Callaway Competition USA Announces Factory Pirelli World Challenge Program

TEMECULA, Cal., (November 20, 2017) - Following a highly successful season with the championship title clinched in the ADAC GT Masters in Europe, the Corvette C7 GT3-R is now available for North American competition.  Designed and manufactured by Callaway Competition, a pair of GT3-spec homologated Corvette C7 GT3-Rs are planned to race the full Pirelli World Challenge season in 2018, campaigned as a factory effort by Callaway Competition USA.

 "Joining the Pirelli World Challenge has been a long term objective for Callaway Competition," said Reeves Callaway. "Now the field is a roll-call of the most capable sports cars from every country. To do well here, you must beat the best in the world. What better way to showcase our iconic American car?"

"For several years fans have asked when they would see the Callaway Corvette GT3 run in the Pirelli World Challenge," said Greg Gill, President and CEO of Pirelli World Challenge. "The wait is over and we are very pleased to announce the arrival of the Callaway Corvette GT3 for the 2018 season."

In order to fully showcase the capabilities of the Corvette C7 GT3-R in its first season of competition in the United States, Callaway Competition USA plans to run a two car squad as a factory effort in 2018. For 2019 and beyond, the manufacturer will withdraw its factory entries and instead offer full support to its customer racing efforts across North American sports car racing.

"For 2018, we will run a Callaway factory team to give us the best chance of continuing the championship record the Corvette has achieved in international competition," said Callaway. "For 2019, we will not race against our customers, but provide high-quality support to them in the tradition of other manufacturer customer racing support programs."

The Callaway Competition USA Corvette C7 GT3-R will be unveiled and both full season drivers announced at the Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis on December 7 at the Pirelli World Challenge booth. Following the unveiling event, the car will be on display for the remainder of the trade show. Details of the presentation will be announced in the coming weeks.

Reeves Callaway founded Callaway Cars in 1977, utilizing his passion for enhancing the power of OE engines. In 1982, Callaway built his first factory, and in 1985, General Motors enlisted the operation to create the twin turbo versions of the Corvette. In the decades to follow, Callaway and his efforts have been instrumental to the advancement of sports car racing, developing specialist models for manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Range Rover and Mazda. In an agreement with GM, Callaway was authorized to design build and homologate the GT3 version of the C7 Corvette. Callaway Competition GmbH has established a strong racing record, most recently securing the 2017 ADAC GT Masters championship, and not for the first time. Following Cadillac Racing's withdrawal of its own factory program from the series at the conclusion of the 2017 season, the Corvette GT3 effort was aimed at North American competition. The Pirelli World Challenge was selected for the debut due to its SprintX format closely matching the GT Masters format of two drivers splitting the duties for a one hour race.

"We're incredibly proud to bring the Corvette C7 GT3-R to competition on American soil," concluded Callaway. "It is going to be a very competitive season, and we are looking forward to getting started."

About Callaway Competition

Founded by Reeves Callaway in 1976, Callaway has been a performance partner of the world's biggest automotive brands, producing specialty vehicles, engineering services, and performance products. Dedicated to high-quality development, Callaway companies have spent over 30 years as an OEM supplier. Established in 1993, Callaway Competition develops, constructs, and campaigns Corvette-based race cars, celebrating a long running success in sports car racing.

Callaway enjoys a legendary record at many of the world's great race tracks: Circuit de la Sarthe, Spa, Suzuka, Paul Ricard, Nurburgring Nordschleife and GP courses, Monza, Vallelunga, Hockeheim, Daytona, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Sears Point, Laguna Seca, Charlotte, Texas World Speedway, Watkins Glen and Mugello.

About Pirelli World Challenge

Pirelli World Challenge is North America's premier GT Production-based sports car sprint series and now enters its 29th consecutive season. The exciting series featured 26 different auto makes with 44 separate models in 2017.Pirelli World Challenge exhibits one of the most competitive racing series in the world with incredible wheel-to-wheel action between exotic cars such as Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Nissan, Audi, Bentley, Acura, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz and Aston-Martin. Over 100 cars will be action with seven different categories in 2018 including GT, GTA, GT Cup, GTS, TCR, TC and TCA. In 2018, PWC will host 10 weekends in North America including the season opener in the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 9-11.  Top sports car stars in the Pirelli World Challenge are current and past champions Patrick Long, Alvaro Parente, Lawson Aschenbach, James Sofronas, George Kurtz and Toby Grahovec. In addition to the on-track competition, racing fans and car enthusiasts can gain a close-up view of the most exotic racing sedans in the world in the "world class" paddock area. There is something for every racing fan.