Team AAI raises their Corvette level for Le Mans

The initial plans for the Asian Le Mans Series GT class entrants of Team AAI was joining the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Corvette C6.R GTE, a machine that don’t see any FIA World Endurance Championship action since 2013, but a change of plans will see them with improved machinery roaring through La Sarthe.

The campaign of the Taiwanese team will run in partnership with Belgian outfit ProSpeed Competition, and since the plans for the C6.R were not approved by the Le Mans Selection Committee, they will in fact change to newer machinery as they will use a Corvette C7.R GTE. The model in fact is the car that ran with the No. 64 in the GTE-Pro class with the factory Corvette team, with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor taking the class win after the second participation of the C7.R GTE at Le Mans.

Like the Team AAI did, ProSpeed Competition is changing to GM after a long GTE spell with Porsche, but this change has a proper reason, as ProSpeed owner Rudi Penders explained to Endurance-Info, since they couldn’t get a new car from Porsche. The Team AAI and ProSpeed used a 991-based Porsche 911 RSR and an old Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, departing from the last row of the grid and finishing in 6^th and 8^th in the LMGTE-Am class and 35^th and 37^th overall, being the last ones that completed the into the minimum race length last year.

Although Team AAI has a second entry in the reserve list, the nominated Corvette C6.R is highly unlikely of joining the grid with around a month to go for the race, so the effort that would normally have the Chen brothers Jun San and Han Chen driving each car may probably be in the C7.R GTE entry along with an unconfirmed professional driver. Jun San Chen is the only confirmed driver as he was nominated for the entry, so any other combinations between AAI and ProSpeed drivers are open.

PHOTO: AAI Motorsports