Sebastien Baud told Motorsport Week about his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut whilst reminiscing his memories as an avid Corvette fanatic, having now fulfilled his dream behind the wheel of a Corvette.
“This is very, very nice because this is my dream,” said the Frenchman.
“And I am very happy to be here with Corvette because I am a big fan of Corvette.
“I came here every year, watching the Corvette in Le Mans and watch the different wins at Le Mans and the championship, because last year Corvette won the championship [and the] 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“This is incredible because this is a French race, also my home race, and we are [having] a lot of fun.
“For me, it’s just incredible and I live 100% in this moment.
“The first part of the track is very nice because we have the famous hill of [Dunlop] Chicane.
“So yesterday in the night practice, we have the Porsche Curves, and we come back on the last part of the track.
[It’s] just crazy and it’s a very fast corner, so it’s a bit dangerous because you are very close to the wall and for me, i like it because you have a lot of adrenaline.”
The 23-year-old spoke about how he grew up locally with memories of seeking autographs of the Corvette crew as a youngster, and for this FIA World Endurance Championship season, finds himself driving the new-for-2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Corvette has been at Le Mans since the 1960s and the iconic Stingray, but it was their factory sportscar programme which ran from 1999 which enforced a following for General Motors’ representation across every edition of the French classic apart from 2020.
For 2024, TF Sport made the switch from Aston Martin to Corvette machinery and specifically with a brand new GT3 car.
Teammate Daniel Juncadella finished third in qualifying practice as the #82 TF Sport crew is set on securing their first Hyperpole position in a Corvette, as Hiroshi Koizumi will gain further experience ahead of the race on 15-16 June.
