CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: High Hopes for Double-Points Finish
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CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: High Hopes for Double-Points Finish
Rain, fog cancels qualifying for TF Sport Corvettes and rest of FIA WEC field
OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 26, 2026) – TF Sport’s two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will provisionally start the Six Hours of Fuji in the eighth and 10th positions in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship after Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled.
Heavy rain pelted Fuji Speedway throughout the day Saturday, and that plus dense fog spelled the fate for the qualifying and Hyperpole session for both Hypercar and LMGT3. It was a turn of bad luck for TF Sport and its Corvettes as the team showed strong pace in Saturday morning’s rainy final practice session. Instead the field will start in order of fastest combined practice times.
The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey will be the first of the TF entries on the grid. Eastwood was the quickest driver in final practice, and Dempsey was the fastest of the driving trio across the three practice sessions.
The LMGT3 Team Championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating will start directly behind its sister entry. Both Edgar – who leads the Drivers Championship on his own – and Keating also were quick in Saturday’s session but still will start in points-paying position, just like the No. 34.
The TF squad and its Corvettes are looking to make it two in a row at Fuji Speedway and win their third LMGT3 race of the season. Solid results for the No. 33 and No. 34 Corvette GT3s will go a long way toward determining this year’s final championship standings.
The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Live streaming coverage of the race plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-(NO) QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think it's a big shame. Both cars seemed really strong in the rain. Ben was really quick. The car felt quick. Nicky and I didn't get a whole lot of laps. We were trying some things and scrubbing some tires, but it felt like even with minimal laps we were really fast and the car felt easy to drive. It's a big shame because I think we would have had a strong result. We should start P10 which isn't too bad. But based on this morning I think we would have had a very good chance fighting for pole or if not that then I expect we would have been in the top-five at least. It's a shame but nothing we can do about it.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I really wanted to qualify. I've yet to put in Hyperpole this season, and I feel like today was my opportunity to do that in the wet because I looked quick in the morning practice in the wet. From a competition perspective, it's not a terrible result. It looks like we'll start P10 but second-place in the championship will start on the back row. Third-place will be between the 34 and 33. So as it sits right now, I feel like we're going to have a decent shot at having a good race. I wanted to qualify but it is what it is.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (after FP3): "We obviously ended up P1 there. I only had four laps at the end and got in with 10 or 11 minutes to go. With the wet, you're always chipping away lap by lap especially in practice; you don't want to overcook it. We had a race in the wet at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, and the Corvette performed super well so I was confident in what the car can do. It bodes well for this afternoon but to be honest we look good in the dry as well. So I really have no massive preference if it's wet or dry tomorrow."
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We've had the car in a good window since we got here - both in dry and wet conditions. So I think we're ready for whatever this place is willing to throw at us. As a team we've been strong. We'll start P8, which is typically around where we've started. Hopefully Salih can do a good couple of stints, get the car to the front and try to do something similar to what we did at Interlagos.
“You want to perform in the last few races of the year. We wanted to rebound from a pretty tough event at COTA. It's my first time here. Obviously I'm having to learn another new track. But I'm really enjoying Japan in general and Fuji is phenomenal. The car feels good. Charlie is doing a good job as always and showing us up! We're just trying to keep up with him.”
Ryan Smith
CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: High Hopes for Double-Points Finish
Rain, fog cancels qualifying for TF Sport Corvettes and rest of FIA WEC field
OYAMA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 26, 2026) – TF Sport’s two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will provisionally start the Six Hours of Fuji in the eighth and 10th positions in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship after Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled.
Heavy rain pelted Fuji Speedway throughout the day Saturday, and that plus dense fog spelled the fate for the qualifying and Hyperpole session for both Hypercar and LMGT3. It was a turn of bad luck for TF Sport and its Corvettes as the team showed strong pace in Saturday morning’s rainy final practice session. Instead the field will start in order of fastest combined practice times.
The No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Peter Dempsey will be the first of the TF entries on the grid. Eastwood was the quickest driver in final practice, and Dempsey was the fastest of the driving trio across the three practice sessions.
The LMGT3 Team Championship-leading No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating will start directly behind its sister entry. Both Edgar – who leads the Drivers Championship on his own – and Keating also were quick in Saturday’s session but still will start in points-paying position, just like the No. 34.
The TF squad and its Corvettes are looking to make it two in a row at Fuji Speedway and win their third LMGT3 race of the season. Solid results for the No. 33 and No. 34 Corvette GT3s will go a long way toward determining this year’s final championship standings.
The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Live streaming coverage of the race plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will provide live streaming audio coverage as well.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-(NO) QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think it's a big shame. Both cars seemed really strong in the rain. Ben was really quick. The car felt quick. Nicky and I didn't get a whole lot of laps. We were trying some things and scrubbing some tires, but it felt like even with minimal laps we were really fast and the car felt easy to drive. It's a big shame because I think we would have had a strong result. We should start P10 which isn't too bad. But based on this morning I think we would have had a very good chance fighting for pole or if not that then I expect we would have been in the top-five at least. It's a shame but nothing we can do about it.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I really wanted to qualify. I've yet to put in Hyperpole this season, and I feel like today was my opportunity to do that in the wet because I looked quick in the morning practice in the wet. From a competition perspective, it's not a terrible result. It looks like we'll start P10 but second-place in the championship will start on the back row. Third-place will be between the 34 and 33. So as it sits right now, I feel like we're going to have a decent shot at having a good race. I wanted to qualify but it is what it is.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (after FP3): "We obviously ended up P1 there. I only had four laps at the end and got in with 10 or 11 minutes to go. With the wet, you're always chipping away lap by lap especially in practice; you don't want to overcook it. We had a race in the wet at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, and the Corvette performed super well so I was confident in what the car can do. It bodes well for this afternoon but to be honest we look good in the dry as well. So I really have no massive preference if it's wet or dry tomorrow."
PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "We've had the car in a good window since we got here - both in dry and wet conditions. So I think we're ready for whatever this place is willing to throw at us. As a team we've been strong. We'll start P8, which is typically around where we've started. Hopefully Salih can do a good couple of stints, get the car to the front and try to do something similar to what we did at Interlagos.
“You want to perform in the last few races of the year. We wanted to rebound from a pretty tough event at COTA. It's my first time here. Obviously I'm having to learn another new track. But I'm really enjoying Japan in general and Fuji is phenomenal. The car feels good. Charlie is doing a good job as always and showing us up! We're just trying to keep up with him.”
Ryan Smith
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