When the eighth-generation Corvette transitioned to a mid-engined configuration, Corvette Racing followed suit with the C8.R. The car was built to LM GTE regulations that govern both IMSA's GTLM class and the FIA World Endurance Championship's GTE-Pro division, allowing it to compete on both sides of the Atlantic. Chevrolet did not have a GT3-specification Corvette available — the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R would not debut until 2024 — which created a transitional challenge when the GTLM class was replaced by GT Daytona Pro in 2022.
The C8.R made its competitive debut at the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona. The number 3 car finished fourth in the GTLM class and sixteenth overall with 785 laps. Throughout the remaining season, the Corvettes scored six class victories at Daytona, Sebring, Road America, Virginia, Mid-Ohio and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The number 3 Corvette won the GTLM championship. The team also made their WEC debut at the 2020 Lone Star Le Mans in the GTE-Pro class; an entry for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was withdrawn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 season opened with a class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the Corvettes won six additional races over the year against opposition primarily from Weathertech Racing and BMW. The team returned to the WEC with a single entry at the 6 Hours of Spa. The C8.R also made its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 2021, with the number 64 Corvette finishing second in class, not far behind the winning Ferrari.
Facing the elimination of the GTLM class and its replacement with GT Daytona Pro using GT3 machinery, Corvette Racing developed a GTD kit to allow the C8.R to compete in the new class at IMSA, as no GT3 Corvette yet existed. A single IMSA entry ran alongside a full WEC season campaign in GTE-Pro — the team's first full WEC season. The IMSA campaign opened with reliability and Balance of Performance difficulties at Daytona before recovering with a win at Sebring. The team finished third in the final GTD Pro standings behind Pfaff Motorsports Porsche and Vasser-Sullivan's Lexus.
In the WEC, the team won at Monza and placed second at Sebring and Bahrain, but was regularly outpaced by AF Corse Ferrari and Porsche's factory effort. Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy finished tied for sixth in the final WEC points table.
For 2023, Corvette Racing continued with the C8.R in GTD Pro at IMSA, with Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia taking all events and Tommy Milner joining for endurance rounds. In the WEC, the GTE-Pro class was eliminated and Corvette's entry moved to GTE-Am, requiring a driver reconfiguration to meet class regulations. Nicky Catsburg led the squad with Ben Keating and Nicolas Varrone as co-drivers. That combination won the GTE-Am class at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary race. On July 9 at the WEC 6 Hours of Monza, Corvette Racing also clinched the WEC GTE-Am division championship with two races remaining.
The C8.R was the first mid-engined racing Corvette to compete at the factory level, mirroring the road car's historic layout change. Its success in winning GTE-Am at the Le Mans Centenary and securing the WEC GTE-Am title in 2023 extended Corvette Racing's enduring presence at Le Mans and in international endurance competition through the transition period before the GT3-based Z06 GT3.R arrived.