Edgar preparing to fly solo in WEC's LMGT3 title fight

It’s a strange situation for young Jonny Edgar. The 22-year-old Brit is fresh from a class win in LMGT3 at Le Mans with Corvette Racing partner team TF Sport, and if he and his teammates in the No. 33 Z06 LMGT3.R score points on Sunday at Interlagos, he’ll lead the championship on his own.

That’s because the team’s Bronze driver, Ben Keating, had to be replaced by Blake McDonald at Imola and Spa due to an elbow injury, and this weekend, Nicky Catsburg has a clash with his IMSA GTD Pro commitments with Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He’s making way for Nico Varrone.

So far, though, chopping and changing the driver line-up hasn’t hampered Edgar and TF Sport’s chances of a title. The lead for Edgar is 32 points over Vista AF Corse’s No. 21 crew of Francois Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera, who bizarrely are third in the standings behind Ben Keating, who sits alone in second with 50 points from a victory at Le Mans in his only start.

“It’s very odd,” he tells RACER. “Obviously, it's a shame Ben missed a race, so he’s alone in the championship now, too. But still, the plan is just to try and score some good points here for the championship. But if we do score points, it'll be weird being the only one in the lead. It's a strange way that it works. I would love to win the championship personally, but more as a team.”

There’s still a long way to go this year, but Edgar is fully focused on delivering, in the knowledge that his extremely impressive individual performance at Le Mans and a strong run-in could come with an additional prize attached: his first factory drive.

“At Le Mans, it was such a good experience, and I was really happy with my pace,” he reflects. “It was the perfect race for me to showcase what I can do, especially when I was in for the end of the race. I’m hoping that it helps me achieve my goal of being a works driver.

“Compared to last year, I feel I’ve made a big step; everything’s felt easier, I feel more comfortable in the car, and it feels more natural. Ideally, I’d want to work with Corvette. I really enjoy working with everyone here. Things need to fall into place, but I feel happy. There’s not been much from my performances that I would go back and change, which is a good situation to be in.”

No clear favorite has emerged yet after the opening practice sessions on Friday in Brazil. The track is evolving fast, the teams are still getting to grips with the Goodyear Mediums (after using the Hard last year), and many of Sunday’s weather forecasts suggest there could be rain to contend with.

Whatever happens, for the No.33 trio, it has the potential to be one of the tougher weekends, as they are carrying 36 kilos of Success Ballast, 18 for leading the championship and a further 18 for winning Le Mans. That will make it harder on this undulating circuit.

Depending on how the conditions play out, this could open the door for Vista AF Corse’s No.21 drivers to gain ground in the standings. Alessio Rovera sees Sunday as a huge opportunity, particularly if it stays dry, as the Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo on the Goodyear Mediums should be more of a force and return to the top step for the first time in the WEC since Spa last year.

“In the last three years, we’ve had so many opportunities to win races, but in the end, we have not delivered,” he admits. “Here, it helps to be on Medium tire, because we struggled with it so much last year on the Hard. Degradation is not a big issue for us; it’s much worse for other brands. 

“Rain, could be a different story. We are preparing as best we can, trying to find a compromise between wet and dry setups. But we haven’t had much time in the Evo 296 in the wet, so it may feel like a bit of a shakedown!”

After this weekend, four races remain, and at present, there has been no final decision on the Qatar and Bahrain races. If the Middle East is a no-go, then Monza and Barcelona have been tipped as replacement rounds, and there’s a growing expectation that those races will be six hours long, instead of eight and 10. This, in turn, could make it tougher for Edgar and TF’s title rivals to overhaul the No.33 in the standings, as fewer points would likely be on offer for the shorter duration.

“Obviously, we’ve got quite a big lead, but still, even with the uncertainty, if the car closest wins one race, it’s close again,” Edgar says. “In GT racing, you have good and bad days. It comes and goes, so you have to make sure you score consistent points on the more difficult weekends. I think we’ve done that so far, and last year, when we were in the title fight for a while, we didn’t do as well. 

“It’s never easy. Getting a podium on a weekend you’re fast is easy, it’s when you get a P7 finish when the car only has the pace for 12th, that’s what will win you the championship.”