The 32-year-old Spaniard is one of four new drivers to have been added to the American marque’s works pool for the first season of competition for the all-new Corvette Z06 GT3.R, along with Earl Bamber, Charlie Eastwood and Nico Varrone.
Juncadella makes the move to Corvette after three seasons as a factory Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver, and will contest the full eight-round WEC campaign for partner team TF Sport in the new-for-2024 LMGT3 class, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He will also contest the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in one of the two GTD Pro-class Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette entries, alongside full-season pairing Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims.
“I’ve been a witness to what it means to be a Corvette driver in the U.S,” commented Juncadella, who won four IMSA GTD Pro races this year alongside Jules Gounon.
“That means a really big fan base. That’s pretty exciting, to be honest.
“At every autograph session in IMSA that I’ve been sitting next to the Corvette tent, there is a queue of 100 people waiting to get an autograph from their drivers, and we were just sitting around!
“That’s very exciting, I have to say, to see the legacy that Corvette Racing has created in the U.S. and to see the amount of awareness about the brand is very exciting. It makes me proud and it feels quite unique to be a Corvette factory driver.”
Juncadella's departure from the Mercedes fold follows today's confirmation that Raffaele Marciello will also leave the marque after the FIA GT World Cup in Macau.
Belfast-born Eastwood joins Juncadella as one of the two pro drivers that will represent the two-car TF Sport squad full-time in the WEC next season.
Like the team itself, he ends a long association with Aston Martin in order to make the move. He has raced with TF Sport since 2018, and in 2020 won the Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am class.
“This certainly ranks up there for me, joining such a brand like Corvette and an organisation like GM,” said Eastwood, also the reigning Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 champion.
“It’s what so many drivers wish for their whole career. It seems to be an amazing place to be, and you can see that because so many drivers stay for so long.
“I’m really looking forward to that opportunity to learn from the best in the business and push on together to achieve great things for many years to come.”
Bamber will share the sister GTD Pro Corvette with Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta on top of his full-season WEC commitments with sister brand Cadillac.
“When I did my first test at Road America, you could see why they’ve been so successful,” said the New Zealander.
“I’ve driven the Z06 GT3.R and I think the package is really good. These guys have built fantastic GTLM cars over the years, and I don’t see why the Corvette GT3 should be any different.
“It’s a well-balanced car already just in its infancy, so I think they will be a formidable force not just in IMSA but also as this program seeks out to go all around the world. I think it will be one of the benchmark cars into the future.”
Varrone was part of this year’s title-winning campaign in the WEC with Corvette alongside Catsburg and Ben Keating, and will continue his journey with the American marque in IMSA as part of the AWA team in the pro-am GTD class.
“First of all, it’s a big honour to be a factory driver for Corvette,” said Varrone, who will share a car with Anthony Mantella.
“It’s also nice to be back in IMSA next season with everyone at AWA. These are people that I know from this year and doing the endurance races in LMP3.
“It will be a big challenge with the new car, not only for our team but everyone in the entire Corvette program. But this is also a completely new class for AWA.
“It will be a challenge but we will be prepared to make the most of it and get some wins with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and have a great season.”
