Auto Racing

[Cadillac Tech]

Laguna Seca

From ALMS:
ALMS spotlight: The Corkscrew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEfbxdbcK3g&feature=player_embedded

 

[Cadillac Tech]

From Monterey to Le Mans: Corvette Racing's Motorsports Odyssey

Six-Hour Laguna Seca ALMS Race Is Final Rehearsal for 24 Hours of Le Mans

MONTEREY, Calif., May 18, 2010 – Two tracks loom large in Corvette racing history: Le Mans and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Although separated by a vast ocean and great differences in language and culture, these two classic circuits have played key roles in establishing Corvette's standing as a force in international sports car competition.

Saturday's American Le Mans Series Monterey marks the start of the 50th anniversary celebration of Corvette's first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fans will be able to give the series' most successful team a spirited send-off before the Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars begin their transatlantic journey to France, where they will compete in the world's most prestigious sports car race on June 12-13.

The roar of Corvette thunder has rocked the central California coast for six decades. Corvettes raced through the streets of Pebble Beach on temporary circuits until sports car enthusiasts found a permanent home with the construction of Laguna Seca Raceway in 1957. Legendary drivers like John Fitch, Dick Thompson, Dick Guldstrand, Bob Bondurant, and others gilded their reputations by racing Corvettes in the Golden State. Chevrolet will salute this rich racing history with a special Corvette Legends of Le Mans display at Laguna Seca, and drivers Thompson and Guldstrand will attend the event.

"For many years we have talked about the legacy of Corvette Racing and the role that the team plays in Corvette's history," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "The reason this is important today is because of the strong foundation that people like Dick Thompson, Dick Guldstrand, Zora Arkus-Duntov, and many others built for Corvette. They set the bar high, and they accomplished so much with so little. Today we have the full resources of Chevrolet and GM behind Corvette Racing, but these pioneers are the ones who truly began Corvette's performance heritage. Corvette Racing is continuing to build on that foundation for those who will come after us."

While the team is immersed in final preparations for the odyssey to Le Mans, the drivers and crew aren't overlooking the significance of this weekend's six-hour race in the ALMS championship battle.

"Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been the primary objective of the Corvette Racing program since its inception, but of equal importance is winning the ALMS GT manufacturers championship," Fehan explained. "We're going to Laguna Seca with two clearly defined targets – to race hard in pursuit of our first ALMS victory in 2010, and to hone the entire team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"There is not a tremendous amount of technical information that will carry over from Laguna Seca to Le Mans because the tracks are so different. However, it will be valuable to gather more data under actual race conditions for six hours. The GT version of the Corvette C6.R is still a relatively new package, so we are still on the learning curve."

As the only American to win his class four times at Le Mans, Corvette Racing driver Johnny O'Connell is acutely aware of the impact of the world's greatest sports car race. "There is nothing that can duplicate Le Mans and the challenges it presents, but a six-hour rehearsal at Laguna Seca will certainly help to prepare us," he said. "It's a tight and technical race track that is going to challenge us athletically.

"The strength of Corvette Racing is the engineering staff and the crew," O'Connell continued. "The No. 3 Compuware Corvette has been in position to win at Laguna Seca over the last few years, but we've always had some bad breaks. Jan (Magnussen) and I feel that track still owes us a win. We're looking at this event as an important part of our ALMS season. We want to run strong and get points."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the American Le Mans Series Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday, May 22. The six-hour race will start at 2:30 p.m. PT and will be televised by CBS Sports on May 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The race will be streamed live online at americanlemans.com starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

 

[Cadillac Tech]

From NYtimes.com:

A Reunion of Le Mans Corvettes as New Version Heads to France
By JERRY GARRETT

Salinas, Calif.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see this car again,” said Dick Thompson, the roadracing dentist who in 1960 had co-driven the white No. 2 Corvette in the 24 hours of Le Mans with Fred Windridge.
With Thompson at the wheel, the 290-horsepower fuel-injected car was first off the line when the race started, and it managed a speed of more than 161 m.p.h. on the Mulsanne straight. But Thompson, running among the leaders, spun off the track and into a sand pit. By the time he dug himself out, the leaders were many laps ahead.
Thompson’s reunion with the No. 2 car took place here at the Laguna Seca track last month, where Chevrolet had gathered veteran Le Mans Corvettes — the 1960 racecar; a ’67 driven by Dick Guldstrand and Bob Bondurant; and a John Greenwood car that competed in 1973 — on the weekend of an American Le Mans Series race.
At the 2010 Le Mans race, which takes place next weekend about 130 miles southwest of Paris, Corvettes will again compete. But before the green flag flies, a tribute to tradition: pre-race activities on the schedule include a parade of 50 Corvettes on “un tour d’Honneur” around the eight-mile circuit, to be led by the No. 3 car of the 1960 Corvette team, which won its class and finished eighth over all.
At the wheel will be John Fitch, now 92, who co-drove it a half-century ago with Bob Grossman. Alongside, in the passenger seat, will be the car’s present owner, Lance Miller.
The Corvettes in this year’s 24-hour race, which Chevrolet designates as C6.R models, are survivors of the cost-cutting under which General Motors eliminated most of its racing programs during last year’s financial crisis. It helped that the rules in the Le Mans GT2 class emphasize production-based vehicles like the factory-backed Corvettes, which will do battle with entries from BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche and other marques.
The appearance of Fitch and the 1960 racecar started with Lance Miller’s desire to fulfill a last wish of his father, Chip, who organized collector-car events. The elder Miller had acquired the car and restored it to its Le Mans trim two years before his death in 2004 at age 61.
“My father never had the opportunity to go to Le Mans,” Mr. Miller wrote in an e-mail message. It was his father’s dream, he said, to return the car — with Fitch driving — to the site of what he called “Corvette’s grandest victory.”
The class win did not come easily to the Fitch-Grossman Corvette. It suffered engine overheating in the final hour, but under the Le Mans rules it could not make stops to replenish fluids. The car was able to make it to the end of the race only by packing ice from the team’s soft drink coolers into the car’s engine compartment during pit stops.
Things went worse for the No. 2 car. Thompson remembers it as a death-defying experience.
“We knew before the race the brakes would fail before halfway, and they did,” he said. “I asked Ed Cole, the head of Chevrolet then, why they didn’t put disc brakes on such a sporty car. He said, ‘No, not on a production car.’”
“He also said that he had heard that, in the Northern states, ice was a problem on discs,” said Thompson, relating a myth of the era. “Can you beat that? That Corvette had everything you could want except brakes! The car had great potential. But G.M. didn’t want to spend the time and the money on it.”
In a nod to Thompson and other Corvette racing pioneers, Jan Magnussen, a driver on today’s factory C6.R team, wise-cracked, “They started the complaining, and things are just about getting fixed now.”
Mr. Magnussen and five other drivers on the two-car Corvette factory team will be campaigning for Le Mans glory in next weekend’s race. The C6.R Corvettes are production-based but not nearly as stock as those 1960 Corvettes — perhaps best remembered as one of the models to star in the “Route 66” television show — whose list of modifications included little more than oversize gas tanks with quick-fill caps, magnesium wheels, racing seats and heavy-duty suspensions.
When asked how well-prepared the Corvette racecars of ’60 were, Thompson replied: “It was strictly a styling exercise. Its roadracing ability was limited. It had a solid rear axle, bias-belted tires and drum brakes. They were heavy, but they were fast.”
The owner of the 1960 Corvette team, Briggs Cunningham, was a wealthy sportsman who had procured three new Corvettes from dealerships and brought them with him to Le Mans that year. To save on air freight, he booked passage for himself on an ocean liner and had the Corvettes checked as his baggage, Thompson said in an interview. After the race, the cars were shipped back to the United States by the same method.
Thompson said he had expected the cars would go into a museum, as Chevrolet officials had told the drivers these were special Corvettes now, and would never be raced again. Instead, Cunningham had the cars returned to a dealership, where all the racing equipment was stripped off. The cars were repainted and sold to the public! (“Low miles, driven only on weekends”)
The whereabouts of the No. 1 car are unknown. Thompson’s No. 2 was found in 1978 in an Irwindale, Calif., junkyard, where a sharp-eyed collector bought it for $300. The No. 3 Corvette driven by Fitch changed hands numerous times before the Miller family acquired it in 2000.
That any of the cars survive, much less the drivers, is something of a miracle. Fitch, an Indiana native, a World War II fighter pilot and a former prisoner of war, went on to other racing successes during a long career; he eventually became general manager of the Lime Rock Park racetrack in Connecticut. Thompson, a dentist in Washington, decided he could not safely make a decent living behind the wheel. So he quit racing and continued practicing dentistry until retiring at age 75. He now lives in Florida.
The No. 2 Corvette now leads a pampered life with Bruce Meyer, a well-known West Coast collector. The No. 3 Corvette will be featured at the Corvettes at Carlisle show in Pennsylvania on Aug. 27-29. (Chip Miller was a co-founder of Carlisle Events in 1973.)
Lance Miller said he still considered No. 3 his father’s car. “I have a feeling this will always be dubbed ‘Chip’s ’60 Le Mans racer.’”

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Track to Street: Corvette Racing Series, Episode 5


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9j4HCiBl0&feature=player_embedded

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Aston Martin LMP1 for 2011

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100608/ALMS/100609894

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Fast Start for Corvette Racing in First Le Mans Qualifying Session

Corvettes Second and Third in Provisional GT2 Qualifying for 24 Hours of Le Mans

LE MANS, France, June 9, 2010 – Corvette Racing made a fast start in its GT2 debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Corvette C6.Rs were first and third in the opening four-hour free practice session. After a two-hour break, the first of three qualifying sessions for Saturday's 24 Hours of Le Mans ran from 10 p.m. to midnight on the immense 8.47-mile circuit. Jan Magnussen qualified the No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R second on the provisional GT2 grid at 4:00.097, and Oliver Gavin was third at 4:01.012 in the No. 64 Corvette C6.R. Gianmaria Bruni put the Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT on the provisional GT2 pole with the fastest lap at 3:59.233.

"I'm very happy with where we are," Magnussen said. "There's more qualifying tomorrow, and maybe we'll have another go at it. It's fun chasing a lap time, it's good for team morale, but it's not what we're really here to do. It should be said that we don't have a qualifying setup – this is the car that we're going to race with. So far, so good, no major issues."

Gavin settled for third after his qualifying run was stymied by traffic and a red flag. "Every time we got even close to going quickly, it seemed there was a car in the way," he said. "On my best lap with the first set of tires it was looking like a good lap until a GT1 car that was just cruising through the Ford chicanes got in my way. We put on another set of tires, I had traffic every lap, and then the red flag flew. You can't just keep going around trying to set a good time – you've got to focus on the program. It's frustrating, but we still have tomorrow and hopefully the weather will be OK. I think we'll get another shot tomorrow."

Qualifying for the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will continue on Thursday with sessions from 7-9 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight.

Corvette Racing Quotes:

Jan Magnussen, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Right off the bat, it's looking good for us. We have to improve where we can, but at least the car came off the truck really well. There is new tarmac from the Porsche Curves almost to the start/finish line. It's very smooth and that helps everyone. There are some new speed bumps in the corners that you want to avoid because they really rattle the car. We have to relearn the course because we have less downforce than the GT1 Corvette and steel brakes. You really feel the difference here at Le Mans because the speeds are so high."

Johnny O'Connell, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Usually we're fighting for grip in the first few hours of practice here, but when I got in the car for the second stint on a set of tires, the car was pretty good. The guys at Corvette Racing did their job – we've got good cars, now we just need to work on the little details. Compared to the GT1 car, there's less power, but the braking is surprisingly strong."

Antonio Garcia, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "The last time I drove this car was at Sebring, and I've been driving other types of cars since then. It took me two or three laps to get used to this car again, establish my reference and braking points, and remember what it was like to drive a GT2 car. I had to remind myself that I wasn't in a GT1 Corvette so I built up the speed gradually to avoid forcing a mistake."

Olivier Beretta, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Before we came to Le Mans, we were confident with our testing with the GT2 Corvette. I really have to say that the team has given me the best package in seven years with Corvette Racing. It's the result of experience, a lot of work, and a very good crew. The car was fantastic – I didn't have to push, I just drove it. I just hope that we keep going in a positive direction. Honestly, after this first day, if the race were to start tomorrow, I'd be happy.

Oliver Gavin, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "I'm very encouraged by the way the car is. The circuit was initially very dirty, but after we bedded some brakes and got going, I felt very comfortable with the car. It's doing all the things I want it to do. We compared several different tires and have got a good read on the setup. The braking is a bit different with the GT2 car – it's not as rapid as it was with the carbon brakes in the GT1 spec. We're also carrying a little more weight, which has an effect. On the other hand, the GT2 car is not pitchy or as nervous as the GT1, and that could play into our hands in the race. The P1 cars do come up quickly, so you have to keep an eye on the rearview mirrors."

Emmanuel Collard, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "It was good to be back on the track in a Corvette. My teammates like the car very much. I need a few more laps, but by the end of my stint the car was quite good and the lap times weren't bad, so it's a good start. It's always easier when you start the session and the car is good straight away. It gives you confidence."

The 24 Hours of Le Mans will start at 3:00 p.m. CET (9:00 a.m. ET) on Saturday, June 12. SPEED will televise the start of the race live from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET on June 12, and continue coverage from 6:00 p.m. to the race finish at 9:30 a.m. ET on June 13. Streaming video can be viewed on www.speed.com from 12:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET on June 12, and flag-to-flag audio coverage will be available on www.radiolemans.com.

24 Hours of Le Mans LM GT2 Provisional Top 10 Qualifying Times:
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time
1. (82) Melo/Bruni/Kaffer, No. 82 Ferrari 430 GTC, 3:59.233
2. (63) O’Connell/Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 4:00.097
3. (64) Gavin/Beretta/Collard, Corvette C6.R, 4:01.012
4. (76) Pilet/Narac/Long, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 4:01.755
5. (77) Lieb/Lietz/Henzler, Porsche 997 GTE RSR, 4:02.001
6. (95) Alesi/Fisichella/Vilander, Ferrari 430 GTC, 4:02.492
7. (96) Companc/Russo/Salo, Ferrari 430 GTC, 4:02.615
8. (89) Farnbacher/Simonsen/Keen, Ferrari 430 GTC,4:03.886
9. (83) Krohn/Jonsson/Van de Poele, Ferrari 430 GTC, 4:03.959
10. (78) Muller/Farfus/Alzen, BMW M3 E-92, 4:04.986

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Corvette Racing Qualifies One-Two in GT2 at 24 Hours of Le Mans

Gavin and Magnussen Improve Times in Second Night of Qualifying

LE MANS, France, June 10, 2010 – Corvette Racing took the top two spots on the qualifying list in its debut in the GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Oliver Gavin improved his time in the Thursday night session to 3:59.435 in the No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The Risi Competizione Ferrari, which had been on the provisional GT2 pole, was subsequently disqualified for a technical infraction, promoting Gavin to the No. 1 spot in GT2. Jan Magnussen also posted a quicker lap at 3:59.793 to put the No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R second in the GT2 category. The two Corvettes and the No. 95 AF Corse Ferrari were the only GT2 cars to qualify under four minutes on the 8.47-mile circuit.

"As always here in qualifying, it was a bit of a banzai run," said Gavin. "The guys sent me out with great tires and good position on the track. I felt that if only we could get a clean lap and I could get it all together, the time would be there.

"I made a small mistake coming out of Dunlop chicane – I got on the Astroturf and it spun the rear tires up. I was concentrating on the chicanes and I got through those cleanly, and then I stumbled upon a GT1 car in the second chicane. I pushed like crazy for the rest of the lap, and in the Porsche Curves I was really holding on. The Ford chicane was still a little damp, so I had to hold my breath and wing it. I'm very pleased with my lap.

"It looks like Le Mans is going to be a fantastic race between us and Ferrari and Porsche," said the Briton. "This event has really been our focus, and the Corvette has come on strong."

Magnussen's bid for the GT2 pole was stymied by traffic. "The car was really good but the traffic was horrendous," he said. "It seems that when it gets dark, some people forget where the track goes. I'm encouraged by how well the car handled and everything worked. I would have liked to have a shot at the pole, which I really believe the car was capable of. It's a really good starting point."

The second night of qualifying for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans began and ended under threatening skies, but only occasional sprinkles arrived at the circuit. The first two-hour session began on a damp track, and yielded several changes in the qualifying order in the final minutes. The No. 95 Ferrari ran the second quickest time at 3:59.837 to move the No. 63 and No. 64 Compuware Corvettes to third and fourth respectively in the GT2 rankings.

The Corvette drivers waited patiently in their pit stalls for 40 minutes before venturing onto the track, which was still damp following afternoon rains. When they began to run in earnest after nearly an hour had elapsed, Gavin and Magnussen turned laps within a few seconds off their qualifying pace on Wednesday as a dry line developed. The time was well spent, however, as the Corvette Racing crew evaluated tires and suspension settings under changing conditions. Both cars ran the full two-hour second session with all six drivers turning laps in preparation for the world's most celebrated sports car race.

Corvette Racing Quotes:

Jan Magnussen, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "The track was actually quite dry and we were able to get some competitive times at the end. It's tricky, though, because if you get a little off the line into the damp stuff, even though there is run-off area, it's not big enough at the speeds we're going. I think the car worked well. We tested a tire combination we hadn't tried before – it was good for several laps, and then I think the track conditions changed. That's all valuable information."

Oliver Gavin, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Any time you can spend on the track at Le Mans is fantastic because it's such a unique place. The conditions were tricky and the track was evolving. We tried a Michelin tire that we hadn't run on before, and we got some valuable data on that. The difficulty was that you could get going pretty well on the first two-thirds of the lap, and then when you arrived at the Porsche Curves, the track was still somewhat damp. You had to be very careful through those spots. Overall I felt very comfortable with the car."

The 24 Hours of Le Mans will start at 3:00 p.m. CET (9:00 a.m. ET) on Saturday, June 12. SPEED will televise the start of the race live from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET on June 12, and continue coverage from 6:00 p.m. to the race finish at 9:30 a.m. ET on June 13. Streaming video can be viewed on www.speed.com from 12:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET on June 12, and flag-to-flag audio coverage will be available on www.radiolemans.com.

24 Hours of Le Mans LM GT2 Top 10 Qualifying Times:
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. (64) Gavin/Beretta/Collard, Corvette C6.R, 3:59.435
2. (63) O’Connell/Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 3:59.793
3. (95) Alesi/Fisichella/Vilander, Ferrari 430 GTC, 3:59.837
4. (77) Lieb/Lietz/Henzler, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 4:01.640
5. (76) Pilet/Narac/Long, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 4:01.755
6. (78) Muller/Farfus/Alzen, BMW M3 E-92, 4:01.893
7. (97) Westbrook/Scheider/Holzer, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 4:01.014
8. (89) Farnbacher/Simonsen/Keen, Ferrari 430 GTC,4:02.427
9. (80) Neiman/Law/Bergmeister, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 4:02.685
10. (79) Priaulx/Muller/Werner, BMW M3 E-92, 4:03.215

 

[Cadillac Tech]

It's a busy weekend for racing around the world. The 78th running of the iconic Le Mans race is set--and it's worth clearing a full 24 hours to enjoy.

AutoWeek recently caught up with Team Corvette as it prepares for the most brutal road race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This look inside the team garage gives glimpses of what it takes to endure and be a champion.
CLICK HERE to watch the video

AutoWeekRacing.com​

1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207 ​

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Corvetteblogger.com has already posted video of the Corvette vs Ferrari fight earlier today before the Ferrari had gear box problems. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMR9VnrNAwQ

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Dawn in Le Mans: No. 63 Corvette Retires, No. 64 Corvette Repaired After Crash

Corvette Racing Back in the Race after Dramatic Morning

LE MANS, France, June 13, 2010 – The No. 63 Corvette C6.R retired from the 24 Hours of Le Mans shortly after 7 a.m. this morning after completing 225 laps. Antonio Garcia was on his out-lap after replacing Johnny O'Connell in a routine pit stop when he reported a noise entering Mulsanne corner. Telemetry confirmed a problem, and the engine expired before he reached Indianapolis corner.

"Unfortunately it appears to be an engine failure, our first in 11 years of racing at Le Mans," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it – no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."

Mechanic David James retrieved Garcia and the data acquisition memory from the stranded car and returned them to the Corvette Racing paddock.

"There was no sign of a problem," Garcia said. "Suddenly there was a big noise and an engine alarm. I tried to cruise back to the pits, but that was it. Last year we won Le Mans, and this year it is a shame not to finish. It's tough when you can't fight for a win, but we need to keep our focus. This was the first time Corvette Racing has raced at Le Mans in GT2, and we'll gain knowledge and improve for the future. The Corvettes ran 1-2 for nearly three-quarters of the race, and I'm looking forward to the next race now."

At 8:24 a.m., the No. 64 Corvette C6.R had hard contact with the barriers in the Porsche Curves after an aggressive pass by the No. 1 Peugeot LMP1. Driver Emmanuel Collard was not injured in the accident.

"I turned to the second left in the Porsche corner and the Peugeot was on the inside," Collard said. "I didn't know he was there, I was focused on my driving. There was no contact, but he was there on the inside and I missed the right line. The car lost grip, and I crashed."

Collard got the damaged car back to the pits at 8:27 a.m. The entire Corvette Racing crew began repairs, replacing bodywork and chassis components. At 8:42 a.m., Oliver Gavin got in the car, and at 8:51 a.m. the engine was started. Repairs were completed in 31 minutes, and the No. 64 Corvette rejoined the race in fifth place, six laps behind the class-leading No. 77 Porsche.

"It backed into the barrier really hard and took the inner frame bumper off, the rear tail, wing, and quarter panels," said team manager Gary Pratt. "The clutch was damaged so we had to install a clutch and bellhousing. We changed the front nose box, and the exhaust was pushed under the rocker panel. Fortunately it didn't tear off the suspension and all four wheels were pointing straight."

Within a few laps, Gavin turned a lap at 3:59.356 in the No. 64 Corvette, a faster lap than his pole-winning qualifying run.




A few minutes after receiving this report Gavin reports engine problem, crew instructs him to park in safe place. Car retired at Mulsanne corner. the car blew the engine, broken piston, which ironically was the same problem that affected the #63. By 2:45 am CST (9:45 Le Mans time (?)both cars are officially finished.

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

I'm sure everyone involved (as well as, obviously, the fans) are greatly disappointed in this. To lose both cars with engine failure.... ugh!

 

[Photo Girl]

This is the first Le Mans race without Katech building & maintaining the engines. Coincidence??

I'm sure everyone involved (as well as, obviously, the fans) are greatly disappointed in this. To lose both cars with engine failure.... ugh!

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Corvette Racing's Le Mans Ends with No. 64 Corvette Retirement

Mechanical Problem Sidelines Gavin at 18 Hours

LE MANS, France, June 13, 2010 – Corvette Racing's bid for its first GT2 title in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended this morning at 9:42 a.m. when the No. 64 Corvette C6.R retired with an apparent engine problem. Driver Oliver Gavin nursed the car to a marshal's station at Mulsanne corner, where it was pushed behind the barriers and officially retired.

"The guys fixed the car brilliantly after the crash, and I was able to run my fastest lap of the race with a rebuilt car," Gavin said. "The Corvette Racing team is fantastic, and I literally trust them with my life. I'm impressed with their spirit, guts, and determination to take on everybody. We had the fastest car for 18 hours, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

"It's frustrating that we get so far into it, we prove that we have the speed and the pace to win the race, and then a crazy move by one of the Peugeot drivers forced Manu off the road at a very dangerous spot," said Gavin. "Everybody has to share the track; we are racing four different classes, and every driver has to have respect for the others. That accident was huge, but it shows the strength of the car that Manu was able to drive back to the pits and climb out without an injury."

After six wins in the GTS/GT1 class at Le Mans, Corvette Racing was bidding for its first GT2 title in the world's most famous sports car race. The Corvettes qualified 1-2 and dominated the race until a series of mishaps took them out of the running.

"There are different ways to make history, and today's result certainly wasn't what we set out to accomplish," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "At the end of the day, you have to look at what you did accomplish and the goals that you had set.

"The Corvettes qualifying first and second in an extremely competitive class validated all of the time spent designing and developing the GT2 Corvette C6.R," he noted. "Second, we demonstrated the value of safety engineering being transferred from production to racing. The No. 63 Corvette had a huge impact, but Emmanuel walked away and is feeling fine. That's a testament to the product relevance of the Corvette Racing program.

"So now we go back, we work harder, we improve ourselves, and we look forward to coming back next to achieve our goal of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans," Fehan said. "We never give up at Corvette Racing."

Corvette Racing's next event is the American Le Mans Series Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. The 2-hour, 45-minute race will begin at 2:35 p.m. MT on Sunday, July 11, and will be televised live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. ET.

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Lou Gigliotti's ZR1 @ VC hillclimb '10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IHI8P_LXao&feature=player_embedded

Great video of Lou's record setting run @ the Virginia City Hillclimb. Crank it up and listen to that sweet sounding V-8.

 

[ChicagoDave]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IHI8P_LXao&feature=player_embedded

Great video of Lou's record setting run @ the Virginia City Hillclimb. Crank it up and listen to that sweet sounding V-8.

UNBELIEVABLE video, Bruce! I loved it!

 

[Cadillac Tech]

​

Corvette Racing's Quest for ALMS Championship Begins in Salt Lake City

Crew and Drivers Prepare for Heat and High Altitude at Miller Motorsports Park

SALT LAKE CITY, July 7, 2010 – The run for the American Le Mans Series championships begins now. The series' upcoming stint of five races in eight weeks will likely determine the champions in the production-based GT category. After a seven-week break in the ALMS schedule to accommodate the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the battle for the GT titles will be rejoined in the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City on Sunday, July 11.

With three of nine rounds completed, Corvette Racing drivers Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell are fifth in the drivers championship, 25 points behind the leaders (65-40), while Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta are sixth. Chevrolet is fourth in the manufacturer standings with an 18-point deficit to the frontrunner (65-47).

"With the 24 Hours of Le Mans now behind us, Corvette Racing is focused on the second half of our mission, which is our quest for an ALMS championship," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "The entire team was heartened by the speed, handling and braking that the Compuware Corvettes demonstrated in Le Mans, and we are optimistic that will translate into improved performance throughout the rest of the ALMS season. To capture a championship, we have to focus on winning.

"Running five races in eight weeks is exactly the type of challenge that Corvette Racing relishes," Fehan said. "It heightens the team's intensity, drive, and passion. I'm confident that our race cars, parts, and people are fully prepared for the upcoming series of events. We know that we've done it before and we can do it again."

Sunday's race will be the debut of the GT2 Corvette C6.Rs at Miller Motorsports Park. The team competed in the GT1 category at MMP in 2006-08, and did not participate in last year's Utah Grand Prix due to an abbreviated schedule. The track's 4,400-foot elevation and the predicted 90-degree temperature on race day will make demands on the drivers, crew, and equipment.

"The high altitude affects engine horsepower, aerodynamic performance, and cooling," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. "The thin air reduces the overall downforce that the aerodynamic package can produce, although the aero balance is similar to sea level. The altitude will affect all of the naturally aspirated engines equally, and we're prepared to increase airflow through the radiator to compensate for the reduced cooling."

"With the heat and the altitude, this could be the most physical sprint race of the year," said driver Jan Magnussen. "Hot weather will put a lot of emphasis on tires. It's been two years since I raced at Miller Motorsports Park with the GT1 Corvette. It's a great track, and it should suit the Corvettes in GT2 specification. I have great expectations."

Like a modern day Viking, Magnussen has traveled far and wide in search of victories. In the last month, the Danish driver has raced a Chevrolet Lacetti in a Scandinavian Touring Car Championship race in Gothenburg, Sweden, a Corvette C6.R in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Phoenix Racing's Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Sonoma, Calif., and Stevenson Motorsports' Camaro GT.R in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series event in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Magnussen finished 12th in his NASCAR debut at Infineon Raceway on June 20. "The first couple of hours of the race were hard but super fair, and everybody would allow you to race side by side and even three wide," he reported. "But the last half-hour was just wild, every man for himself. I tried to keep my nose clean and stay out of trouble. I think 12th was a good result."

Next Sunday, Magnussen and the entire Corvette Racing team will be aiming for first place.

Chevy Test Drive: Race fans will have an opportunity to test drive Corvettes, Camaros, and other Chevrolet vehicles at Miller Motorsports Park at the Chevrolet Ride and Drive event. The closed-course circuit will be located in the Midway, and will be open on Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fans will receive a Corvette Grand Sport T-shirt after completing the Ride and Drive.

Corvette Racing's next event is the American Le Mans Series Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. The 2-hour, 45-minute race will begin at 2:35 p.m. MT on Sunday, July 11, and will be televised live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

 

[Cadillac Tech]

From Autoweek.com:​

Ron Fellows wins World Challenge race at Watkins Glen​

When Ron Fellows signed a three-race World Challenge championships deal with CRP Racing, one of the races he wanted to run was the World Challenge Grand Prix of Watkins Glen presented by Sunoco--selected because the Canadian had never raced on the 3.4-mile full circuit at the Glen. After an 11.775-second GT and overall win on Saturday afternoon, Fellows can now claim a perfect record on the long course. He was joined in Victory Lane by Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., and Robert Stout, of Brownsburg, Ind., the GTS and Touring Car class winners.​

Fellows started second and bogged down at the standing start, falling 3.486-seconds behind polesitter Randy Pobst in the No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60 by the end of lap three, still in second place.​

With a clear track behind he and Pobst, the Corvette closed to the tail of the Volvo by the end of lap five. One lap later, Fellows took a hard look to the inside of Pobst going into turn one. ​

Fellows initially appeared to back out of trying to make the pass under braking, but Pobst slid wide and off the track on the outside of turn one. Fellows took the point and earned the MTM Special Ops Best Move of the Race. ​

“I locked the rear tires as well, which is why I ended up moving in behind him,” Fellows said. “I was going to make a move to the inside, but he went in deep. He was closer to the two marker, and I was braking somewhere between the three and the two, and it was way too early in the race and we would have ended up just banging doors. My car had a bit of a twitch, but when Randy went off, I went by.”​

From there, Fellows cruised to his second-consecutive World Challenge win, averaging 104.056 mph over the 22-lap, 74.8-mile race. Fellows also turned the race's fastest lap at 1:55.672 (105.816 mph). ​

“This is my last race of three with CRP Racing,” Fellows said of his World Challenge plans. “We had picked three that I really wanted to do--Long Beach, my home track of Mosport on their 50th anniversary, and here because I hadn't done the long course before. I've got to think Cragar Wheels for the opportunity. ​

“When I first started in the Trans-Am Series, we ran on the NASCAR weekend and ran the short course, and of course again in my NASCAR starts. But I must say, the long course is awesome. That is the most fun section of the race track, and it's surprising how much grip you can generate through turn six. I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad to get a win in the Corvette.”​

Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal, made it two Canadians atop the podium when he was also able to get past Pobst, trying to manage the brakes on his Volvo, on lap eight. Wittmer's second-place finish capped an eventful race weekend for the driver sitting second in the drivers' championship after an accident on his first lap of the second practice session on Friday.​

With Wittmer's car unable to be repaired at the track, the team turned to Jeff Courtney's No. 99 Kenda Tires Dodge Viper. Courtney graciously stepped out of the car to allow Wittmer to run the blue machine, now numbered as the No. 13 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Viper, in qualifying and the race. ​

“Jeff Courtney deserves all the credit today,” Wittmer said. “For a teammate to give up a car like that halfway through the season when he's going for points, the only other person I know who would do that for me is my brother. It was very nice of him to get out of the car yesterday and give me the ride and go on to something else.​

“It was unfortunate the weekend got off the way it did, but things happen and that's motorsports. We were able to turn around and get a good car together for qualifying and toss a couple of things at it for the race. It was a real Dodge Viper in the race, just impeccable. It drove real nice the whole race. I saw Randy catch me a couple of times through traffic, which was really hard to get through today. Most of the time we caught them through the high speed esses, and we'd get bottled up behind them and Randy would catch me. But hats off to my crew, they gave me a great car today.”​

Courtney was able to race what was Tony Gaples' Blackdog Racing back-up car, finishing 12th in a Chevrolet Corvette that he didn't get a full lap in until the first lap of the race.​

Despite the early-race difficulties, Pobst managed his K-Pax Volvo well enough to earn a third-place finish. ​

“We had a great start in the Volvo,” Pobst said. “I got out to what looked like a big lead, but I've been around and I knew to wait and see how it sorted out. Ron reeled me in pretty quick, and my brakes just weren't up to snuff in the race. I had a lot of trouble getting the car to stop, and it made it very tricky to drive. When you have a rear brake bias, the rear wheels want to lock up. ​

“I saw Ron coming, and I had been careful with the brakes. I didn't want to let him through, and I got in a little deeper and had a lot of trouble getting the car to stop. I got it a little sideways and almost spun it around. Once Ron got by, I had nothing for him. Kuno also came up in the Viper and I couldn't keep up with him either today. We're happy to have the K-Pax Volvo in the championship lead still, but it's a long season and we'll see what we can do.”​

Patrick Lindsey started third in the No. 57 Horton/Sloan Securities Porsche 911 GT3 and was second for two laps before falling behind Fellows on lap three. Trying to keep pace with the leaders, Lindsey spun on lap three in turn eight and dropped as low as ninth. He worked his way back through the field, earning fifth when a battle with James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 ended with Sofronas spinning in turn seven on lap 19. ​

Dino Crescentini finished sixth from his eighth place on the grid in the No. 4 Centric Parts/Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3. The round two winner fought with Gaples' No. 29 Kleinschmidt/Blackdog Racing Chevrolet Corvette for several laps, including running side-by-side through turns nine, 10 and 11 before Crescentini fell behind moving onto the front straight. ​

Crescentini waited just a half-lap before pouncing again, passing Gaples going into the “bus stop” chicane to claim seventh place and earn the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race award for his close racing. That position became sixth place when Sofronas spun. Sofronas finished seventh, one spot ahead of Gaples.​

Charles Morgan (No. 47 Privacy Star/TruSpeed Porsche 911 GT3) led son Rob Morgan (TruSpeed Motorsports/Querencia Porsche 911 GT3) to ninth and tenth place at the checkered flag.​

Despite finishing behind Wittmer, Pobst extended the lead for himself in the Drivers' Championship and for Volvo in the manufacturers' championship when bonus points for qualifying and laps led were included. Pobst now leads 653-600 over Wittmer, followed by Crescentini (515), Daskalos (467) and Sofronas (438). Volvo leads the Manufacturers' Championship 38 – 32 over Dodge, with Porsche in third with 30 points.​

In taking the GTS victory by more than one lap, Cunningham extended his World Challenge wins record to 35 in the No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. Despite more wins than anyone in the history of the series, this was his first in World Challenge at Watkins Glen. ​

“My first pro win was here in June of 1987 in the 24-hour race, but it's nice to get my first World Challenge win here,” Cunningham said. “It's such a fun track, this long course is one of the most challenging in North America and we love it. Everything went without a hitch, so we didn't have too much commotion other than the GT cars coming up and us passing the Touring Cars to lap them. Within GTS, I had my way today. The Acura ran great and I'm glad to have such a strong finish.”​

Nick Esayian, of San Diego, Calif., earned his fourth podium and second runner-up finish of the season in the No. 34 Acura/Real Time Racing Acura TSX. ​

Ernie Jakubowski, of Oakville, Ontario, followed Esayian to the line in the No. 91 Fuchs/CDOC/Forgeline Porsche Cayman S to climb onto the podium in his World Challenge debut.​

Aaron Poveledo finished fourth in the No. 44 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX.​

Cunningham now leads the GTS Drivers' Championship with 701 points, 90 points ahead of Esayian. Acura also holds a commanding lead of Porsche in the Manufacturers' Championship. ​

Stout earned his third Touring Car win in his first season as a professional, rushing to a ​

29.389-second margin of victory in the No. 18 DG Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC. Stout started fourth, but by the end of the first lap had just his teammate Dan Gardner and Touring Car polesitter Eric Meyer ahead of him. ​

Stout was in the lead by the end of lap two, clicking off laps to keep ahead of the pace. When Meyer's No. 32 XOWii/Samartian's Feet/Delvira Mazda RX-8 made contact with the wall on lap four, Stout earned some more breathing room. That lead was his for good when Gardner, in the No. 36 DG Spec/Scion/TRD/Lepper&Associates Scion tC, and Alexander Lvov, driving the No. 9 Honda GMS Honda Civic Si, began to battle for second place. ​

The win was even sweeter for Stout, as the No. 18 team had struggled in practice and qualifying on Friday.​

“This weekend a few changes were made to the car, affecting the software in the system,” Stout said. “It messed with the car a little bit and it wasn't really happy. We fought with it a lot this weekend, but we were slowly ticking away. This morning we thought we got it figured out. We went out in the race and I really had to hit my marks and my shift points. I felt really confident in the car, the team worked really well, and we got this great finish. ​

“After I got by Dan and Eric Meyer, I tried to settle in and hit my marks the best I could. I was looking in my mirror, and Eric had some trouble. I watched Lvov and my teammate battle, and it was a confident feeling knowing I could stretch out the gap a little bit and just try to hold on. It was great that Dan could pull it off at the end so that we could get Scion a 1-2 finish, I'm very happy with everything.”​

Gardner, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Lvov traded the runner-up position on lap 15, with Lvov moving into second, and again on lap 18 with two to go. With Gardner trying to hold the position on the final lap, the two made side-by-side contact on more than one occasion before Lvov ran off track and Gardner raced to the runner-up position. ​

Lvov, of St. Petersburg, Russia, finished third for his first Touring Car podium.​

Brett Sandberg finished fourth in the No. 28 Whitehall Stable Acura TSX, tying a career best set at the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg. ​

Colin Cohen (No. 01 Istook's Motorsports Volkswagen GTI) finished fifth in Touring Car. ​

The win gives the 18-year-old Stout a commanding lead in the Touring Car Drivers' Championship with 713 points, a 165-point advantage over Meyer, who finished seventh. ​

“It's amazing, a lot of people have helped me out to be able to succeed like this,” Stout said of his Championship lead. “You're never comfortable when you're doing this, but it's nice knowing I have a strong lead right now. I'm really trying to conserve it and keep telling myself that at the end of the season this is where I want to be, and not make any moves during the race that will change that in the long run.”​

Stout's win also extended Scion's lead in the Manufacturers' Championship to 15 points over Volkswagen, 49-34. Mazda and Honda are now tied at 18 points. ​

The World Challenge championships return to action on the streets of Toronto, July 16-17. ​

Results
Finishing Pos., Class, Starting Pos., Driver, Hometown, Car, Laps and Reason Out (if any)​

1. GT, (2), Ron Fellows, Mississauga, Ontario, Chevrolet Corvette, 22.​

2. GT, (4), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Quebec, Dodge Viper, 22, -11.775.​

3. GT, (1), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Volvo S60, 22, -12.916.​

4. GT, (5), Jason Daskalos, Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge Viper, 22, -48.526.​

5. GT, (3), Patrick Lindsey, Santa Barbara, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -50.328.​

6. GT, (8), Dino Crescentini, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -58.054.​

7. GT, (6), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -1:05.428.​

8. GT, (7), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 22, -1:12.588.​

9. GT, (12), Charles Morgan, Dallas, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -1:36.628.​

10. GT, (9), Rob Morgan, Costa Mesa, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 22, -1:42.742.​

11. GT, (10), Fred Roberts(R), Toronto, Ontario, Dodge Viper, 22, -1:42.886.​

12. GT, (14), Jeff Courtney, Milwaukee, Wis., Chevrolet Corvette, 22, -1:51.080.​

13. GT, (11), William Ziegler, Jacksonville, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 21, -1 lap.​

14. GTS, (15), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 21, -1 lap.​

15. GTS, (16), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., Acura TSX, 20, -2 laps.​

16. GTS, (17), Ernie Jakubowski, Oakville, Ontario, Porsche Cayman S, 20, -2 laps.​

17. TC, (22), Robert Stout(R), Brownsburg, Ind., Scion tC, 20, -2 laps.​

18. TC, (20), Dan Gardner(R), Hermosa Beach, Calif., Scion tC, 20, -2 laps.​

19. TC, (21), Alexander Lvov, S. Petersburg Russia, , Honda Civic Si, 20, -2 laps.​

20. TC, (23), Brett Sandberg(R), Allendale, N.J., Acura TSX, 19, -3 laps.​

21. TC, (25), Colin Cohen(R), Southlake, Texas, Volkswagen GTI, 19, -3 laps.​

22. TC, (26), Don Istook, Fort Worth, Texas, Audi, 17, Fuel.​

23. TC, (19), Eric Meyer(R), Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda RX-8, 17, -5 laps.​

24. TC, (24), Shea Holbrook(R), Groveland, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 16, -6 laps.​

25. TC, (27), Alex Ratcliffe(R), Berryville, Va., Lexus IS300, 15, Mech.​

26. GT, (13), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Volvo S60, 10, Mech.​

27. GTS, (18), Aaron Poveledo(R), Toronto, Ontario, Acura TSX, 1, Retired.​

Time of race: 43 minutes, 07.820 seconds.​

Average speed: 104.056 mph​

Margin of victory: 11.775 Seconds​

Lap leaders: Laps 1-6, #6 Randy Pobst; laps 7-22, #2 Ron Fellows​

Fastest race lap: #2 Ron Fellows, 1:55.672 (105.816 mph)​

Fastest qualifier: #6 Randy Pobst, 1:54.467 (106.930 mph​

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100704/MOTORSPORTS/100709960#ixzz0sln1miXj​

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100704/MOTORSPORTS/100709960

 

[Cadillac Tech]

​

Corvettes Qualify Seventh and Eighth for ALMS Utah Grand Prix

Corvette C6.Rs Adjusting to Altitude and Heat in High Desert

SALT LAKE CITY, July 10, 2010 – Corvette Racing drivers Olivier Beretta and Johnny O’Connell qualified their twin Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars seventh and eighth respectively for Sunday’s American Le Mans Series Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park. The fiercely competitive GT class saw Beretta qualify his No. 4 Corvette C6.R at 1:48.022, just .355-seconds off the pole-winning time set by the Ferrari 430 GT of Gianmaria Bruni at 1:47.729. O’Connell qualified at 1:48.279, .612 seconds behind Bruni.

This event marks the first appearance by the GT-spec Corvettes in the dry heat and thin air of the high desert near Salt Lake City. The 20-minute qualifying session was conducted in hot conditions, with a 91-degree air temperature and 112-degree track temperature on the 3.048-mile, 15-turn circuit. O’Connell recorded his quickest time in the second of his seven timed laps, while Beretta’s sixth lap was his best.

“We have a very good car and a very good package, and we are running in a very competitive series,” Beretta said. “This is the first time we have run in Salt Lake City with this high temperature. We are only three tenths from the pole, and I know we can improve. I’m quite happy – we just need to make some more changes on the car and we will be OK in the race.”

“That was not a qualifying run that I thought would end up eighth on the grid," O’Connell commented. "We don’t know what tires the other guys were using, but we are on a Michelin tire that we know will be good for an hour in very hot conditions. We did four or five laps within a tenth of a second at the end of our qualifying run. Perhaps the competition will start coming back to us at the end of a stint. We’ve got great handling cars, but for some reason the speed’s not quite there.”

The 2-hour, 45-minute ALMS Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park will begin at 2:35 p.m. MT on Sunday, July 11, and will be televised live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix GT Qualifying:
Pos./Drivers/Car/Time
1. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:47.667
2. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:47.729
3. Fisichella/Vilander, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:47.909
4. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:47.921
5. Auberlen/Milner, BMW E92 M3, 1:47.966
6. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:47.970
7. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 1:48.022
8. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 1:48.279
9. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:48.550
10. Robertson/Robertson/Murry, Ford GT, 1:50.214
11. Dalziel/Goosens, Jaguar XKRS, 1:52.178
12. Law/Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:53.732
13. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, no time

 

[Cadillac Tech]

​

Corvette Racing Takes Third in Eventful Utah Grand Prix

Magnussen and O'Connell Battle Back to Podium Finish After Pit Lane Penalty

SALT LAKE CITY, July 11, 2010 – Sometimes the box score doesn't tell the whole story of a race. Corvette Racing's third-place finish in the American Le Mans Series Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix was the result of a determined effort in the heat of the Utah high desert. Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen overcame intense competition on the track and a penalty in the pit lane to take their No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R to a hard-earned podium finish at Miller Motorsports Park.

The No. 3 Corvette C6.R finished one lap behind the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT and the runner-up No. 92 Rahal Letterman BMW M3 GT. The No. 4 Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta encountered an electrical problem on the second lap, finishing 10th after losing three laps to the leaders during repairs.

"We're not winning, and that's what we're here for, but we will," said Magnussen. "When we can have good results on our bad days, then I'm sure it will be fantastic on our good days."

O'Connell started seventh in the GT class, lost a spot in the opening laps, and then methodically began to overtake his rivals. He was fifth at 30 minutes into the 2-hour, 45-minute race, and third at the 50-minute mark. Magnussen then took over just as the first hour was completed, and set off in pursuit of the leaders.

"The idea is to push hard and stay out of trouble," said O'Connell. "At the start a GT car went inside of me, but we got that position back and then started picking guys off. The car was good under braking, and as the fuel load went down we were getting quicker. When (crew chief) Dan Binks is telling me that guys are coming back to me, that's like blood in the water for a shark."

As the air temperature climbed to 90 degrees and the track sizzled at 112 degrees, Magnussen put the heat on the second-place BMW of Bill Auberlen. The Dane pitted for fuel and tires with 36 minutes to go, but a brush with the air jack hose incurred a stop-and-go penalty. Magnussen emerged in fifth, and moved up to fourth when the No. 45 Porsche pitted. With nine minutes left on the clock, he passed the No. 92 BMW of Dirk Mueller for third coming out of Turn 6.

"It was a good, fair fight with both BMWs," Magnussen said. "I managed to get by for third after he made a small mistake. I faked a move going in and he reacted to it. It was unfortunate that we had that penalty in the pits. It was one of those small things – sometimes the luck goes your way and sometimes the luck goes against you. I think our year has been the latter so far."

Crew chief Binks explained: "When I unplugged the air jack wand, it bounced against the wall and went under the tire. At the time you get upset, but the officials made the right call. We got a penalty, and Jan raced his heart out to third."

The No. 4 Corvette's race unraveled on the second lap when it slowed in Turn 5 with no fuel pressure. Beretta's attempts to restart the car were futile, and it was towed into the pit lane. The Corvette crew quickly repaired an electrical connection and Beretta rejoined the fray.

"I made a good start, and suddenly the engine cut out," Beretta said. "I knew I could not restart the car by myself on the track. These are the kind of things you want to forget and think about the next race. We have had so much bad luck, I hope it will end soon."

The No. 4 Corvette pitted at 1:06 for fuel, tires, and a driver change as Oliver Gavin replaced Beretta. Gavin then ran to the finish on one set of Michelin tires, turning laps as fast as the leaders, but the deficit was too great to make up.

"The team showed great character today," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "You can't work any harder for a third-place finish than we did today. Hats off to Johnny, Jan and the crew for never giving up – their effort paid off with a podium finish, and that's important in the points race."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. The 2-hour, 45-minute race will start at 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 24, and will be televised live on SPEED. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix GT Results:
Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 85
2. Auberlen/Milner, BMW M3 GT, 85
3. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 84
4. Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 84
5. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 84
6. Fisichella/Vilander, Ferrari 430 GT, 84
7. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 83
8. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 83
9. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 83
10. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 82
11. Law/Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 81
12. Robertson/Robertson/Murry, Ford GT-R, 78
13. Dalziel/Goosens, Jaguar XKRS, 57

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Olivier Beretta starts the race in the Compuware Corvette No 4 car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzwyZIPpmRQ