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09-08-2011, 02:06 PM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Marianna
Posts: 901
Name :
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Laguna Seca Corvette Charity Auction
Laguna Seca Corvette Charity Auction!
Doug Fehan will hold a charity auction to benefit Austin Hatcher Foundation (official charity of ALMS) during his presentation at the Corvette Corral on Friday, Sept. 16, at 5 p.m.
Unique Corvette Racing memorabilia will be offered so don't miss it!!
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09-09-2011, 10:21 AM
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#3
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Sinister C4
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 1,223
Name : Eric G
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Hope to make it out to the Laguna Seca race within the next few years. Looking forward to better results from BOTH corvettes at Laguna!
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09-13-2011, 04:27 PM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Marianna
Posts: 901
Name :
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Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Riding the Roller Coaster
Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca: Riding the Roller Coaster
Strategy and Speed to Determine Success in Six-Hour Endurance Race
MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 13, 2011 – The 2011 season has been a roller coaster year for Corvette Racing, with both victory celebrations and bitter disappointments. Saturday's six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey, the penultimate round of the ALMS championship, will be contested on a track reflects this harsh reality of top-level motorsports competition, a circuit with enough ups and downs to qualify as America's fastest amusement park ride.
The storied Corkscrew turn that stands at the summit of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca heralds a precipitous 300-foot drop to the dry lakebed below. Known officially as Turn 8, the Corkscrew is the track's signature corner. Corvette Racing's twin Compuware Corvette C6.Rs will take the plunge through the Corkscrew more than 200 times in the six-hour endurance race that is crucial in the team's quest for the GT driver and manufacturer championships.
Second in the standings going into the series' eighth round, the drivers of Corvette Racing's No. 4 Corvette C6.R are focused on success at Laguna Seca. "We've got to perform at the top of our game, while keeping in mind that we have to score maximum points and not take any unnecessary risks," said Oliver Gavin, who co-drives with Jan Magnussen. "Jan and I have been in this position before with championships on the line. You've got to be smart, respect the machinery, and keep one eye on a good result in the race and the other on the championship. These final rounds are always gut wrenching."
Gavin and Magnussen are second in the standings on the strength of consistent podium finishes: a win in Mosport, runner-up finishes in Long Beach and Mid-Ohio, and third on the streets of Baltimore. Now the pair must overcome a 25-point lead held by Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand in the next two rounds, while Chevy must overcome BMW's 30-point margin in the manufacturer race. With 55 points on the line in the series' season-ending events, the objective is clear.
"We're still very much in the championship hunt and we definitely have a chance to win the title, but we need a good result and the BMWs to be a bit unlucky," Magnussen said. "It can be done, and the whole team is pushing in that direction.
"A six-hour race suits Corvette Racing's strengths – speed and reliability, getting the strategy right, and making consistently quick pit stops," the Dane explained. "I have high hopes for this race, and I'm looking forward to racing at Laguna Seca."
While the Corkscrew commands the attention of photographers and fans, the other 10 turns on the 2.238-mile circuit offer ample opportunities for cutting lap times.
"The hairpin at the end of the pit straight and Turns 3, 4, and 5 through the infield are vitally important to getting a fast lap," Gavin said. "Similarly, getting off Turn 6 that takes you up the hill to the Corkscrew is crucial."
Magnussen agreed: "The medium speed corners are the key – Turns 3, 4, 5, and 6. There's time to be gained and lost in every one of them. When the car is working well, the track has a natural flow, and I get into a zone that I don't experience at many other circuits. So for me, Laguna Seca is just super enjoyable – in fact, it's my favorite track in the U.S."
Sunset on the Monterey Peninsula will arrive at 7:12 p.m. on Saturday evening, and the closing laps will be run in twilight until the checkered flag falls at 7:30 p.m. The combination of gloaming light and a cooling track will add to the degree of difficulty in the final minutes.
"We learned a lesson at Road America when the temperature changed more than we had anticipated and affected the balance of the car," Magnussen said. "This time we'll strive to make the right decisions at the right time."
"The last stint when you're racing at dusk can be quite brutal," Gavin added. "It can be difficult to make out the line between the edge of the track and the dirt that borders the circuit because they are similar in color at twilight. That can lead to drivers going off the track and dragging sand onto the surface, and then cars going off on that."
With six hours of hard racing in store, this year's race at Laguna Seca promises to be another physical and emotional roller coaster. "It's a fantastic place to race, and usually we're quite competitive there," Magnussen said. "We've had some great races there and some interesting finishes. It should be good."
Corvette Racing’s next event is the six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday, September 17, at 1:30 p.m. PT. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the U.S. and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey on Sunday, September 18, at 1 p.m. ET.
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09-14-2011, 09:39 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Marianna
Posts: 901
Name :
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Banquet and auction
There are still a few reservations available for the NCM Corvette Racing banquet. Contact Ruth Marston at ruth.marston@motorsportwest.net or Buzz Marston at buzz.marston@motorsportwest.net to make your reservation.
http://www.corvettemuseum.com/regist...hamp2011.shtml
Also, don't forget the Doug Fehan Charity auction Friday evening at 5:00 PM at the Corvette Corral. Proceeds go to the ALMS charity the Austin Hatcher Foundation. A unique and very special item will be donated by writer Tammy Kaehler. She is donating a signed book she wrote about a Corvette Racing driver. Here is what she wrote:
She's racing to the checkered flag, but the competition is murder ...
In Tammy Kaehler's debut mystery novel, Dead Man's Switch, up and coming race car driver Kate Reilly finds herself under suspicion for murder just as she hits the big time: a job driving a Corvette in the American Le Mans Series. Dead Man's Switch takes you inside the cockpit of a race car to experience the sights, sounds, sensations, and emotions of racing at the edge. Publisher's Weekly said, "Even those unfamiliar with this world will appreciate Kaehler's vivid descriptions of the intricate teamwork involved in racing, the amazing equipment, the split-second decision making required of the driver, and the pulse-pounding race itself."
Take the racing action home with you! At Laguna Seca, one lucky auction winner will take home a signed, hardcover copy of Dead Man's Switch, and will also have the privilege of naming a character in the second Kate Reilly Racing Mystery—possibly even a member of a Corvette team! Find out more at www.tammykaehler.com
So, make sure you attend both the banquet and auction!
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09-16-2011, 08:47 PM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Marianna
Posts: 901
Name :
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Corvette Racing Qualifies Second and Eighth for Laguna Seca ALMS
Corvette Racing Qualifies Second and Eighth for Laguna Seca ALMS
Gavin Puts No. 4 Corvette C6.R on GT Front Row for Third Straight Race
MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 16, 2011 – As the laps counted down in qualifying for Saturday's ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey, Corvette Racing engineer Chuck Houghton radioed to driver Oliver Gavin, "A tenth of a second will put you in P2." Gavin responded with his quickest lap of the 15-minute qualifying session, taking the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R from sixth to second on the GT grid.
"As always, Chuck tells me exactly how it is," Gavin said with a laugh. "I knew that the car had it in it. I just needed to put a lap together without any traffic or sand on the track. It all seemed to come together on that last lap."
It was the third consecutive front-row qualifying effort by the No. 4 Corvette C6.R after Gavin's teammate, Jan Magnussen, qualified the yellow car in the No. 2 spot at Road America and the Baltimore Grand Prix. Gavin's ninth and final lap was his quickest, navigating the 2.238-mile course in 1:23.124 (96.925 mph). Olivier Beretta's sixth lap in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R was his fastest at 1:23.566 (96.412 mph), placing him eighth in the hard-fought GT class – the gap from second to eighth was less than half a second. Joey Hand took the GT pole at 1:22.226 (97.984 mph) in the No. 56 BMW M3 GT.
"I knew by Turn 7 that it was going to be a good lap," Gavin recalled. "I'd been losing some time in the Corkscrew because I was trying too hard and overshooting the corner. This time I backed down a little bit, got through the turn quickly, and then it was just hauling through the rest of the corners to the start-finish line.
"It's super close with everyone except Hand's BMW, and we're in with a fighting chance," the Briton added. "Six hours at Laguna Seca is a long race, and I know that Corvette Racing will make the right calls and we'll be battling to keep ourselves in the championship."
Gavin and Magnussen will go into the penultimate round of the ALMS second in the GT standings, 25 points behind Hand and Dirk Mueller. With 55 points available in the remaining two races, the championship is still in play.
Beretta expects the No. 3 Corvette C6.R to move to the front as the race unfolds. "With our strategy for qualifying we should look good in the race," Beretta said. "I tried my best, and the engineers and mechanics did a good job. I'm quite happy about how the day went."
The six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will start on Saturday, September 17, at 1:30 p.m. PT. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the U.S. and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey on Sunday, September 18, at 1 p.m. ET.
ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey GT Qualifying (Top 10):
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time
1. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 1:22.226
2. 4 Gavin/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 1:23.124
3. 55 Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 1:23.132
4. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:23.367
5. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.368
6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:232.386
7. 62 Melo/Vildander, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:23.518
8. 3 Beretta/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:23.566
9. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.758
10. 48 Miller/Maasen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:24.133
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09-18-2011, 09:10 PM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Marianna
Posts: 901
Name :
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Spoiler Alert Laguna Seca Results
Voting ends tonight for the 2011 ALMS "From the Fans Voting". If you have not vote today please cast your vote by clicking on the link. You can vote via desktop and cell phone.
Voting ends at midnight Sunday night. Please take the time and vote for Corvette Racing.
http://americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=poll
Spoiler Alert: Laguna Seca Results
A Long Day in Monterey as Team Experiences Highs and Lows on Roller Coaster Road Course
MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 17, 2011 – The six-hour American Le Mans Monterey proved to be trying day for Corvette Racing as the Compuware Corvette C6.Rs finished fifth and seventh in the GT class. While the cars showed competitive speed, keeping a handle on the roller coaster Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit throughout a stint was a challenge for the Corvettes.
Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin finished fifth in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, 15.9 seconds behind the winning No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long. The No. 62 Ferrari, third across the finish line, received a post-race penalty for avoidable contact, promoting the No. 4 Corvette from sixth to fifth in the final results. Tommy Milner and Olivier Beretta finished seventh, one lap behind the leaders, in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R.
"Looking at lap times, we had cars that were very competitive today," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Unfortunately we couldn't find a setup that would allow the cars to keep the tires under them for an entire stint."
After starting second in the GT class, Gavin held his position through the first 14 laps before he was overtaken by the No. 55 BMW. Within a few laps, he had slipped to seventh as the Corvette struggled to maintain grip on the track surface. After an early pit stop put the No. 4 Corvette out of sequence with the leaders, Gavin was back up to third shortly after the one-hour mark, only to slide back to seventh. That established the pattern of the race for the No. 4 Corvette.
"It was a very long day, and definitely not the result we were looking for," Gavin said. "For whatever reason, today we sustained high tire wear and a drop in grip. We'll get to the bottom of this so that we can fight for a win when we come back here next year. I definitely think it's just a blip, since we've been competitive at every other event this year."
Magnussen agreed: "At the beginning of the stint, the car was really good, but then it dropped off about halfway through, so we couldn't really keep up the pace. When the car was good, we were right there with the leaders."
Savvy pit strategy kept the Corvettes in contention, and Gavin was running second after four hours of racing. However, he and Magnussen couldn't maintain their position through long runs.
Milner and Beretta had a similar plight in the No. 3 Corvette. "You always want to keep fighting because anything can happen in a race," Milner said. "Today we weren't the quickest car and weren't as competitive as we would have liked to have been. The team was awesome, they made great pit stops and fast driver changes. I think we're primed and ready for Petit Le Mans."
"We did our best, the team did a good job on the car, but it was a shame that we lost a lap," Beretta conceded. "It's all part of racing. Unfortunately today it was difficult, but we have one more race coming, and the whole team will be going for another victory."
ESPN2 will televise the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey on Sunday, September 18, at 1 p.m. ET. Corvette Racing’s next event is the 10-hour/1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Saturday, October 1, at 11:30 a.m. ET. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the U.S. and americanlemans.com for international users. ABC will televise Petit Le Mans at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 2.
ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey GT Results (Top 10):
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 236
2. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 236
3. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari F458 Italia, 236
4. 55 Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 236
5. 4 Gavin/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 236
6. 62 Melo/Vilander, Ferrari F458 Italia, 236
7. 3 Beretta/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 235
8. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 231
9. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 230
10. 48 Miller/Maasen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 224
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