General Motors says a pre-production 2025 Corvette ZR1 equipped with the optional ZTK Performance Package set five production-car lap records at four U.S. tracks. The five entries include two different Virginia International Raceway (VIR) layouts. GM published the times on February 11, 2025; they are company-reported records, not independently verified results in the available reporting.
2025 Corvette ZR1 lap-record times
The table uses the times in GM’s February 11, 2025 announcement. Each lap is tied to a named driver and a specific course configuration.
| Track configuration | Lap time | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Watkins Glen Long Course | 1:52.7 | Bill Wise, Lead Performance Engineer, Chassis Controls |
| Road America | 2:08.6 | Brian Wallace, Lead Vehicle Dynamics Engineer |
| Road Atlanta | 1:22.8 | Chris Barber, Lead Development Engineer |
| Virginia International Raceway (VIR) Full Course | 1:47.7 | Aaron Link, Global Vehicle Performance Manager |
| Virginia International Raceway (VIR) Grand Course | 2:32.3 | Aaron Link |
GM’s main announcement lists Watkins Glen at 1:52.7. A separate GM News behind-the-scenes article gives 1:52.6 instead. The two pages do not explain the tenth-second difference, so the table follows the main release rather than treating either figure as a confirmed correction.
What ZR1 set the records?
GM identifies the car as a pre-production 2025 ZR1 fitted with the optional ZTK Performance Package. That qualification matters: these times are not a generic claim for every ZR1 configuration, and the published account does not describe an independently monitored comparison test.
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ZTK equipment
According to GM, the package includes a high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, a tall woven-carbon-fiber hood Gurney lip, and underbody strakes in place of the standard front underwing stall Gurney. It also adds stiffer springs and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP tires. Differences in aero, suspension, and tires can affect track performance, so comparisons should identify the vehicle setup rather than relying on the ZR1 name alone.
Engine and acceleration claims
Chevrolet describes the ZR1’s engine as a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged LT7 DOHC flat-plane-crank V8, rated at 1,064 hp at 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm under SAE guidelines. Chevrolet’s December 2024 specifications also give the ZTK-equipped car a 0–60 mph time of 2.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds. Those are Chevrolet closed-course claims based on initial vehicle movement, not results from the five record laps.
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Who drove the record laps?
GM names four drivers, all engineers in the company’s performance organization. Aaron Link drove both VIR configurations; the other drivers each set one of the listed times.
- Bill Wise: Watkins Glen Long Course.
- Brian Wallace: Road America.
- Chris Barber: Road Atlanta.
- Aaron Link: VIR Full Course and VIR Grand Course.
GM says the four drivers had a combined 65 years of GM Level 6 driving experience and that each held Nürburgring Industry Pool certification. Those credentials, like the lap-record claims, are attributed to GM. Its separate behind-the-scenes article describes the engineers as experienced in racing and high-performance driving.
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How to interpret the five records
GM calls the laps production-car records, but the announced car was pre-production and used optional track-focused equipment. The result is best read as a manufacturer-reported production-car record claim for that specified ZR1 configuration—not as proof that every showroom ZR1 would reproduce the times.
- Match the exact course: VIR Full Course and Grand Course are separate layouts, and Watkins Glen is specifically the Long Course.
- Check the record category and vehicle setup, including whether the comparison car is pre-production, which package it has, and what tires it uses.
- Identify the driver and source of timing. The cited times are published by GM; no independent organization’s corroborating statistics were established in the available coverage.
Corvette executive chief engineer Tony Roma said, “Corvette ZR1 continues to showcase how this nameplate elevates at every corner,” and added, “From design, engineering, development, validation, to driving and setting incredible lap records like these – we do it all in house.”
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