Corvette Racing At Imola: Podium For TF Sport At Delayed FIA Season Opener

The FIA World Endurance Championship finally roared to life this weekend at the historic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, as the 6 Hours of Imola served as the impromptu 2026 season opener. This shift comes after geopolitical instability in the Middle East forced the postponement of the scheduled Qatar 1812km, turning the tight, “old-school” Italian circuit into the championship’s high-stakes curtain-raiser.

For the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, the debut at Imola offered a stark contrast to the sweeping curves of North American endurance, testing the LMGT3-spec machine against a dense, 35-car field on a narrow 4.9km layout that punishes even the slightest tactical error. As the checkered flag fell on six hours of relentless attrition and strategic gambles, the results from the Santerno valley underscore exactly why the Z06 GT3.R was engineered for global battle—showcasing a platform that can adapt from the brutal bumps of Sebring to the technical chicanes of Emilia-Romagna. Are you as pumped as we are?!? Let’s get after it!

What’s Inside CorvSport’s Corvette Racing Coverage:

The Official 6 Hours of Imola Press Release From Corvette Racing: Authored by Ryan Smith
The Post Race CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES From Corvette Racing
Celebrate With TF Sport! A Chance to Engage With Racing Enthusiasts
Bonus Photo Gallery From TF Sport
Bonus Video: The Corvette With A Deadly Sting: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | WEC ICONS

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1 — The Official 6 Hours of Imola Press Release From Corvette Racing: Authored by Ryan Smith

CORVETTE RACING AT IMOLA: Runner-Up for TF Sport Corvette

Catsburg, Edgar, McDonald come from deep in LMGT3 field in strong start to season

IMOLA, Italy (April 19, 2026) – TF Sport’s No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R earned a runner-up spot in LMGT3 Sunday at the end of the Six Hours of Imola to start the FIA World Endurance Championship season. It was the second straight season-opening podium for the team and the Corvette GT3 in the series.

Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and series rookie Blake McDonald had a nearly flawless race in a new-look lineup for the team. The No. 33 Corvette came from deep in the field and gained 12 spots from start to finish and was just 0.265 seconds from the race win with Catsburg chasing down the class-winning BMW on the last lap.

McDonald started 14th in class for his first race in the FIA WEC and first dealing with Hypercar traffic. By the time he exited the No. 33 and handed over to Edgar, the Corvette was firmly inside the top-five. It led for the first time just shy of the halfway point, not long after Edgar set the fastest lap of the race in his opening stint.

He swapped to Catsburg for the final one hour, 40 minutes of the race with the Corvette in third. Despite a slightly long final pit stop, Catsburg moved into second inside the final 35 minutes and clawed away at what was a three-second deficit down to two-tenths at the end.

The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey TF Corvette finished 16th after a late-race technical issue that forced the car into the garage near the five-hour mark. It was a contender also after an early charge through the pack with Salih Yoluc moving from 10th to fourth after his opening stints, and Peter Dempsey kept the Corvette in podium position until his stop to hand over to Charlie Eastwood just inside the fourth hour when the electrical issue arose.

“The Corvettes all weekend had good pace,” said Eric Warren, GM Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition. “We had a few issues to work out. There were a few issues with a mirror that we had to work on and some electrical issues that we tried to work out. But both cars had speed. The No. 33 had a great chance for the victory and it came down to the very last lap. But a great performance by both the 33 and 34. TF Sport and Corvette Racing should be happy with this start to the season, and we’re looking forward to more this year.”

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the Six Hours of Spa on May 7-9.

2 — The Post Race CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES From Corvette Racing

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“First off all, it’s great to be back in WEC and to come back with a podium is obviously really nice. That’s definitely thanks to my teammates who did an impeccable job today. No mistakes and that’s what you need to be on the podium here. I feel like we got unlucky in the pitlane a couple of times, otherwise I think we could have won. I tried really hard with the BMW at the end but I know Dan Harper really well. He used to be a teammate; I was not expecting to make a mistake, and he didn’t. Unfortunately I couldn’t pass him. In the first stint I struggled behind him quite a lot and destroyed my tires a bit. Overall I think we can be happy with the result and we can look forward to a good season.”

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was a good first race, and I enjoyed my stint a lot. We were on a different tire strategy than other cars around, so we managed to jump to the lead but had a little worse tires for the next stint. I was defending a lot from the McLaren and managed to hold him off most of the stint. We also had an energy advantage on all the cars we were racing and were in a good position. It was really unlucky on Nicky’s last pit stop. We had a wheel gun failure and lost quite a few seconds. Without that, I think we had a good chance of coming out in the lead. It’s a shame to have that happen at an unlucky time. But Blake and Nicky did an outstanding job. Coming from 14th to second is a great start to the season. I’m really happy with this and really enjoyed the car. It was great all week.”

BLAKE McDONALD, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“First WEC race and first WEC podium. I think we had the victory and the car to win and we had the pace as well. A couple of little mishaps put us in P2 but I can’t complain too much about that. Starting from P14 and getting up to P2, leading the race for a portion… Jonny did such a good job and Nicky did such a good job. I couldn’t be more proud. I’ve done a lot of work with TF Sport in Asia and now in the ELMS. To get a podium with them and a trophy with them means everything to me. I get to go into my week-long break before Paul Ricard in ELMS with a lot of momentum. This high will probably take a little while to come down from.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Unfortunately it wasn’t the result we wanted. There were a lot of positives throughout the week, we were really quick from FP1. Peter was the fastest driver in Q1. The Corvette had unbelievable pace. It was looking good until it wasn’t. A small electrical issue maybe cost us the race or at least a podium. Not long before Spa to bounce back so we need to get some points on the board there before Le Mans.”

SALIH YOLUC, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was pretty eventful but I didn’t make it easy on myself starting farther back than I would have liked. But all in all, it was good for a place like this that is difficult to overtake. Going from 10th to fourth is quite OK.”

PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It started off well for us. Salih had good pace at the start. My first stint, we boxed early for a refill and probably burned the rears off a bit too much. I was able to control it better for the second stint. Unfortunately we ran into a technical issue with the car. We lost some time in the cockpit trying to solve the issue and the loss of power. It’s a huge learning experience for me. I know I have areas where I can improve but I think I did a solid job. I’ve got work to do for the next one but I’m happy enough overall.”

3 — Celebrate With TF Sport! A Chance to Engage With Racing Enthusiasts

♦ From TF Sport:

“Imola gave us one to remember.”

♦ Click on the f in the post to join other racing enthusiasts.

4 — Bonus Photo Gallery From TF Sport

[All photos were sourced from TF Sport’s FB page and are fully credited to their respective photographers]

Congrats to TF Sport for P2! Photo Credit: TF Sport/Corvette Racing

5 — Bonus Video: The Corvette With A Deadly Sting: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | WEC ICONS

♦ Video Preview From FIA WEC:

“Welcome to a new WEC Icons episode!

In this video, we break down the technical DNA of Corvette’s LMGT3 contender in the FIA World Endurance Championship. From its engine architecture and chassis fundamentals to aerodynamics, balance, and endurance-focused setup, discover how Corvette has adapted its racing heritage to meet the demands of the WEC.

The official YouTube channel of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The FIA World Endurance Championship is the world’s premier international sportscar championship, contested over eight rounds across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With multiple cars across two categories (Hypercar and LMGT3) all on track at the same time, the WEC is a sports car extravaganza that offers action, overtakes, excitement and entertainment for fans worldwide.

Watch all the WEC action live on FIAWEC.tv

2026 Calendar:

Qatar 1812KM – March 28
6 Hours of Imola – April 19
TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – May 9
24 Hours of Le Mans – June 13-14
Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo – July 12
Lone Star Le Mans Cota – September 6
6 Hours of Fuji – September 27
Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain – November 7”

The Corvette With A Deadly Sting: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | WEC ICONS

Corvette Racing fans, let’s get pumped for more podiums during the FIA WEC 2026 season! Help make 2026 our best year yet and join the CorvSport movement!