Charlie Eastwood (Corvette): "I'd love to win again."

Winner in 2020 with Aston Martin, Charlie Eastwood secured a podium finish with Corvette in 2025 (3rd). The 30-year-old Irishman hopes to clinch another victory this year.

Do you feel that you and the team are in a good position heading into the race after Spa?

I think so. Without the penalty, we would have finished 4th, which would have been a very good result. Le MansBut in the end, we still crossed the finish line in 5th position; however, the leader received a penalty, which means we still had a race that could have placed us in the top 5, even if we were perhaps a little bit lacking in pace; not by much, but the car was performing well again, even if it wasn't as fast as at Imola. But we've clearly been on the right side of things in the first two races of the year. So it was nice to finish in the top 5, even though we received a 10-second penalty that dropped us to ninth. We still need to focus on the positives we still managed to achieve. We really needed them, even those few points we got. We also needed them simply to give ourselves something to show for this race.

I think we did well in the first two races. There's a lot to learn. Salih (Yoluc) is in the Silver class, and the pace in Silver is extremely high; moreover, the level in Bronze has probably never been higher. It's definitely a challenge. We've seen that Peter (Dempsey) has exceptional pace and ability, but he's certainly lacking some endurance racing experience, as he's never done it before. So there's still a lot for us to learn as a team, and I think we've learned a lot over these two weekends. But we really need to start getting some good results, and there's no better place to do that than Le Mans. The Corvette is always very competitive there. The last two years have been fantastic, and this is a great opportunity for us to score 50 points and a nice trophy. Obviously, the advantage for me is that I can literally do half the race… up to 12 hours.

So I'm doing everything I can to prepare for these long stints, the lack of sleep, and I'm trying to manage the adrenaline so I'm not completely exhausted after a few stints, but I love the challenge. I did it last year. We obviously got a podium, which was fantastic. That makes three podiums in my last four Le Mans appearances, including a win. My record there is pretty good. But I'd love to get another win, and I don't see why we can't. The team has improved again. The car has improved again. I think we learned some lessons from Le Mans last year, especially about what we can improve. And I think that's been reflected a bit throughout the various championships that Corvette Racing and TF Sport have competed in. So yes, I'm very optimistic. Probably more so than after a retirement and a 9th place finish, but deep down I know that we have many strengths in our favor, and we just need to put them into action.

With two new teammates this year compared to last year, do you feel that your role and approach to this race have evolved or changed noticeably?

Our situation is very unusual. I'd even go so far as to say it's probably never happened before that a Silver-level racer starts as a Bronze and a Bronze-level racer as a Silver – with Salih starting each race and Peter then competing against the Silver-level racers as a Bronze-level racer. So we're in a very unique situation in that respect. I actually think that, from our perspective, this will work in our favor. When you really look at the gap between these two racers and a Pro or myself, it's minimal. In a normal scenario, the Bronze loses the most time, the Silver a little less, and then comes the Pro; but we have two racers who are better than all the Bronzes, but not as good as the best Silvers. So it's definitely a pretty unusual situation. But as I said, the longer the race, the more I think it works in our favor, because at Le Mans, everything hinges on how you execute each stint: no mistakes, no lapses, and going as fast as possible. The fact that I can obviously contest a larger portion of the race is an advantage. I can only drive for a few hours in a six-hour race, but I can contest half the race at Le Mans.

It's such a special place, such a special circuit, and personally, I felt that the first time I went to Le Mans, I was pretty good. Then, the second time, I found a bit of rhythm, and the third time, I found even more. For Peter, more than anything, you have to remember that it's not just a standard five-kilometer circuit with a two-minute lap. If you make the slightest mistake, you lose a kilometer on the straight. It's all just exaggerated. And how he's going to adapt to that is going to be the big unknown. He showed great pace first at Imola, then at Spa – two places he'd never been and where he was fantastic. But Le Mans is a different story. It might be at Le Mans that Salih will be the stronger of the two, given his experience. But we just don't know. There are certainly some unknowns, but as I said, the longer the race, the better for us. And I think they can both reach a good Silver level. And with that, we have a very good chance of winning.

Does it start on the test day? No one ever manages to do as many laps as they would like, but do you think it could be a determining factor in the final success of your car?

I think without this test session, it would be very difficult for Peter. Having the test on Sunday, then Monday and Tuesday free to analyze the data, review it in detail, and delve into the onboard footage… Once he understands how the kerbs behave, what the bump in the middle of the track feels like, and how the Corvette handles, we can really push things further. If his first time on the track was on Thursday and the race was on Saturday, it would be a very difficult task to be fast. I think we have a bit more of a chance when the test takes place the weekend before.

The other difficulty, which isn't a huge part of the race but is still obvious, is that qualifying takes place very early in the weekend. I believe the standard qualifying session is on Wednesday, and the two Hyperpole sessions are on Thursday. When you think about it, it will only be Peter's second day at the circuit, and he'll have to try and get us through to Hyperpole. It's quite a difficult task, but we'll obviously try to give him as much information as possible. He at least knows the car now, and he's done hundreds of laps in the simulator, so I'm confident he'll be up and running quite quickly.

What's the secret to going fast at Le Mans, especially when you lack experience on this circuit?

I've seen firsthand the pace we're seeing from one year to the next. The most important thing is, we don't really know. If someone asked me, "Where did you find that half-second difference between the first and second years, and then another half-second between the second and third?", I literally wouldn't be able to answer. But it's simply a matter of having a bit more confidence and a better understanding of the importance of corner exits and those little irregularities here and there. So many people say, "Oh yeah, there are circuits with just a bunch of straights," and I think this is one of the most complex circuits in the world. And to really master it at a decent level, you need a lot of experience. We don't need Peter to have mastered it to be the fastest on the grid, but I think he'll be able to build up a good gap quite quickly.

Is there a more rewarding feeling than when you cross the finish line, the time is displayed, and you think, "Yeah, well... that was fun"?

It's a strange kind of pressure, actually. In that spot, with low fuel and fresh tires in a Corvette, it's hard to match. It's incredible. But the problem is, right from the first chicane, you have a pretty tricky sequence of corners, and if you lose three tenths, that deficit will haunt you for four minutes. That's where things change a bit. It's not like the lap is shorter and you can just pick up the pace again immediately. There's a bit of tension, especially during the first half of the lap. And then, once you've sort of gotten past that stage and you reach the corners... PorscheI feel like we can really try to put pressure on to finish the lap. I love this circuit and I love this race more than any other motorsport event in the world. I find it an incredible feeling.

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