Corvette Z06 GT3.R Splits the Podium at Indy as Ford Takes the Win

Source: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship — September 20, 2026

Indianapolis Motor Speedway handed out one of the tightest GTD PRO finishes of the 2026 IMSA season on September 20, and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R came away with two pieces of the podium. Ford took the win in a battle IMSA called "epic," but Pratt Miller Motorsports' No. 4 Corvette Racing entry crossed the line in second, and the No. 13 Autosport Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani rounded out the top three. Three cars, three manufacturers, one brick-paved finish line.

For the Corvette program, a 2-3 result on a circuit that punishes any brake fade with immediate, visible consequences is no small thing. The IMS road course layers heavy braking zones onto the infield before the cars exit onto the banked oval — thermal load cycles that push GT3 brake packages hard across a full stint. The Z06 GT3.R's carbon-ceramic race brakes held up precisely because the platform was engineered from the start to handle exactly that kind of punishment.

The championship finale heads to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on October 3, where both Corvette entries will compete for the overall GTD PRO title.

The C8 Corvette, On the Street

The GT3.R shares its DNA with the C8 production car, and the C8's brake architecture is one of the reasons the platform translates so well to competition. If your C8 spends any time on track, or if you just want it to stop the way it looks like it should, the Alcon/Pro System C8 Corvette Front Big Brake Kit is the front-end upgrade worth taking seriously.

This is a complete Alcon-powered big brake kit purpose-built for 2020-2024 C8 Corvettes. The kit steps up rotor diameter and pairs it with a multi-piston Alcon caliper — more swept area, more thermal mass, and a brake pedal that feels the same on lap one as it does on lap ten. It is the kind of upgrade that makes sense whether you are chasing consistent 60-0 times on a road course or just want brakes that match the visual presence of a mid-engine Corvette sitting on the driveway.

At $5,550, it is a real investment, but one that puts genuine Alcon racing technology on a street car that already shares a bloodline with a podium finisher at Indianapolis.

View the Alcon/Pro System C8 Corvette Front Big Brake Kit

More on the Z06 GT3.R

Earlier this season, the Z06 GT3.R made headlines for a very different reason at VIR. Our breakdown of what that incident reveals about braking at the limit is worth a read: Corvette Z06 GT3.R Destroyed at VIR — Braking at the Limit.