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Camo:




Corvette Racing Celebrates Homecoming as Le Mans and Mosport Winner

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 2, 2011 – Situated between the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky., and Corvette Racing’s headquarters in suburban Detroit, the historic 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is the spiritual home of the Compuware Corvettes. The Corvette Racing team is hoping for a homecoming celebration in the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, on Saturday, August 6.


Corvette Racing returns to Mid-Ohio with momentum after a victory by Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R at the preceding round at Mosport International Raceway on July 24. In June, teammates Tommy Milner, Olivier Beretta, and Antonio Garcia triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gavin and Magnussen’s win in Mosport narrowed the ALMS GT championship race; the Corvette duo is second in the drivers’ standings, 23 points behind BMW’s Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand, and Chevrolet is second in the manufacturer standings by 22 markers. With a maximum of 120 points on the table in the next five races and series-mandated balance of performance adjustments taking effect at Mid-Ohio, the GT championship is wide open at the midpoint of the ALMS season.

After scoring seven wins in the GT1 category at Mid-Ohio, Corvette Racing debuted its GT class Corvettes at the Ohio circuit in August 2009 with a runner-up finish by Magnussen and Johnny O’Connell. Last year at Mid-Ohio, Gavin and Beretta finished second in the fiercely contested class. Now the team is focused on moving up one spot on the podium with a victory.

“Mid-Ohio is quite a good track for us, and we’ve been very strong there from the first race with the GT car,” Magnussen said. “This year we’ve been a little behind because of the regulations, but this may change at Mid-Ohio. It could be our time to shine.”

“Last year we were really, really close to a win at Mid-Ohio,” Gavin recalled. “Our car came alive in the race and we had a great battle in GT. I managed to get past the BMW and Porsche, and then I had an excellent fight with Jamie Melo’s Ferrari in the final minutes. I think we had a car that was fast enough to win, but didn’t quite get the breaks to get a victory. I just hope we can continue on an upward trend.

“The Mid-Ohio circuit is rather narrow and it can be quite tricky to pass, but we proved last year that we could do it,” Gavin explained. “Getting the car through the Keyhole is challenging because you’re braking uphill and then the track falls away as the car goes over the crest. Coming into the corner at the end of the back straight is another challenge because the braking zone can be quite slippery. It’s a track where you need to be precise with your lines, precise with your braking, and have a car that rotates well.”

Tommy Milner will drive a Corvette for the first time at Mid-Ohio after finishing third there in 2009 and 2010. “I’ve had success at Mid-Ohio in the past, and combined with Corvette’s previous success, I hope to get a good result this year,” Milner said. “Mid-Ohio is a showcase for the GT class; there are areas where it’s tough to pass, but there are enough opportunities for the prototypes to get by. The elevation changes and the variety of corners make it a great place to race.”

The Mid-Ohio round is well attended by Corvette Racing’s friends and extended family, and the team is supported by hundreds of Corvette owners and enthusiasts in the Corvette Corral.

“It’s not far from the team headquarters, and a lot of the people who design and build the cars come from the race shop,” said Beretta, who is slated to make his milestone 100th ALMS start this weekend. “I hope we will have a good result with both cars. The track is quite interesting because the grip is not constant. The best strategy is to get out front and stay there!”

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6. Live video coverage will available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge on Sunday, August 7, at 10 p.m. ET.

Camo:




In the seventh installment of Corvette Racing’s Track to Street, we see that practice makes perfect. Watch as the pit crew works together and how they handle the pressure when their number is called in pit row.



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Camo:




Magnussen Qualifies No. 4 Corvette C6.R Under GT Track Record, Misses Pole by .005 Second

ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 19, 2011 – Jan Magnussen was more than a second quicker than Oliver Gavin’s pole-winning lap at Road America in 2010, and six tenths of a second under the GT qualifying record set in 2008. Despite the Dane’s strong performance today, he missed putting the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R on the GT pole for the second consecutive year by .005-second. That was the razor-thin margin that favored Dirk Mueller’s No. 56 BMW M3 GT in qualifying for Saturday’s Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series.


Magnussen held back as the 15-minute qualifying session began, seeking a gap in traffic. With a clear track ahead, he rocketed around the 4-mile circuit in 2:05.452 (116.162 mph) on his fourth lap, eclipsing his teammate’s pole-winning 2:06.509 time from last year. Olivier Beretta was close behind with a lap at 2:06.585 (115.123 mph) that put the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R sixth on the GT grid. Mueller took the pole with a 2:05.447 (116.167 mph) lap.

“Five thousandths!” Magnussen exclaimed after qualifying. “When the session started, I made a quick decision to fall back to give myself a big gap. I was clear of traffic, set my fast time, and then did a cool-down lap to get ready for my final qualifying run. That lap was looking really good until we caught traffic. Even with a similar lap, five thousandths could have gone either way.

“Corvette Racing has done such a fantastic job with the cars,” Magnussen said. “We’re developing all the time, Michelin is making gains with the tires, and the guys back in the shop are prepping the cars perfectly. There are so many tiny improvements, so much attention to the details, and when they are all added up, you get a big improvement like this in one year.”

Beretta also posted his best time on his fourth lap, jumping from 11th to sixth in the order.

“Everything was OK, the tires were working well, but I had some power understeer,” Beretta said. “I felt that I was losing time in the Carousel, the Kink, and Turn 7. Four hours is a long race, so I think we can make it to the front with some more work on the front of the car.”

The four-hour Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 20. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the US and americanlemans.com for international users. ABC will televise the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase on Sunday, August 21, at 4:30 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

Camo:
Sorry lads.  Been slack........ well actually playing with the Dodge. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. :grin:



See how the team prepares for the street-course race in Baltimore, the city's first ALMS event.

Corvette Racing at Baltimore Grand Prix: The Science of Street Racing

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Software, Simulations, and Experience Prepare Corvette Racing for Inaugural Baltimore Race

BALTIMORE - Before the first practice session at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix begins, Corvette Racing's twin Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars will already have made dozens of laps on the downtown street circuit – thanks to sophisticated computer simulations.

The first race on the 2.1-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit is a journey into the unknown for American Le Mans Series teams. With limited practice time before Saturday's two-hour race, every second on the track is precious. In order to maximize the Corvettes' performance, the engineering team has analyzed the layout and developed chassis setups on a virtual track.

"Beginning with drawings provided by the organizers, we developed a projected racing line based on the geometry of the track," said Corvette Racing engineering director Doug Louth. "Then the engineering team ran simulated laps to optimize gear ratios and chassis setups. We've prepared maps for the drivers that show projected shift points, maximum and minimum speeds, and potential passing zones."

This proprietary simulation program is used in a variety of GM motorsports programs, from ALMS and Grand-Am road racing to NASCAR. It's also used by engineers in the production Corvette group and other technology partners.

"The big variable on street circuits is the pavement," Louth noted. "While we have data about elevation changes and the crown in the road, we won't know how smooth or rough the asphalt is until we're on site. There could be bumps that require adjustments in the racing line, or th organizers might make last-minute changes in the barriers and cones that define the track perimeter. We have to be prepared for these possibilities.

"Corvette Racing's years of experience on street circuits is definitely an asset," he added. "We've raced on smooth tracks and on rough ones, so we have the background to handle whatever we find in Baltimore. We have a list of high-priority items to work through in the limited track time that's available. All of the ALMS teams are in a similar situation, so hopefully we can do a better job than our competitors. It's exciting to go to a new venue in a major metropolitan area, and this event is another step forward for the American Le Mans Series."

Corvette Racing's drivers know how to win on street courses. Olivier Beretta (No. 3 Corvette C6.R) and Oliver Gavin (No.4 Corvette C6.R) are the most successful ALMS drivers on temporary circuits with seven wins each. In the Series' last visit to the mid-Atlantic area at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., in 2002, Jan Magnussen (No. 4 Corvette C6.R) scored an overall win in a Panoz LMP1 prototype.

But all eyes in Baltimore will be on the youngest driver on the Corvette Racing squad, Tommy Milner. Milner was born in the District of Columbia and grew up in nearby Virginia. Last Sunday, he opened the Baltimore GP festivities by throwing the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles/New York Yankees baseball game at Camden Yards, which is located inside the street circuit.

"The last time the Series raced in the mid-Atlantic area, the event got great reviews," Milner said. "I'm optimistic that the Baltimore Grand Prix will be a success. Many of my friends have never seen me race except on television, and they're excited about going to this race. I'll have lots of support in the grandstands.

"This race is going to be a real test," he noted. "With most circuits, a driver can learn the layout on a simulator or a video game, but we don't have that option for the Baltimore race. Street tracks are always tough because there is not a lot of grip initially, and the surface changes quite a bit from the first practice to the race.

"A good baseline setup makes it easier to get acclimated to a new track, and I'm confident that the Corvette Racing crew will give us one," Milner explained. "I'm comfortable with the Corvette C6.R on a street circuit after coming from the back of the pack in Long Beach. I consider Baltimore to be my home race, and I want to do as good a job as possible. Every driver is on equal footing, and it's all brand new. I feel confident that we'll be on pace right away."

Camo:
Welcome to the Corvette World Tribute, where Chevrolet's supercar is celebrated by owners and drivers of all models, both on and off the track.

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