Breakthrough AWA GTD Victory “Good Test” for 24H Le Mans Bid

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

AWA’s breakthrough first 24-hour win for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R has served as a “good test” for the team’s upcoming debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans according to driver Lars Kern.

The Canadian squad, in its second IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with the Corvette, came out on top in the GTD class in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Bell finishing 1.4 seconds ahead of the second-placed No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ayhancan Guven.

It came after the British driver had a series of exchanges for the class lead with the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi, which ended up third, although the Corvette had been at the head of the pack for much of the running in the closing stages.

“Honestly, I can’t remember a thing,” said Bell after the race. “There were [GTD] Pro cars, there were GTD cars… I don’t remember that. I’ll have to watch the video later!

“Every time there was a car in front of me, I was trying to overtake it. I asked the guys to stop giving me updates on the radio.
I just [saw] a GT car and wanted to pass it. That’s all I was focused on.

“I can’t thank my teammates and everyone enough. That’s one beat up Chevrolet Corvette but they make them tough in Detroit.”

Bell said the class win meant “absolutely everything” to him.

“To me, to my teammates Orey and Lars and Marvin, everybody on this team has worked so hard,” he said. “To think where we were this time last year and how far we’ve come to now… it’s so much hard work to do this.

“From the minute the checkered flag fell at Petit Le Mans, no one took a rest. No one took a break. It’s been 24/7 since then to get a car that is capable of winning the Daytona 24 Hours. AWA gave the four of us car to do it.

“IMSA is the hardest championship in the world. Our competitors gave us a hell of a run. I had to work so hard to get on top of those guys but we managed to make it work and bring it home in the last ten minutes.

“Thank you to the competition for making it this hard, and thank you to AWA and my teammates to get us over the line.”

The No. 13 Corvette, which finished the race without left or right-side mirrors, marked the first Rolex 24 win for all four drivers, including Bronze-rated Fidani.

“This was always a dream, but I didn’t think about it before coming here two weeks ago,” he said. “I think I drove my best-ever race in this one, the car was hooked up, my teammates drove really well and everything just came together.

“This is huge boost for the team and myself heading to the 24 Hours Le Mans.

“If we can this one, I think Le Mans also is a possibility as well. We’ll take that energy from here and roll it forward into that. But first, let’s try going for the Twelve Hours next at Sebring.”

The Andrew Wojteczko-led team is set to make its Le Mans debut in June, courtesy of Fidani’s Bob Akin Bronze Cup championship last year, which earned an automatic invite to the French endurance classic in LMGT3.

“We were laughing a couple of days ago that if we win this, it’s a good test for Le Mans,” said Kern. “So we can continue like this. I think that’s our approach.”