Along with his new position as a simulator driver for Cadillac’s Components 1 staff, Corvette manufacturing facility driver Charlie Eastwood is “including worth” wherever he can to Basic Motors’ world racing operation.
The 30-year-old Irishman has spent 2025 plate-spinning GT3 packages within the FIA WEC, IMSA and European Le Mans Collection with Corvette Racing associate groups TF Sport and DXDT, plus journeys to and from Charlotte, N.C., to assist Cadillac get its F1 undertaking off the bottom. It’s been a vastly busy 12 months, however the lengthy days and nights on and off monitor have been value it as his inventory has risen significantly in business circles because of this.
Talking with RACER forward of the ultimate FIA WEC race of the season in Bahrain, Eastwood revealed that he’s been a part of the Cadillac effort since March, lengthy earlier than it was made public final month.
“It’s such a cool undertaking to be a part of,” he stated when requested about his packed schedule. “It’s such a problem due to the timescale, confirming an entry in October final 12 months to having vehicles on the grid in March subsequent 12 months. Due to the uncertainty of getting the entry, they couldn’t commit the spend, not to mention make use of folks upfront.
“I truly bought the job extraordinarily quick. When my ‘gardening go away’ with Mercedes F1 (the place he was a simulator driver for a number of seasons) elapsed, I messaged Eric Warren (vp of worldwide motorsports competitors at GM), and inside quarter-hour, I used to be in an e-mail chain that led to the hiring. That’s the beauty of Basic Motors: they act.
“You possibly can see it within the pace they’re getting this undertaking off the bottom. Getting up a GT3 program could be powerful in that point, not to mention an F1 program. Seeing folks get employed and seeing the sources going into it to make it occur, it’s loopy. However there are quite a lot of pushed folks from a number of firms who’ve are available.
“It’s cool to work on from the beginning, too, as a result of after I was at Mercedes (F1), they’d gained a number of titles after I arrived. At Cadillac, it’s completely totally different, as a result of they don’t have a single lap of information to work with. At Mercedes, I used to be getting in every day, and if I didn’t study a bucketful after I left, it was a foul day.
“Now, it’s a job reversal, as a result of I carry the data to the undertaking as quite a lot of top-level folks there have unbelievable expertise, however for some in Charlotte on the GM tech middle, it’s perhaps solely NASCAR tasks, and that couldn’t be a lot additional away.
“It’s all transferring at such a fee and scale, who is aware of the place it’ll be in a 12 months, two years.”
With TF Sport, Eastwood is trying to clinch a second LMGT3 title with the Z06 LMGT3.R this 12 months. James Moy Pictures/Getty Photos
What does this all imply for his profession objectives and future in sports activities automobile racing?
“It’s all up for dialogue,” he stated. “I’ve my very own aspirations on monitor; there’s no driver who doesn’t need to be in Hypercar, for example. However I’m loving my time with Corvette. I’ve requested the identical query as a result of I need to add as a lot worth to Basic Motors as I can, so if which means doing each race below the solar with Corvette, then nice, or if it means 50 days within the sim with Cadillac F1, I don’t thoughts.
“After all, I’d love to remain in WEC as a predominant program, but when I’m deemed to be worthwhile on the F1 aspect, then I can go in that path. There are a great deal of choices and paths, it’s simply looking for a steadiness.”
Earlier than finalizing his 2026 commitments, Eastwood has an enormous weekend forward of him in Bahrain. With TF Sport, he’s trying to clinch a second LMGT3 title with the Z06 LMGT3.R this 12 months and add to his success with the British staff within the ELMS, the place he sealed the championship within the season finale in Portimao final month.
Alongside together with his teammates, Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy, within the No. 81 TF Sport Z06 GT3.R, Eastwood is 24 factors off the WEC LMGT3 championship leaders from Manthey 1st Phorm with eight hours of racing to go within the WEC season and 39 factors up for grabs.
The 8 Hours of Bahrain is an occasion that has produced its justifiable share of thrilling title deciders over time. It’s a circuit that’s powerful on brakes and tires attributable to its structure and abrasive floor. The eight-hour format usually throws a wrench within the works, too, because it opens up the technique books additional than a normal six-hour race. All championship contenders must be on their A recreation to complete the season on a excessive word when the solar units and the flood lights change on.
Eastwood is assured the traits of Bahrain will play to his staff’s strengths. James Moy Pictures/Getty Photos
Regardless of the hole within the standings to beat and the power of the opposition within the class, Eastwood is assured that he can notice his dream of turning into a WEC champion for the primary time. Leaving apart a blip in kind at COTA, the No. 81 trio head into the ultimate race excessive on confidence after stringing collectively a robust set of outcomes over the previous 4 races, with a win final day out in Fuji, and podiums at Le Mans and São Paulo.
“We’ll see quite a lot of technique enjoying out due to the floor, with groups playing with half units or single left-rear tire adjustments,” he defined. “And due to the transition from day to nighttime, it adjustments the extent of deg.
“For those who can create a spot, until there’s an extended security automobile, it’s onerous to catch a automobile that races off into the gap, so that you see quite a lot of groups giving Bronze drivers a number of new tires early on. You usually get FCYs, however in the event you lose a minute early, the possibilities of a professional making that up late on are slim to none. It’s a difficult race to handle, however the Corvette is robust there and robust on tire put on, and it’s a circuit the place you’re rewarded in case you have a tire benefit.
“However there’s an opportunity it’s important to roll the cube. And in a title battle, it’s good to be stable, it’s good to maintain it clear. The toughest component isn’t getting over-excited at first of a stint and killing the tire.
“We’ve seen in the previous few rounds that the producers in GT3 have been so shut, and it’s been about execution, which is nice. We all know that with TF, the execution is what the staff nails most of the time, and at Corvette, the speed of improvement with the automobile in two years has been insane.”
