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Rocky Road for Corvette Racing in Lime Rock ALMS

Gavin and Beretta Finish Fifth, O'Connell and Magnussen Retire After Contact

LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 24, 2010 – Lime Rock Park proved to be no walk in the park for Corvette Racing in today's American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Suspension damage resulting from contact sidelined the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, while a stop-and-go penalty effectively took the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R out of contention for a victory.

The No. 4 Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta finished fifth in the GT class, two laps behind the winning No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche. The No. 3 Corvette C6.R of Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen finished 12th after retiring shortly after the first hour with 35 laps completed.

After rain throughout Friday's practice and qualifying sessions, race day dawned hot and humid, with the thermometer at 88 degrees at the start of the two-hour, 45-minute race. The Corvettes started fourth and sixth in the 13-car GT field, and held those positions through the opening laps as the GT cars formed a six-car freight train on the roller coaster 1.5-mile circuit.

At 22 minutes into the race, there was contact between O'Connell's Corvette and the No. 62 Ferrari of Jaime Melo going in the first turn. The Ferrari ended up in the barrier and subsequently retired; Melo was not injured. When racing resumed, the Corvettes emerged third and fourth in the GT category.

"Melo had a legitimate run on me going down the hill, I got caught up by guys running 10 seconds off the pace, and he came up the inside," O'Connell said. "In my view, he moved to the left, made contact, and that's what caused him to go off. I know that he's very disappointed, but it is what it is."

Beretta was vigorously defending fourth place against a pair of BMWs when he was notified to come into the pits to serve a stop-and-go penalty for blocking. At the 40-minute mark he complied with the officials' decision. Five minutes later, Gavin took over the No. 4 Corvette and drove it to the finish.

"I was very upset with the penalty because everything was good in our first race in GT at Lime Rock," Beretta said. "I was bumped three times – I was the victim, and yet I got the penalty. I just moved one time to defend my line, I was not zigzagging. It was just racing, but the penalty destroyed our race."

Seconds later, the No. 3 Corvette's race came to an abrupt end in Turn 1 after contact with a GTC entry damaged the left rear suspension. The immobilized race car was loaded onto a flatbed and taken to the Corvette Racing transporters. After inspecting the damage, the team retired the car.

"By the time the car got back to the transporter and the crew took a look at it, we knew that we didn't have enough time to make the repairs and still complete 70 percent of the laps that are required to score points," explained team manager Gary Pratt.

Gavin's two-hour stint in the No. 4 Corvette was relatively uneventful. Caught out by a safety car that split the GT field, Gavin lost a lap to the leaders. He got back on the lead lap with one hour to go when the leaders pitted, but didn't get the caution that he needed to rejoin the frontrunners. Gavin's stint did have its own share of drama, however, with a quick spin in the uphill chicane and a close encounter with a Ferrari in Turn 1. Then light rain began to fall in the final 10 minutes.

"When I got in the car I knew I was going to be behind because of the extraordinary penalty we received," Gavin said. "From that point onwards we were just trying to get that lap back. We had a bit of an incident with a Porsche trying to go around the outside in Turn 5 and lost the rear of the car, and that cost me maybe 10 seconds. When it started to sprinkle and the track got slippery, I thought it could be a time for us to capitalize so I tried to go around the outside of the Patron Ferrari in Turn 1. I don't think he saw me, and he pushed me wide into the marbles.

"It seemed that everything we tried today just didn't work out," Gavin noted. "At least we came away with a fifth place, but it's frustrating that we can't seem to get a break at the moment."

"At the end of the day, we had cars that were competitive at Lime Rock," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We hadn't turned a lap in the dry until warm-up this morning. If you are looking for a silver lining at Lime Rock, it was quite an accomplishment for the Corvettes to be able to run with teams and cars that have years of experience here."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Mid-Ohio Sports Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The 2-hour, 45-minute race will start at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 7, and will be televised by CBS Sports on Sunday, August 15, at 12:30 p.m. ET. Live streaming video can be viewed on americanlemans.com, and live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix GT Results:
Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 161
2. Auberlen/Milner, BMW M3 GT, 161
3. Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 161
4. Salo/Kaffer, Ferrari 430 GT, 160
5. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 159
6. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 157
7. Law/Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 157
8. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 156
9. Dalziel/Goosens, Jaguar XKRS, 152
10. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 150
11. Robertson/Murry, Ford GT-R, 110
12. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 35
13. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 22


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1960 Le Mans winning #3 Corvette

Corvette Racing history was again made in France when Lance Miller fulfilled his father's dream of returning the class-winning #3 car to LeMans for the 50th anniversary of its win. A feature-length documentary and a book on this great human interest story are both in the works from Michael Brown.

The movie trailer is very good to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx3p0BNInb4
 
ALMS Racing in Baltimore 2011

SERIES IS BALTIMORE-BOUND FOR 2011!

Added to Labor Day lineup in prominent Eastern market

2010-09-01
Balt_090110_main.jpg


The Baltimore Grand Prix announced today that the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, has been added to the inaugural auto racing event scheduled for September 2-4, 2011. Baltimore City Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, along with Baltimore Racing Development (BRD) President Jay Davidson and American Le Mans Series President and CEO, Scott Atherton, officially announced the world’s leading sports car series will join the IZOD IndyCar Series to headline the “Festival of Speed” on Labor Day Weekend 2011.

The American Le Mans Series, based in Braselton, Ga., includes multiple classes of cars – Prototype and Grand Touring – which race on the track at the same time to create compelling race action and constant passing. The Series has more automobile marques involved than any other major race series in the world as manufacturers develop relevant technologies on track that transfer directly to the customer showroom.

“From the beginning we wanted to create an entire weekend racing experience and the addition of American Le Mans Series does just that,” said Davidson “We’ve been talking with the Series team for a while now and have always wanted them to join the IZOD IndyCar Series to enhance our event. This is a great addition to the weekend and we believe fans will be eager to see these amazing cars in action.”

The Series competes on North America’s premier road courses such as Sebring International Raceway, Road America, Mosport International Raceway, Road Atlanta and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It also annually holds events on urban street circuits in some of the nation’s major markets such as Long Beach in southern California.

American Le Mans Series President and CEO Atherton said, “The combination of two premier race series in one location on the same weekend is a rare opportunity for race fans. We have had outstanding doubleheader successes on street courses such as Long Beach, Houston and St. Petersburg, and I’m confident that the Baltimore Grand Prix will provide more of the same with a stellar backdrop for some of the best road racing on the planet. It will be the place to be next Labor Day weekend.”

The American Le Mans Series has more participating marques than F1, NASCAR and IndyCar combined. It includes prestigious and elite brands such as Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Panoz, Peugeot and Porsche. All cars in the Series race on one of five alternative fuels or energy sources, leading to its position as the Global Leader in Green Racing. It operates a nine-race schedule in top markets throughout North America for 2010.

Atherton added, “As the global leader of green racing we have developed very close ties to the leadership of both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. Having a race so close to our nation’s capital will enable those in government and the Washington, DC community to attend an American Le Mans Series race and see for themselves the progress we’ve made in this area. The timing of this event, in light of all that is happening involving the auto industry and government, couldn’t be better.”

The Baltimore Grand Prix will be a combination of racing and festivities that will begin Friday morning and culminate on Sunday with the IZOD IndyCar Series race. The event is billed as a “three-day festival of speed”, and organizers are now in the process of planning a variety of non-racing activities such as a family fun zone, go-karting, beer gardens, extreme sports demonstrations and professional beach volleyball. Live music will be available all weekend, from local artists performing throughout the day to nationally known acts in the evenings. The event offers something for all Marylanders, and organizers intend for the event to be very family-friendly.

“By adding the American Le Mans Series, one of world’s leading sports car championships, we are greatly enhancing what is being offered to fans during the Baltimore Grand Prix weekend,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “The American Le Mans Series will attract more racing fans to Baltimore, and will make the Grand Prix and even greater success for the City.”

The Baltimore Grand Prix is expected to attract more than 100,000 people to the area and have an estimated economic impact of $70 million, based on visitor spending on hotel nights, meals, tickets and other purchases. The racetrack will be a 2-mile temporary circuit constructed around the streets of downtown Baltimore, including sections by Oriole Park at Camden Yards, West Pratt Street and along the Inner Harbor on Light Street. Tickets for the event will go on sale this fall and will be offered at a variety of price levels to make the event affordable for all fans. A title sponsor is expected to be announced soon and a wide range of sponsorship and hospitality opportunities are available.

The final round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA2 at Road Atlanta. The 1,000-mile/10-hour race is set for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 2. SPEED will air the race starting at 11 a.m., with live radio coverage available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Americanlemans.com will stream qualifying live starting at 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, October 1. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

About the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, based in Braselton, GA, is the world’s leading sports car series. In the tradition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, multiple classes of cars – Prototype and Grand Touring – race on the track at the same time to create compelling race action and constant passing. The Series has more automobile marques involved than any other major race series in the world as manufacturers develop relevant technologies on track that transfer directly to the customer showroom. All cars in the Series race on one of five alternative fuels or energy sources, leading to its position as the Global Leader in Green Racing. For 2010, it operates a nine-race schedule in top markets throughout North America. For more information, visit americanlemans.com.

About The Baltimore Grand Prix
Baltimore Racing Development, LLC was formed in 2008 with the intention of bringing a “Grand Prix” street race to Baltimore in 2011. The group retained a world-class team of professionals to assist with their efforts, including two-time Indy 500 winner, Al Unser, Jr. On June 2, 2010, the group formally announced that Baltimore had been awarded a race in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2011 and that the Baltimore Grand Prix would be a fixture on that circuit for the next five years. For more information, visit baltimoregrandprix.com.


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GM to Get Back into Racing - Team of 2 CTS-V Coupes in 2011 World Challenge Series

Auto journalist Pete DeLorenzo is reporting today that GM is getting back into factory sponsored racing in a big way this coming year. Along with GM Racing involvement with Chevy in the Indycar Series, Grand Am GT and NHRA Pro Stock,
GM Racing will also field a 2 car team of CTS-V Coupes in this year's World Challenge Series. No mention of drivers yet, but it will definitely be interesting to watch. GM was very successful in the past, racing the V1 in the same series with Ron Fellows and Andy Pilgrim piloting the factory cars.

The complete article can be viewed here
http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/
 
Cadillac is Back!!!

GizmoQ said:
Auto journalist Pete DeLorenzo is reporting today that GM is getting back into factory sponsored racing in a big way this coming year. Along with GM Racing involvement with Chevy in the Indycar Series, Grand Am GT and NHRA Pro Stock,
GM Racing will also field a 2 car team of CTS-V Coupes in this year's World Challenge Series. No mention of drivers yet, but it will definitely be interesting to watch. GM was very successful in the past, racing the V1 in the same series with Ron Fellows and Andy Pilgrim piloting the factory cars.

The complete article can be viewed here
http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/
Click to expand...

This is great news!! I had heard rumors this summer, & now it appears that we will again see Cadillacs back on the race tracks.:rocker: Pratt & Miller should be building the cars again. I hope they will be ready for Sebring in March. You guys will have to make plans to come see them race in person @ a venue near you.:wave:
 
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