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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Revisiting the 2001 Win!
Twenty-five years ago, Corvette Racing scored the first of nine class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The pair of Chevrolet Corvette C5-Rs finished 1-2 in the GTS class, one year after the program’s debut at the French classic. Here are a few thoughts from the driving crew of the No. 63 Corvette as we look back and ahead of this year’s running of Le Mans.
RON FELLOWS: “It’s funny now but wasn’t at the time! Maybe it was more fatigue-related, but Le Mans in 2001 was just SO difficult. We were doing an awful lot of driving in the rain. I personally did a total of two laps on slicks. That was it. I basically went out and then spun in the Porsche Curves; it was too wet so I went right back in the pit lane and went back to rain tires. It was either a full-wet or intermediate the entire time. It was just incredibly cold and damp the entire time.
“But at the end it was surreal to walk across the gantry to the podium at Le Mans where throngs of people were coming out of the racetrack. It’s very current-day, Formula One-like where they rush onto the track and come to the podium. Seeing, in particular, Herb Fischel when we got up on the podium, and then as we’re going back to the compound… for him to be able to walk in with the trophy, I can tell you it was the biggest smile I’ve ever seen from him! It stayed on his face for a long time! You could tell it was really personal and meant a lot. This was a culmination of a great deal of work and effort, convincing the senior management team that this is what we need to be doing for the brand – to go to and win Le Mans in our second try. Getting that win was just absolutely awesome.”
JOHNNY O’CONNELL: "We already had the experience from being at Le Mans the year before. Already that early, it was clear that the Le Mans fans loved the Corvette and we did everything we could to return that. The reception we got in 2001 blew us away more than what we felt the year before. At the track, I won't say it was easy but we definitely benefitted from the previous year. Back then, you had pre-qualifying in the spring then everyone went away to do all the preparation and then showed up again for the week of the race. So we felt like we had a much better handle on the track and how to best make the cars work around such a long lap.
"The race was crazy wet and cold. I don't think I've ever driven a race where so much of it was in the rain... it had to be something like 20 hours. In those situations where you're on the track at Le Mans, it becomes more about surviving each lap and stint because the lap is so long. One of the biggest things that gave us confidence is that we knew the cars could last. We felt that if we could stay out of the pitlane and between the lines, our chances were going to be really good at the end. And that's just how it played out. Seeing those two Corvettes come across the finish line 1-2 is a tremendous point of pride. That walk to the podium up above the pitlane and seeing the fans.... it's one of the greatest moments of my career and I'm grateful to have been able to experience it."
SCOTT PRUETT: “It was amazing to see the fans that were so hardcore about Corvette. The cars were loud and they were fast, and they looked great and the fans just embraced it and loved it. They followed it and revered the whole Corvette persona of what that meant and what that stood for.
“I wasn’t part of the first year. But when we got there in 2001, we saw that raw passion of the fans who were so excited to see the cars and see the drivers. To be part of a program that made its way to Winners’ Circle was truly fantastic.
“As a driver you hope to have a long career and a successful career. Being successful means winning those great races, those global races. I’m proud to be American and I love everything about this country. Being over there to represent the USA and to represent what we do here in our country was something bigger than I can really wrap my head around. I hadn’t expected it. You kind of know it, but you don’t really feel it. And then to be able to not only represent that, but also win the race was just so special. There were all these different levels and different layers of achievement in that one race. You go into races and you’re looking to win those races. You go into the Rolex 24 Hours and if you win that race, you win this beautiful Rolex Daytona. And that in itself is huge. But then when you start getting all these other layers into it, country and respect and pride, national pride, that just takes it to another level.”
Ryan Smith
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Revisiting the 2001 Win!
Twenty-five years ago, Corvette Racing scored the first of nine class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The pair of Chevrolet Corvette C5-Rs finished 1-2 in the GTS class, one year after the program’s debut at the French classic. Here are a few thoughts from the driving crew of the No. 63 Corvette as we look back and ahead of this year’s running of Le Mans.
RON FELLOWS: “It’s funny now but wasn’t at the time! Maybe it was more fatigue-related, but Le Mans in 2001 was just SO difficult. We were doing an awful lot of driving in the rain. I personally did a total of two laps on slicks. That was it. I basically went out and then spun in the Porsche Curves; it was too wet so I went right back in the pit lane and went back to rain tires. It was either a full-wet or intermediate the entire time. It was just incredibly cold and damp the entire time.
“But at the end it was surreal to walk across the gantry to the podium at Le Mans where throngs of people were coming out of the racetrack. It’s very current-day, Formula One-like where they rush onto the track and come to the podium. Seeing, in particular, Herb Fischel when we got up on the podium, and then as we’re going back to the compound… for him to be able to walk in with the trophy, I can tell you it was the biggest smile I’ve ever seen from him! It stayed on his face for a long time! You could tell it was really personal and meant a lot. This was a culmination of a great deal of work and effort, convincing the senior management team that this is what we need to be doing for the brand – to go to and win Le Mans in our second try. Getting that win was just absolutely awesome.”
JOHNNY O’CONNELL: "We already had the experience from being at Le Mans the year before. Already that early, it was clear that the Le Mans fans loved the Corvette and we did everything we could to return that. The reception we got in 2001 blew us away more than what we felt the year before. At the track, I won't say it was easy but we definitely benefitted from the previous year. Back then, you had pre-qualifying in the spring then everyone went away to do all the preparation and then showed up again for the week of the race. So we felt like we had a much better handle on the track and how to best make the cars work around such a long lap.
"The race was crazy wet and cold. I don't think I've ever driven a race where so much of it was in the rain... it had to be something like 20 hours. In those situations where you're on the track at Le Mans, it becomes more about surviving each lap and stint because the lap is so long. One of the biggest things that gave us confidence is that we knew the cars could last. We felt that if we could stay out of the pitlane and between the lines, our chances were going to be really good at the end. And that's just how it played out. Seeing those two Corvettes come across the finish line 1-2 is a tremendous point of pride. That walk to the podium up above the pitlane and seeing the fans.... it's one of the greatest moments of my career and I'm grateful to have been able to experience it."
SCOTT PRUETT: “It was amazing to see the fans that were so hardcore about Corvette. The cars were loud and they were fast, and they looked great and the fans just embraced it and loved it. They followed it and revered the whole Corvette persona of what that meant and what that stood for.
“I wasn’t part of the first year. But when we got there in 2001, we saw that raw passion of the fans who were so excited to see the cars and see the drivers. To be part of a program that made its way to Winners’ Circle was truly fantastic.
“As a driver you hope to have a long career and a successful career. Being successful means winning those great races, those global races. I’m proud to be American and I love everything about this country. Being over there to represent the USA and to represent what we do here in our country was something bigger than I can really wrap my head around. I hadn’t expected it. You kind of know it, but you don’t really feel it. And then to be able to not only represent that, but also win the race was just so special. There were all these different levels and different layers of achievement in that one race. You go into races and you’re looking to win those races. You go into the Rolex 24 Hours and if you win that race, you win this beautiful Rolex Daytona. And that in itself is huge. But then when you start getting all these other layers into it, country and respect and pride, national pride, that just takes it to another level.”
Ryan Smith