Le Mans News: Corvette Racing withdraws from 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours

A statement from Jim Campbell, vice-president of motorsports and performance, said that "several factors played into our decision, including current conditions and the rescheduled timing".

He added the decision to end an unbroken run of participations for the Corvette Racing squad stretching back to 2000 at Le Mans, which is set to take place on 19-20 September, is "not an easy one".

The move comes against the backdrop of the ongoing world health crisis and a re-jig of the IMSA SportsCar Championship calendar, in which the Pratt & Miller factory team competes.

PLUS: Memories from Corvette's two decades at Le Mans

The Laguna Seca IMSA round is set for 6 September, just one week before the two new mid-engine Corvettes would be due in France for Le Mans scrutineering.

The Mid-Ohio round, originally planned for 3 May, is now scheduled to take place just one week after Le Mans on 27 September.

Campbell stressed Chevrolet intends to return to Le Mans with the latest-generation Corvette racer, which made its race debut at the Daytona 24 Hours in January.

"We hope we have the opportunity to race at Le Mans again," he said, having seen Corvette last take GT victory honours at the iconic endurance event in 2015.

"We're proud Corvette Racing has been invited to Le Mans 24 Hours over the past 20 years and regret that we won't be participating this year."

The two American factory cars were due to be driven by Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler, and Jordan Taylor, Antonio Garcia and Nicky Catsburg.

Corvette's withdrawal follows that of the pair of factory Porsche 911 RSRs to be run by the IMSA CORE Autosport squad.

It leaves just the six regular World Endurance Championship entries, two each from Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin, and the Risi Competizione Ferrari in GTE Pro.

The Danish High Class Racing team's second LMP2 class ORECA-Gibson 07 and an additional GTE Am entry from the Proton Porsche team are in line to move up from the reserve list following the withdrawal of the Corvettes.