Photo courtesy of: Brian Cleary

Some of you may have read a recent piece we wrote about some testing known as the “roar before the 24,” to mean it is a testing period for both cars and teams before the grueling endurance race, The 24 Hours of Daytona.

Well we would like to take a little jump back and examine more closely the Action Express Racing Corvette C7 Daytona Prototype race car. Several weeks ago, the car was seen running some hard laps at Daytona International Speedway. This was the first time the car was being tested with the new “C7 style” body.

Thanks to our friends at AutoWeek, we have more information about these awesome cars. During the two days of testing, the driver Joao Barbosa mentioned, “The new Corvette C7 looks great… Our partners at Chevrolet really worked hard to make a great-looking car even better and I think it should give Corvette fans a lot to be excited about for 2015.”

A lot can be learned in these testing sessions. Drivers have to get comfortable with the cars just as the team members have to become comfortable operating in a high-stress environment with their other team mates. Along with the body came some different inlet and scoop designs which will all contribute to some different aerodynamics as well as a few minor mechanical modifications.

Photo courtesy of: Brian Cleary

Additionally, due to the nature of endurance racing, cars are subject to prolonged exposure to heat, abuse, and wear. Accordingly, these sessions are valuable for testing all components for reliability, commonly known as a “shake down test”.

Barbosa explained, “Our goal was to go through the new systems and make sure they all work well. The team did a great job in preparation as we were able to complete right at 700 miles.”

This may not sound like many miles to the average driver who drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year. But truth be told, this is a very high milage count for a race car, especially ones that are built to the level of performance that these cars are, and moreover considering it was all done in one sitting.

Another driver, Christian Fittipaldi, gave his opinion of the team and the test day, “I think right now we are in a great position. We were off just a little bit in the Monday morning session, but the guys made great changes at the break and after lunch it was solid. I think we have a good direction to go, and we are in great shape.”

Luckily for us, we know that while there were some hiccups, all of the cars did start the race and everyone went home safely to race another day. We are all pretty excited with both the look of the new C7 Daytona Prototype and the prospect of its success in its series.

Ultimately, a good race means that everyone goes home safely, but Corvette Online certainly wishes the Action Express Daytona Prototype the best of luck in it the upcoming races!

Photo courtesy of: Brian Cleary