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09-26-2011, 05:04 PM
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#2
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Corvette Racing at Petit Le Mans: The Long and Winding Road Atlanta
Corvette Racing at Petit Le Mans: The Long and Winding Road Atlanta
Corvette Team Seeks Repeat GT Victory in American Le Mans Series Season Finale
BRASELTON, Ga., Sept. 26, 2011 – Corvette Racing's twin Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars have completed thousands of laps since the team's debut in 1999, but the one that stands out is the last lap at Petit Le Mans in 2010. After more than nine hours of racing, Corvette driver Oliver Gavin caught and passed the class-leading Ferrari within sight of the final corners. As the fuel-starved Ferrari faltered, Gavin swept past to score Corvette Racing's eighth win at Petit Le Mans.
Now Corvette Racing is targeting its ninth Petit Le Mans title and its 11th win at the classic Road Atlanta circuit on Saturday, October 1. Scheduled to run for 10 hours or 1,000 miles – whichever comes first – Petit Le Mans is the third jewel in the Triple Crown of endurance racing. Corvette Racing notched a podium finish in the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and won the GTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The most successful team in ALMS history is seeking to wrap up the 2011 season with a repeat victory on the classic 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course.
"I vividly remember those final laps at Road Atlanta last year," Gavin said. "I was having a dialogue with my engineer, Chuck Houghton, over the radio, and I could tell from his voice that he was sweating the fuel numbers. It was going to be very close for us; he was telling me to save fuel, telling me the gaps to the cars in front and behind. It was one of the most intense couple of laps I've had in a race car.
"I can still see the Ferrari now, weaving from side to side to pick up the last drops of fuel," he recalled. "It was all a blur when I went by him. I took the checkered flag, but it wasn't until I'd reached Turn 3 that Chuck finally told me that we'd won the race. The tone of his voice told me that we'd managed to pull off an amazing victory!"
A repeat at Petit Le Mans is just the kind of challenge that Corvette Racing relishes. The race, which is also the penultimate round of the International Le Mans Cup, has attracted a topflight field that includes the Audi and Peugeot factory LMP1 teams and additional factory-backed GT teams. With 58 entries, including 19 cars in the production-based GT class, the task will be formidable.
"Petit Le Mans is a brutal race every year, regardless of how many cars are competing," said Gavin, who will share the No. 4 Corvette C6.R with Jan Magnussen and Richard Westbrook. "Whether it's the weather, the surface, the nature of the track, the number of cars, it always turns up something unusual. It's going to be a battle just to get through the race. Petit Le Mans is always an epic event."
American Tommy Milner will make his first appearance with Corvette Racing at Road Atlanta with teammates Olivier Beretta and Antonio Garcia in the Le Mans-winning No. 3 Corvette C6.R. Milner recognizes the challenges: "The track is a lot of fun to drive by yourself, but it's very tough when you add in fast prototypes," the American noted. "It's going to be packed in the pit lane and it will be tight out on the track. The goal is to have a clean race and not get caught up in someone else's accident. That's going to be difficult with all of the traffic, so you have to put yourself in the best position possible for the duration."
The race will start at 11:30 a.m. and end in darkness. The sun will set at 7:20 p.m. at Road Atlanta, and nightfall will present special problems for the GT class drivers.
"The Audi prototypes in particular have a very aggressive lighting package, and if they flash their lights, you have no depth perception and can't judge the distance to the car behind you," Gavin explained. "The first part of the track has a lot of changes in direction; you're trying to keep an eye on the racing line while watching everyone behind you at the same time. That's when Corvette Racing's spotting system with the crew chiefs watching out for us is priceless."
In spite of the dangers and difficulties, Road Atlanta is held in high regard by the Corvette crew. "It's a real race track," Milner declared. "It's one of the classic race circuits, like Mosport, Watkins Glenn, and Road America. It's a track with character."
Corvette Racing’s next event is Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Saturday, October 1. The 10-hour or 1,000-mile race will start 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 on Sunday, October 2, at 4 p.m. ET.
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09-30-2011, 09:26 PM
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#4
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Corvettes to Start 8th & 9th in Petit Le Mans
Corvettes to Start Eighth and Ninth in Petit Le Mans
Corvette C6.Rs Qualify Quicker Than Last Year's Pole in Fiercely Competitive GT Field
BRASELTON, Ga., Sept. 30, 2011 – The qualifying times for Saturday's Petit Le Mans, the season finale of the American Le Mans Series, are a testament to the intense competition in the GT category. Corvette Racing's twin Compuware Corvette C6.Rs qualified more than a second quicker than they did in 2010, and both were under last year's pole-winning time. In spite of this step up in performance, the Corvettes are slotted eighth and ninth on the GT grid for the 10-hour/1,000-mile race.
Jan Magnussen qualified the No. 4 Corvette C6.R with a fast lap at 1:19.586 (114.895 mph) and will start eighth in the GT category. Tommy Milner was a heartbeat behind at 1:19.619 (114.847 mph) that put the No. 3 Corvette C6.R ninth in the class. Gianmaria Bruni captured the GT pole in the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia with the category's fastest lap at 1:18.699 (116.190 mph). For comparison, last year's pole-winning time was 1:19.889.
"That was the absolute maximum, the fastest we've gone since we arrived, and it was good enough for eighth," said Magnussen. "That's not satisfying at all, but that's what we've got. We gave it our best. The competition is very strong, and it's going to be a long, hard race. I think we have a good race car, and in the areas where we need to race people, we're strong."
Magnussen turned his quickest time on his fourth flying lap around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit. Milner completed three laps, then pitted for a suspension adjustment. He then posted his best time on his seventh lap.
"We've been really good all week long, just trying to make the car incrementally better," Milner said. "We had some understeer that we wanted to dial out of the car, but in qualifying we went a little too far. I came in for a quick change, went back out, and set a decent time.
"The car felt really good, I could have improved a little, but this track is just so tough to get everything right," Milner noted. "I'm not unhappy. We're only a tenth of a second away from P5. We've had great race cars all year long, and I'm looking forward to a great race tomorrow."
With 53 cars scheduled to start the race, the track will be packed and the racing frantic. "It's going to be crowded," Magnussen observed. "Up front there's a vicious battle between the leading prototypes, and in our category there is a battle for second in the championship. There are many European teams that want to do well in the ILMC. It's going to be wild."
Corvette Racing scored its eight victory at Petit Le Mans last year after the race-winning No. 4 Corvette C6.R qualified sixth.
"We're not happy with the Corvettes' qualifying positions today, but we're very proud of the team," said Corvette Racing engineering director Doug Louth. "We left nothing on the table – both drivers said the cars were very good, the best they've had all week. The drivers and engineers have made great progress through the week. Today's qualifying was all that we have right now with the regulations as they are."
Petit Le Mans, which will run for 10 hours or 1,000 miles, will start at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 1. 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 on Sunday, October 2, at 4 p.m. ET.
Petit Le Mans GT Qualifying (Top 10):
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time
1. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Kaffer, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:18.699
2. 55 Auberlen/Werner/Farfus, BMW M3 GT, 1:18.786
3. 56 Mueller/Hand/Priaulx, BMW M3 GT, 1:19.219
4. 062 Melo/Vilander/Matos, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:19.247
5. 045 Bergmeister/Long/Pilet, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:19.511
6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek/Farnbacher, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:19.519
7. 59 Ortelli/Makowiecki/Beltoise, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:19.539
8. 4 Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.586
9. 3 Beretta/Milner/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.619
10. 02 Brown/Cosmo/Bell, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:19.705
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10-02-2011, 06:34 PM
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#5
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Corvette Racing Petit Le Mans Results
Corvette Racing Finishes Fourth in ALMS Season Finale
Gavin and Magnussen Take Second in Driver Standings; Team Rallies Around No. 4 Corvette After No. 3 Corvette Sidelined
BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 1, 2011 – After nine hours and 35 minutes of intense competition, Corvette Racing finished fourth in the GT class in Petit Le Mans, the season finale of the American Le Mans Series. The No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook completed 366 laps around the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit en route to its fourth-place finish. The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner, and Antonio Garcia retired after 76 laps with a broken gearbox and finished 17th in the GT category. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari won the GT division by a 6.685-second margin of victory.
With a hint of autumn in the air, the ninth round of the ALMS championship produced the hard-fought racing that has been the hallmark of the GT class in 2011. Magnussen started the No. 4 Corvette C6.R seventh on the GT grid after the withdrawal of the No. 062 Ferrari. He was sixth after one lap, dropped to seventh on the third lap, and was fourth after the first full-course caution. The Dane made his first stop for fuel and tires at 57 minutes, but incurred a stop-and-go penalty for a pit lane infraction. Magnussen then ran his second stint to 80 laps and pitted at 2:11, handing off the car to Oliver Gavin.
"There was a lot of stuff going on at the start and traffic was crazy," Magnussen said. "I had a big moment at the beginning of the race – I hit a curb, bounced all over the place, and thought I was going to fall off. You've got to be so alert all the time; if it's not somebody in front of you, it's somebody behind you."
Gavin drove to the four-hour mark and then was replaced by Richard Westbrook.
"It was mayhem on every lap," said Gavin. "It was just insanity, people driving all over the track, sideways, on and off the grass. I have to say the traffic was by far the worst I've seen. Fifty-three cars on this track is just too many."
Third driver Richard Westbrook did his first stint in the Corvette C6.R since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking the No. 4 to P2 before pitting at 5:02 and giving the car to Magnussen.
"It's really good to be back in the Corvette," Westbrook remarked. "Conditions weren't ideal for our car, but in clean air it was great. Our competition seemed to have a bit of an advantage on the straight, and hopefully that will be addressed."
Magnussen drove a double stint, and as the GT frontrunners cycled through pit stops and two caution periods, Magnussen kept the No. 4 Corvette in contention. He pitted under caution at 7:20, and Gavin took over for the run to the checkered flag as darkness descended. Unfortunately the pit stop cycle and pass-around put the Corvette a lap down to the leaders. When two cars ahead of him pitted, Gavin was promoted to fourth, and he defended that position in the closing laps against Wolf Henzler's Porsche.
"There was one big incident when a prototype's engine blew up and a number of cars spun on that oil," Gavin recalled. "There were cars going everywhere, and I was nearly one of them, but I managed to get through. At one point Wolf was catching me quickly, but I stretched it out a bit, then we got a caution and that gave us the lead we needed. Fourth place was about all we could have really hoped for today."
That finish earned enough points to secure second place in the GT drivers championship for Gavin and Magnussen.
"It's been a really, really tough year with strong competition from BMW, Porsche and Ferrari," Magnussen said. "I think we've learned a lot, and we'll bring that forward to next year. We'll come back stronger and try to win the championship. We've had some hard races and we've had some bad luck, but all in all we got the best out of this season that we could."
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R encountered mechanical misfortune at Petit Le Mans. Tommy Milner qualified the No. 3 ninth on the GT grid, and the American powered his way to sixth by the third lap. A pit stop under caution at 27 minutes into the race split the two Corvettes' strategy and put the No. 3 in position to move to second. Milner brought the No. 3 to the pits at 1:25 and handed off to Olivier Beretta.
Shortly after the two-hour mark, Beretta radioed that the gearbox was smoking. Crew chief Dan Binks instructed him to take the car directly to the transporter. The crew removed the gearbox for repairs, but the damage was terminal and the car was retired.
"On the restart, some cars were accelerating, some were slowing down, it was just a mess," said Beretta. "After the traffic jam, the car was good, but in six or seven laps, the rear started to feel very strange. I thought that maybe I just needed to clean my tires, but the car was super loose. I think I had oil leaking onto the rear tires."
"The final drive failed and broke the gearbox case," explained Binks. "It's unfortunate, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Our year wasn't great, but we won Le Mans, and that was exciting."
The No. 4 Corvette won the Michelin Green X Challenge for the fourth time this season. The award recognized the fastest, cleanest, and most efficient entry in the GT class.
"Corvette Racing's fourth win in the Michelin Green X Challenge this year is a testament to the interest and dedication that Chevrolet has in finding innovative ways to improve the efficiency of its road-going vehicles, and we lead the way in racing," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan.
"Not every race goes exactly as you plan it, and this was one of those events," Fehan noted. "We had a very unfortunate and uncharacteristic gearbox failure in the No. 3 Corvette that knocked it out of competition. As so often happens, the team rallied around the No. 4 Corvette. Although the drivers were happy with the car, we couldn't maintain the pace with the leaders. The crew ran great pit stops, the engineers had great fuel strategy, and everyone executed well – but today we finished fourth. We'll happily take that as we move into winter testing."
ABC will televise Petit Le Mans on Sunday, October 2, at 4 p.m. ET. Corvette Racing’s next event is the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 17, 2012.
Petit Le Mans GT Results (Top 10):
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Kaffer, Ferrari 458 Italia, 367
2. 045 Bergmeister/Long/Pilet, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 367
3. 55 Auberlen/Werner/Farfus, BMW M3 GT, 367
4. 4 Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 366
5. 17 Henzler/Sellers/Ragginger, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 365
6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek/Farnbacher, Ferrari F458 Italia, 365
7. 58 Firman/Jakubowski/Hallyday, Ferrari 458 Italia, 361
8. 044 Neiman/Law/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 361
9. 56 Mueller/Hand/Priaulx, BMW M3 GT, 359
10. 02 Brown/Cosmo/Bell, Ferrari F458 Italia, 357
17. 3 Beretta/Milner/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 76
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10-05-2011, 09:02 PM
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#6
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