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[PICS] 2011 Petit Le Mans Corvette Racing Photo Gallery
Camo:
How does a Le Mans driver prepare for the big race? Hear Corvette Racing drivers’ stories of what it is like to be on and off the track at the biggest and longest race of the year.
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Camo:
Corvette Wins GTE Class, Scores Seventh Win for Chevrolet. Was there any doubt.... :lol:
LE MANS, France - "The car's a lap down, but we can make that up," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt with six hours remaining in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pratt's words proved prophetic as the No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia relentlessly pursued the class-leading No. 51 Ferrari 458 Italia, cutting the margin by seconds every lap. American driver Tommy Milner overtook Ferrari driver Toni Vilander with two hours and 10 minutes to go, and steadily increased his lead as he completed his double stint. Garcia then took over the yellow and black car for the final hour and the run to the finish.
The No. 73 Corvette C6.R completed 314 laps and finished two minutes and 29 seconds ahead of the runner-up Ferrari. Today's victory was the seventh class win at Le Mans for Corvette Racing, and its first in the GTE Pro category. It came as Chevrolet celebrates its 100th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of the team's first Le Mans victory in 2001. It was the sixth Le Mans title for Beretta, the third for Garcia, and the first for Milner.
"This is my first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but I've watched Corvettes race here my whole life," said Mark Reuss, President GM North America. "To come here for the first time on the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet and to have another Corvette victory is beyond words."
The contest was a dramatic one, as the No. 74 Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook suffered a stunning reversal of fortune. After leading for nearly 16 hours, the car was extensively damaged in a crash in the 17th hour. Although Magnussen was uninjured in the high-speed shunt, the car was retired on the spot.
The No. 73 Corvette C6.R had been running steadily in the top five, and the No. 74's misfortune moved it to second in the GTE standings. More than a lap behind the No. 51 Ferrari 458 Italia at the time of the accident, the No. 73 Corvette drivers chased down the class leader. As rain began to fall in the 20th hour, Garcia was gaining 1.5 seconds per lap. Milner took over at the 21st hour and continued to reel in the Ferrari, gaining as much as six seconds per lap during his stint.
Milner made the pass for the lead on the Mulsanne Straight on lap 283. "That was the hardest drive of my life," said the 25-year-old racer. "It would have been a lot easier if it hadn't been sprinkling, raining, not raining, and then wet - all that plus the pressure of the situation. I'd been super comfortable in the car all day long, but I was certainly not comfortable then. I was just trying to drive the car to what the track would allow. Every lap it changed, every corner it changed.
"When you start racing, you hope that one day you can compete for a win," Milner noted. "To get one here at Le Mans in my first year with Corvette Racing is very cool."
"I was very happy with how the race turned out, even though it did not always go our way," said Garcia. "We had ups and downs - we didn't get a break with the first safety car, we had punctured tires, and so on. Every time I was in the car, I tried to go as fast as possible and stay out of trouble. You have to never give up here, and just keep pushing. Today it paid off.
"In the final minutes, everything comes into your mind," the Spaniard added. "It went perfectly, a real easy last stint compared to all the ones before it. This was the first time I drove a car at the finish at Le Mans, and it was very special. There is no better time to win this race than in the centennial year for Chevrolet. Now I'm already thinking about next year."
Beretta became ill after driving behind the safety car during an extended caution period, and drove a limited time in the second half of the race.
"Today was not my sixth win, but a win for the team, Tommy, Antonio, and all of the engineers and crew who did a wonderful job," Beretta said. "I was sick in the middle of the night from following the pace car, but I recovered. I'm very happy for the entire team."
Corvette Racing scored six wins in the GTS/GT1 class at Le Mans (2001-02, 2004-06, and 2009). The team moved to the GT2 class in 2010, which was renamed GTE Pro in 2011.
"If I were to write a script to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet and the 10th anniversary of Corvette Racing's first win at Le Mans, this would undoubtedly be it," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Louis Chevrolet was himself a racer, and his motto, 'Never give up!' is a philosophy we embraced from our first visit here. I think the result today embodied the spirit of Chevrolet's co-founder and of that iconic phrase."
24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro Top Five Finishers after 24 Hours:
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. 73 Beretta/Milner/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 314
2. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander, Ferrari F458 Italia, 314
3. 56 Priaulx/Muller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 313
4. 77 Lieb/Lietz/Henzler, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 312
5. 76 Narac/Pilet/Armindo, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, 311
Camo:
Corvette Racing has added another installment to its 2011 video series, this time detailing the perfect way to lap Circuit de la Sarthe. The video comes on the heels of the Chevrolet boys' GTE Pro class victory in the 2011 race, complete with a little bragging from driver Oliver Gavin, who takes the wheel here.
The front bumper cam shows just how fast these GT cars really are, and how terrifying the Mulsanne Straight must be at night. Apart from the sheer speed, there's nothing quite like hearing the Vette's V8 at full song. Louis would be proud. Check out the video
[youtube]wzn9ad3bwmw[/youtube]
Camo:
LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 6, 2011 – What happens in Le Mans stays in Le Mans. That’s because Saturday’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park is something completely different from the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Corvette Racing returns to the American Le Mans Series after capturing its seventh class victory in France on June 12. The differences between Le Mans and Lime Rock are stark. The former is an 8.5-mile circuit in the French countryside; the latter is a 1.5-mile bullring around a former gravel quarry. Lap times in Le Mans are nearly four minutes long; the laps click off at Lime Rock in under 60 seconds. Instead of 24 hours and two dozen pit stops, the third round of the ALMS will be a quick two-hour, 45-minute sprint with a pair of scheduled stops.
“The transition from the longest track on the schedule to the shortest is always a test for race teams,” said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. “The two tracks are dramatically different, yet many people underestimate just how fast Lime Rock really is. With lap times under a minute and average speeds approaching 100 mph for the GT cars, pit stops are paramount because you’re almost certain to lose a lap during a green-flag stop. The engineering staff plays a crucial role in developing a plan, and the crew has to perform perfectly. So in spite of the immense differences between Lime Rock and Le Mans, both races ultimately come down to strategy and execution.”
Corvette driver Jan Magnussen relishes the return to the roller coaster track in the Connecticut countryside. The Dane drove Stevenson Motorsports’ Camaro to a GT class victory in the Grand-Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock five weeks ago, and hopes to continue that momentum when the ALMS arrives.
“You always like a track where you won your last race,” Magnussen said. “Lime Rock is very challenging, a bit bumpy and definitely the kind of Old School circuit that I like. It’s fast and fun to drive, but it’s very, very hard to race cleanly there because there are no obvious passing points.
“When I won at Lime Rock in May, I learned the importance of qualifying well there,” Magnussen noted. “We started on the GT class pole, and I saw the value of being able to do my own race while everyone behind me was fighting each other. I put a lot of emphasis on qualifying, but Lime Rock is always going to be a hard race for everybody.”
Magnussen and co-driver Oliver Gavin will be racing the same Compuware Corvette C6.R that led the GTE Pro class at Le Mans for nearly 16 hours before being sidelined in a high-speed shunt. The chassis has been repaired and will return to action at Lime Rock.
“After Le Mans, the team took the car back to the shop, put it on the chassis plate, and assessed the damage,” Fehan reported. “When we saw how the production aluminum frame had compressed perfectly to absorb the impact, it gave everyone an even greater appreciation of the effort that the production Corvette engineers put into vehicle safety for the consumer. No pun intended, but things like that don’t happen by accident – they’re designed in. That’s why Corvette competes in the GT class: The race car is relevant to the product because it is the product.”
After nearly a three-month hiatus since the series’ second round in Long Beach, Calif., the race for the ALMS championship begins in earnest at Lime Rock. With seven races in the next 13 weeks, the pace will be fast and furious for Corvette Racing. Magnussen and Gavin are second in the drivers championship with 36 points, and the Le Mans-winning duo of Tommy Milner and Olivier Beretta are third with 31 points. Chevrolet is second in the manufacturer standings behind BMW and ahead of Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar and Lamborghini.
The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 9. Live video coverage is available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the race starting at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10.
Camo:
Changing Conditions Add to Challenge at Historic Connecticut Circuit
LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 8, 2011 – Intermittent rain and rapidly changing track conditions added to the complexity of qualifying at Lime Rock Park for Saturday’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, the third round of the American Le Mans Series. Oliver Gavin qualified the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R fourth in the GT class with a time of 51.897 seconds (102.298 mph) on the roller coaster 1.47-mile circuit. Tommy Milner was a heartbeat behind in fifth at 51.954 seconds (102.249 mph) in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Joey Hand put the No. 56 BMW M3 GT on the pole with a fast lap at 50.925 (104.200 mph).
Rain before the start of the second one-hour practice session saw the field on grooved tires. As a dry line developed, the Corvettes switched to slick tires and finished the session on top in the GT class. When the GT qualifying session began 25 minutes later, the Corvette crew continued to make adjustments.
“We made quite a lot of changes before the start of qualifying to extend our test session and to learn as much as we could during the limited track time,” said Gavin, who turned his quickest time on his fifth lap. “We made good progress, and I think we understand the GT car much better this year at Lime Rock.
“It was a shame that we couldn’t find a couple of more tenths to get in front of the Porsche that’s third on the grid,” Gavin continued. “I did make a small mistake in the final corner, touched the curb on the inside, and that might have made the difference.”
Milner turned his fastest lap on his 12th circuit. “With very little dry practice time, qualifying ended up being a practice session at the start,” Milner noted. “It was good for me to get a feel for the car on slick tires at the end of practice, but it was really hard to push in those damp and drying conditions.
“My Corvette was good in qualifying, but I was buried in traffic and lost the laps when the tires were at their very best,” he explained. “It wasn’t a perfect qualifying session because I didn’t get the most out of the car. Two tenths of a second doesn’t sound like much, but on a short track like this, it’s big. We’re still in good shape. Corvette Racing does a great job on pit stops, which are very important here. Now our focus is on a clean race.”
The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 9. Live video coverage is available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the race starting at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10.
American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix GT Qualifying (Top 10):
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time
1. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 50.925
2. 55 Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 51.179
3. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 51.872
4. 4 Gavin/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 51.897
5. 3 Beretta/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 51.954
6. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 52.005
7. 04 Murry/Lazzaro, Doran Ford GT, 52.109
8. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 52.350
9. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 52.388
10. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari F458 Italia, 52.956
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