing the endurance races in LMP3. It was a good year. We won Daytona and had great performances throughout the season. It will be a big challenge with the new car, not only for our team but everyone in the entire Corvette program. But this is also a completely new class for AWA. It will be a challenge but we will be prepared to make the most of it and get some wins with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and have a great season.”

And finally, Eastwood: “This certainly ranks up there for me, joining such a brand like Corvette and an organization like GM. It’s what so many drivers wish for their whole career. It seems to be an amazing place to be, and you can see that because so many drivers stay for so long. I’m really looking forward to that opportunity to learn from the best in the business and push on together to achieve great things for many years to come.”

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Daniel Juncadella and Charlie Eastwood have been signed by TF Sport for the team’s 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign, their first as a Corvette Racing customer for the new Z06 GT3.R.

The team, which has raced in WEC since the 2018-2019 season, has historically been partnered with Aston Martin. However, with the new LMGT3 regulations mandating two cars per manufacturer and Aston having chosen to go down a different route with The Heart of Racing and D’Station, TF Sport needed a new partner.

That ;partner became Corvette, who in January unveiled the Z06 GT3.R as a replacement for the Corvette C8.R, which raced in the now-defunct GTE class in WEC competition. The Z06 GT3.R will be the first GT3 from the factory and will also be the first Corvette Racing car to be globally available.

Eastwood has raced with TF Sport for a few years, winning the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Am class for the team and the 2022 LMP2 pro/am champion in the European Le Mans Series.

“I am delighted to join TF Sport’s WEC campaign in the brand new Corvette Z06 GT3.R,” said the Irishman.

“It is an absolute honour to be an official Corvette driver and even more to race with the team I have been with since my first endurance race. 

“As always the WEC will be super competitive, but I know we have all the tools to aim for the championship. Qatar can’t come soon enough.”

Juncadella, meanwhile, is a newcomer to both the WEC and TF Sport, having previously raced with Mercedes-AMG in a variety of championships.

Both drivers have joined the Corvette Racing factory driver roster, with Juncadella leaving the employ of Mercedes-AMG as a result.

“I am enormously excited for this new chapter in my career,” said the Spaniard.

“Joining TF Sport for the 2024 WEC season is a dream come true. It will be my first time competing in WEC and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I can’t wait to meet everyone in the team and get to work. The new Corvette Z06 GT3.R looks like a proper weapon, I look forward to get my hands on it!”

Finally, Tom Ferrier, TF Sport director, said: “It is an exciting new chapter for TF Sport with Corvette and we are very happy to welcome Daniel and Charlie to the team as our Pro drivers.”

Although he is new to us, Daniel needs no introduction: his results in GT3 speak for themselves. Charlie has been an integral part of TF Sport’s success and we are very happy to be able to continue this journey with him in our new challenge. 

“Both drivers bring speed and experience and know how to win and we couldn’t be happier with the choice of driver that GM has supplied us with”.

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Daniel Juncadella in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo topped the second free practice session for the GT Challenge at VIR, ahead of qualifying later today.

The session was dry with clear conditions for 19 GT3 cars to make their final preparations ahead of the qualifying session.

The first 15 minutes of the 1 hour and 45 minute session was for the GTD class only, as the final 15 minutes were solely for GTD Pro cars.

Given that qualifying was on the horizon, drivers were keen to round off longer runs for the 2 hour and 40 minute race, and pull off shorter qualifying simulation runs.

This meant times went into the 1:44 mark, and just over two seconds covered the whole field.

In the final minutes, it was Juncadella in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo who was fastest, setting a 1:44.539.

Second place was taken by provisional pace-setter Jack Hawksworth in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, with a time which resulted three-hundredths behind Juncadella, a 1:44.569.

To round off the top-three order, Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette Racing put a 1:44.638 lap time.

The other two GTD-Pros, the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin (who took pole last time out at Road America) and the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, were in ninth and 10th overall and just under a second away from Juncadella’s benchmark time.

In fourth overall, and first of the GTD cars, it was the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 with Madison Snow who did a fastest time of 1:44.642.

Snow and his teammate Bryan Sellers are looking to further their lead in the standings after a strong outing previously at Road America, where they claimed both pole position and the GTD win.

Another BMW finished behind in the form of the #96 Turner Motorsport, which claimed fifth overall with a 1:44.711 in the hands of Patrick Gallagher.

There were no disruptions, incidents or red flags during the course of FP2.

Qualifying will take place later today from 8.40pm UK time on IMSA TV and IMSA Radio.

See here for the full results from the second free practice session.

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Mercedes-AMG factory driver Daniel Juncadella will contest the upcoming Motul Petit Le Mans as the third driver for Florida-based outfit Alegra Motorsports.

Juncadella will join the pairing of Michael de Quesada and Daniel Morad aboard the #28 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

It will mark only the second time that the Spaniard has contest a round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. In 2018, he contested the Rolex 24 Daytona in a Jackie Chan DC Racing-entered ORECA 07-Gibson.

Alegra’s car will also feature an overhauled livery for the ten-hour enduro featuring sponsorship from Huski Chocolate, the Swedish firm that has previously sponsored the McLaren F1 team and Marcus Ericsson’s Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar.

The team will also be active in a powerboat race this weekend, as father and son Carlos and Michael de Quesada will race a 4,000 horsepower race boat in the Race World Offshore World Championship in Key West, Florida.

“There are some similarities between these two styles of racing, but more differences,” said Carlos de Quesada. “It says a lot about the skill and commitment of the Alegra Team that we’re able to mobilize for two totally different events in different corners of the country. Regardless of how we fair, it’s sure to be an exciting weekend.” 

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Rudy Van Buren defeated Kevin Siggy to claim victory in the second All-Star simulation racing event, with Nuno Pinto completing an all-pro sim racing podium in the grand final.

As with last weekend’s inaugural all-star event held by The Race, RFactor 2 was the simulation software of choice, while the Tatuus PM-18- a spec-machine used in the US-based Indy Pro 2000 series in reality- proved to be the virtual set of wheels the drivers would compete with at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

This event was structured slightly differently to last weekend’s running, with three group contests preceding the final battle. The five top finishing drivers in each would head directly into the final battle, while a last chance race would decide the final five racers to join them in the final.

The first two group races contained mostly real-life professional race drivers; while the final qualifier saw the best of the qualifying sim racers take part.

Van Buren-who won the inaugural World’s Fastest Gamer contest in 2017- managed to pass pole-man Siggy in the opening tours of the 20 lap final, leading a train of four drivers for most of the race.

Siggy looked to have the pace to challenge Van Buren, but then came under attack from behind by the chasing Pinto and Sebastian Job.

This allowed Van Buren to build an advantage of just over a second-breaking the slipstream in the process- which gave him the opportunity to edge away.

He duly did, eventually crossing the line 1.8 seconds clear of Siggy, while Pinto survived a clash with Job at Turn 2 just past mid-distance to take third.  

The duo went side by side into the slow left-hander, but Job failed to leave enough on the inside for Pinto. The resulting contact spun Job around and into the gravel, and with his car damaged he retired soon afterwards.

This allowed Ganassi Indycar racer Felix Rosenqvist-who also claimed victory in the opening group race ahead of the final- to move into fourth, although ex-DTM man Daniel Juncadella had designs on the position.

The Spaniard dived past into Turn 1, but Rosenqvist was having none of it and re-passed him just a couple corners later.

Juncadella was not to be denied though, and in the dying moments of the race snatched the advantage back, ultimately claiming the honour of being the highest placed real life professional driver as he crossed the line fourth.

Risto Kappet led another trio of eSport drivers in sixth, shading Erhan Jajovski and James Baldwin, while a pair of Formula E pilots in Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne and BMW man Maximillian Guenther completed the top ten.

Several high profile drivers failed to make it into the final 20, including Indy 500 winners Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Kanaan and ex-F1 hotshoe Nico Hulkenberg.

 Max Verstappen was an early casualty from the contest, a late equipment issue forcing the current Red Bull Formula 1 driver to miss the event, with Ginetta Junior racer James Hedley replacing him.

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