Penske IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin will race a Chevrolet Corvette at Suzuka subsequent month to tick off what he’s calling a “bucket listing” ambition.
The New Zealander will drive a Corvette Z06 GT3.R for the Malaysian Johore Motorsports Racing crew within the Suzuka 1000Km spherical of the Intercontinental GT Problem on 14 September to fulfil his dream.
“I’m actually grateful for the chance to be part of the JMR crew heading to Suzuka for the 1000Km,” mentioned McLaughlin, who races a Chevrolet-powered Dallara DW12 for Crew Penske within the IndyCar Sequence.
“I’ve at all times needed to race Suzuka, and it’s a bucket listing monitor for me.”
McLaughlin will share the JMR Professional class entry with Chevrolet manufacturing unit drivers Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg, who he described as his “Basic Motors mates” and “two superb Corvette racers”.
Suzuka, spherical 4 of a collection that includes the 24-hour classics at Spa and the Nurburgring, will likely be McLaughlin’s second race look on the wheel of Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
#91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ben Keating, Connor Zilisch, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen
Picture by: Courtesy of IMSA
He drove considered one of Pratt & Miller-developed racers on the Daytona 24 Hours in January, the opening spherical of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, fielded by NASCAR Cup entrant Trackhouse Racing and run by TF Sport.
McLaughlin’s CV has encompassed sportscar appearances in LMP2 in IMSA since he switched to IndyCars from the V8 Supercars Sequence in Australia on the finish of 2020.
He received LMP2 and completed third total on the 2023 Sebring 12 Hours driving a Tower Motorsports ORECA-Gibson 07.
His sportscar credit additionally embrace a victory on the Bathurst 12 Hours on the wheel of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in 2016.
JMR, a daily within the GT World Problem Asia, will discipline a pair of Corvettes on the Suzuka IGTC fixture.
A automobile is being fielded in Professional-Am for Malaysian princes Jefri Ibrahim and Abu Bakar Ibrahim, who will share with Finn GT specialist Konsta Lappalainen.
The IGTC is returning to Suzuka this yr for the primary time since 2019 after which the fixture fell sufferer to the COVID pandemic.
In its earlier two editions, 2018 and ’19, the Suzuka spherical was a 10-hour race however this yr the late summer season endurance fixture courting again to 1966 is returning to its conventional 1000km format.
The utmost period of the race has been prolonged from six to six-and-a-half hours in an try to make sure the complete distance is achieved. A 30-car entry has been acquired for the occasion.
Learn Additionally:
The Chinese language Phantom International Racing Porsche is reviving the ‘pink pig’ livery for Suzuka.
Its Porsche 911 GT3-R shared by manufacturing unit drivers Klaus Bachler and Patric Niederhauser, together with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific-contracted Dorian Boccolacci, will race within the colors first seen on a 917/20 on the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The manufacturing unit revived a livery that options the names in German of the completely different butcher’s cuts of pork for one of many 4 entries that made up its 2018 Le Mans GTE Professional assault.
Phantom International Racing Porsche livery
Picture by: Porsche
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