What It Took for the Garage 56 Camaro to Compete at Le Mans
NASCAR’s Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 was one of the highlights of Le Mans 2023 but getting it ready to compete was not easy.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most prominent automobile races in the world. NASCAR racing is immensely popular in the United States, but it does not have the global reach of Le Mans. However, for the Le Mans race of 2023 the two worlds collided thanks to the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 that raced around the Circuit de la Sarthe back in June for the 100th edition of the great race. Garage 56 was introduced as a special one-car category back in 2012. The category was created for a prototype car that used new innovative technology. The first car to race under Garage 56 was the Nissan Deltawing, known for its narrow front axle track. But in 2023 the decidedly old school Camaro ZL1 raced under the Garage 56 banner. How did that happen?
Our friends at RACER have connected with some of the principal players at NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports to get a better understanding of what it took to get a Camaro ZL1 competing for 24 hours straight on the same track as LMP2 and Hypercar racers. As you would imagine, it was no easy task getting the Camaro to meet the required regulations. But all the effort was well worth it, as the Camaro was one of the main topics of conversation at the race this year.
Safety First
The FIA’s safety regulations for competing at Le Mans are far different than what is in place for NASCAR. So, that was the main focus from the start of the project. One of the biggest concerns was the weight of the Camaro. A standard Cup Series Camaro ZL1 weighs 3,200 pounds. That is far too heavy to compete safely at Le Mans according to the FIA.
To cut weight the roll cage was redesigned, the fuel cell location was moved, and the steering column was modified. At the end of the day a whopping 496 pounds were cut from the ZL1 that would compete at Le Mans. Keeping the mechanics awake and alert for 24 hours was another consideration as no race on the NASCAR calendar is anything close to a full day of racing.
Speed
Another factor to consider was the performance of the car. With other classes sharing the track at the same time, organizers wanted to make sure wasn’t too slow for the GTE class cars but also not too fast for the LMP2 and Hypercars. With about 700 horsepower on tap the Camaro ZL1 is quite a bit more powerful than the 500 horsepower GTE cars.
This resulted in the Camaro being about 5 seconds a lap faster than the GTE cars during qualifying. However, the overall pace, top speed and braking abilities were close enough to the other cars that the Camaro was allowed to compete.
Popularity
The Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 was a huge hit for Le Mans. Everyone was talking about it. According to RACER 12,875 pieces of coverage were counted in print and online and 33.4 million social media impressions on its official channels during the year. The world was captivated by seeing the old school Camaro compete in the most famous 24-hour race. Sadly, we say goodbye to the Camaro this year as production of the sixth-generation car has ended. But the Garage 56 car provided us with another fantastic Camaro memory.
Photos: Chevrolet
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