The # 33 Corvette notches another top finish in the WEC race in Japan

The # 33 C8.R Corvette could very well have won the GTE Am class for the fourth time this season using a bold 4-stop strategy to conserve fuel during the 6-hour race on the Fuji circuit.

Ben Keating, a 52-year-old Texas auto dealer started on pole doing a pair of 70-minute stints while most of the other GTE Am cars stopped for fuel 10-15 minutes earlier.

Notwithstanding, Keating misjudged his braking into the Dunlop turn and hit the eventual race-winning winning # 54 AF Corse Ferrari with Thomas Flohr behind the wheel.  The Corvette crew quickly repaired the damage and swapped out a new right-side door on the second pit stop as Nico Varrone, a 22-year-old Argentinian took over.

 The team served another 30-second stop-and-go penalty for forcing the back-marker # 86 GR Porsche off track in haste to make up lost time.

Time saved via one less stop and flawless execution allowed Nicky Catsburg, a 35-year-old Dutchman to reach third at the finish.

The team was awarded second place because the # 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari was penalized for exceeding the 80 kph speed limit during a full course yellow.

 The 2023 FIA WEC season ends off the Persian Gulf at Bahrain on November 4.

 Photo credits Richard Prince, Fred Lewis

 Having already clinched the championship is reminiscent of earlier times when the Corvette ruled in SCCA Club Racing and the ALMS.

This time looks different because (a) BoP equalizes the competition where everyone has cutting-edge technology (b) The fields are stronger and deeper and (c) Three amateur drivers were recruited in one-year contracts to race at circuits flung across the globe.