Chevrolet Corvette GTP - Racing History

Racing History

For 1985, the first Corvette GTP chassis was initially given to Lee Racing for its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona but would suffer gearbox problems and not finish. This was followed by a seventh place finish at Miami, then another failure to finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. This would be followed by a string of failures at Charlotte, Mid-Ohio, and Watkins Glen. By mid season Hendrick Motorsports debuted their factory-backed team with GM Goodwrench sponsorship and leading driver David Hobbs. Unfortunately the team did not manage to finish any races by the end of the season. Although Lee Racing did rebound to score a seventh, eighth and tenth place finishes for the season.

Into 1986, Hendrick Motorsports and Lee Racing would continued their campaign with mixed results. Although both teams failed to finish the first three races of the season, Hendrick would manage to take the first victory for the Corvette GTP at Road Atlanta for Doc Bundy and Sarel van der Merwe. However by that time Lee Racing abandoned their effort. Hendrick would continue on and manage a fourth place finish at Charlotte, seventh at Lime Rock, and third at Mid-Ohio. A third Corvette GTP Lola chassis entered the season in May and campaigned by Hendricks would take the Corvette GTP's second victory on the streets of Palm Beach, defeating a Porsche 962 by four tenths of a second. The 1986 season would see the only two first places finishes by a Corvette GTP during their racing career.

Hendrick started 1987 the same way they had 1986, failing to finish the first race of the season, mixed with relatively strong finshes, even suffering from a fire during the Miami event. Following a short stint of problems, the duo would finish fourth and seventh at Portland, followed quickly by a lone third at Sears Point. One final third came in the streets of San Antonio before Hendrick would close out the season with a series of problems. However, problems at Jaguar helped Chevrolet secure second in the manufacturers championship, once again losing to Porsche.

By 1988, the Corvette GTPs were becoming slightly more consistent as the team managed to overcome their mechanical woes, helped by the occasional use of the naturally aspirated V8s. The season again began slow, with an eighth place finish at Road Atlanta be the first finish by a Corvette GTP that season. A seventh at Lime Rock and Mid-Ohio would be followed by a third at Watkins Glen, tenth at Road America, and finally ninth at Sears Point. It was late in the season before the two Hendrick cars would be joined by the new Peerless Racing squad, using the newest Corvette GTP chassis. Peerless would take a fourth place at Columbus, followed closely behind by Hendrick in fifth. Hendrick would close the season with a fifth at Del Mar. Chevrolet would however manage to finish fourth in championship.

After the 1988 season, General Motors chose to cancel their funding for the Corvette GTP project, and Hendrick Motorsport did not return to IMSA GT. Peerless Racing would attempt to continue into 1989, but a series of accidents led to them finishing only one race, a 4th at Watkins Glen. The Peerless car would later be used by Eagle Performance as an experiment with their large 10.2 liter (4 Cam-32 valve) V8 engine, entering it in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car would however suffer electrical problems during the qualifying sessions and would not be able to make the race, marking the end of the Corvette GTP.