ALMS 2012 thread

[MOTV8]

Teh pass was legit. Good stuff. Can't bitch, 'cause I'd have expected any CR driver to try teh same. I was more curious about teh Porsche. I've read that they failed some engine stall test in the post-race technical inspection. However per Porsche press release: “The Lizards have filed an official protest of the decision, which will be reviewed by the stewards in the coming days. No further statement was issued by either the team or the IMSA stewards as the matter is still pending.”

[Shifty]

Cheat and get caught, just pay teh price and move on. Make a stink about it, kneel and kiss Bobby Rahal's ring, and teh ACO will not only allow teh cheating, they'll give you bigger inlet restictors...

[Desertdawg]

Finally got thru the DVR... I cried, I laughed, I sat on the edge of my seat and cursed van overbeeker..... damn nice move though! Teh porch was doing a nice job of staying in front, it will be interesting to see if they had to cheat to do it!!!

[MOTV8]

Teh porch was doing a nice job of staying in front, it will be interesting to see if they had to cheat to do it!!!

Ahem....cough cough cheater cough, ahem,....cough

Flying Lizard Motorsports released a statement Tuesday explaining why its GT-winning No. 45 Porsche was excluded from Mosport for failing an anti-stall test. It reads as follows:

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

No, seriously.

"Hi everyone – we've received lots of questions on the Mosport results. As you know, we won the race, but the No. 45 did not pass post-race technical inspection and we did not receive any points for the race win towards the championship. Many of you have asked: What is an engine stall test? Why didn't you pass? What does that mean?

Here are some answers for you: After each qualifying session and race, IMSA (the regulating body of the American Le Mans... Series) executes a series of checks on the top finishing cars to ensure that all participants meet the specified technical guidelines for their class. The stall test is one of these.

The purpose of this test is to check that no more air can get to the engine than the rules allow. Controlling this is one of the ways the series balances the performance of the cars. Performing this test is pretty simple. While the car is idling, the ...air intakes are physically blocked. Blocking the air intakes should eliminate all air into the engine, causing it to stall. If the engine does not stall, it means that some additional air is getting to the engine, and it is possible that extra air could create more power.

There are many ways that extra air could get to the engine: cracks in the manifold, leaks in various seals, etc. To our surprise, the No. 45 did not stall during this test after the race and was disqualified. You can imagine all the mechanics and engine people pulling their hair out trying to figure out what had gone wrong. We could not see anything wrong, and so protested the disqualification.

We investigated the issue more thoroughly when the car was returned to us, and found that the air cleaner had been improperly fitted. This caused the device to flex during the race and the seal to eventually fail. This is very likely what caused us to fail the stall test. While we are not certain that this caused us any advantage, rules are rules, and we support the steward's ruling. A very disappointing end to a great race. Now on to Mid-Ohio!"

Paging Señor Parker...wonder how MUCH air, and thus powah...theoretically, that is...could teh Porch have gained from a faulty air cleaner seal? [/snicker]

Pat Long is reportedly on suicide watch.

Ok, I made that last part up.

[Two Fangs]

They got caught, LOL. The amount of air, naturally, is directly proportional to the size of the leak, but if it was enough to allow the engine to idle, it was certainly enough to lend a distinct performance advantage.

[MOTV8]

A Look Back and a Look Ahead at the Midpoint of 2012 ALMS Season

Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio: Midterm Report

With five races completed and five to go, Corvette Racing will be halfway home at its home track (as of July 31, 2012), Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course signals the start of the second half of the 2012 American Le Mans Series. At the season's midpoint, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet stand atop the driver, team, and manufacturer championship standings. The fierce competition that has been the hallmark of the GT category is about to become more intense with the return of one of Corvette's longstanding rivals to ALMS competition.

In the first five races, Corvette Racing scored back-to-back wins with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R in Long Beach and Laguna Seca. Third-place finishes in Sebring and Lime Rock put the pair in the championship lead after the first four rounds. Then a setback in Mosport, combined with the No. 3 Compuware Corvette's fourth runner-up finish in five starts, saw Corvette aces Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen take the lead in the championship chase by seven points over their teammates.

When Corvette Racing first entered international endurance racing in 1999, its chief competitor was Viper. That rivalry will be renewed at Mid-Ohio with Chrysler's return to ALMS competition.

Corvette Racing has recorded three straight runner-up finishes in the GT class at Mid-Ohio – Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell in 2009, Gavin and Olivier Beretta in 2010, and Gavin/Magnussen in 2011. Last year's race ended with a red flag when a monsoon inundated the track; among the drivers who spun off in the deluge was Milner, who was running second when the torrential rain arrived.

"I've raced at Mid-Ohio since 2004, in open-wheel cars and GTs, so there's not much I don't know about the track," Milner said. "It's a place where you can make passes happen, and it usually produces an exciting race. The Corvettes were certainly competitive there last year, and with the improvements that have been made, I expect them to be even better this year."

"Mid-Ohio has been a good track for us in terms of pace and speed the last couple of years," Gavin explained. "Last year if the rain had turned up 45 minutes later, we likely would have won. Mid-Ohio is Corvette Racing's home race with lots of friends and family. The circuit seems to suit our car, and with the steps forward taken for this season, we hope to be as competitive as we've been the last couple of years. Every team is making steps every race, so nobody at Corvette Racing is taking anything for granted."

Garcia has raced previously at Mid-Ohio in the Grand-Am series, so Corvette Racing's new full-season driver will be up to speed quickly on the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course.

"Mid-Ohio is one of the tracks I know, so I will just need to reconfigure my mind a little from a Daytona Prototype to a Corvette C6.R," Garcia laughed. "This will take a few laps at most – first some driver tuning, and then some car tuning!

"Mid-Ohio is like two different circuits," the Spaniard said. "The first part has long straights and fast corners, then the second half is very tight with a narrow racing line. It is definitely a track where you have to deal with traffic. From what I've learned so far this season, Mid-Ohio will suit the Corvette C6.R."

The two-hour, 45-minute Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4, and will be broadcast on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.

[Desertdawg]

DVR set, this is always a fun race to watch! Any bets on wether the viper even finishes the race?

[MOTV8]

Any bets on wether the viper even finishes the race?

BaAA ZZziiNNG.

Two and a half to three seconds off teh pace.

Corvettes qualify fifth and sixth for ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 3, 2012 – The heat was on at Mid-Ohio today during GT qualifying for Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series. As the ambient temperature topped 94 degrees and the track temperature climbed to 110 degrees, Antonio Garcia qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R fifth in the hotly contested class at 1:19.536 (102.213 mph). Tommy Milner was right behind his teammate, qualifying the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R sixth at 1:19.727 (101.958 mph).

Garcia was .238 seconds off GT pacesetter Joerg Mueller's 1:19.298 (102.510 mph) lap in the No. 55 BMW, and Milner was .429 seconds back. The eight fastest qualifiers ran quicker than last year's pole-winning time on the 2.25-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

"I had a really good balance in qualifying, and if I'd put together a perfect lap my time would have improved," Garcia said. "There are four guys ahead of me who put it together better than I did.

"There was a lot of pressure in qualifying, and everyone was pushing very hard," he explained. "Because of all the different series running on the track, we seemed to struggle a little to make our tires work . That is something we will need to take into account tomorrow because the track will certainly change, and I hope it will develop in our favor. We know how our qualifying performance is; now we need to know how our race performance is."

Garcia turned his quickest time on his fifth flying lap, and Milner posted his best lap on his sixth circuit.

"I'm not disappointed with sixth, but I'm not super stoked," Milner said. "We made some big changes in the car in the last practice session, working on the race setup. Then at the end we tried to help the car for qualifying.

"Every session we're out there we learn a lot about this race track," he noted. "It's definitely a challenge when we have different series running and different rubber going down. This track especially can change from morning to afternoon and from day to day. When we go out for warm-up tomorrow morning, there will be a lot of IndyCar rubber on the track and we'll see how the car feels."

The two-hour, 45-minute Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge will start at will start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4, and will be broadcast on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 55 Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 1:19.298

2. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:19.329

3. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:19.445

4. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:19.471

5. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.536

6. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.727

7. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:19.754

8. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:20.209

9. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:21.222

10. Goossens/Kendall, SRT Viper GTSR, 1:22.158

[Shifty]

Anyone else having difficulty streaming Mid-Ohio?

[Shifty]

My hide is severely chapped...

[Shifty]

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[Shifty]

for teh Mags and Antonio, but for Ollie and Tommy! Talk about being due, you can bet your sweet patootie that Mags will be a possessed mofo next race....

[MOTV8]

Bingo. Pit crew put them in front, Olly held Joerg off ftw! I about shit when Bouchut creased teh front end with 18 minutes to go!

[VenomOnWheels]

Any bets on wether the viper even finishes the race?

Darn. I should have taken that bet, x2.

[Shifty]

Bingo. Pit crew put them in front, Olly held Joerg off ftw!

I about shit when Bouchut creased teh front end with 18 minutes to go!

I would have been on a plane to Ohio if he'd have knocked OG out of first...

[MOTV8]

Don't know if the 2nd Viper "finished" technically, ole man Kendall put it in teh tires late in teh race, and I lost track after that.

Corvette Racing takes GT win in Mid-Ohio American Le Mans Series event

Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won the the GT class at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series. Gavin and Milner took home the trophies and the maximum championship points as they notched their third win of the season in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.

The pair reclaimed the lead in the driver standings with a .283-second victory over the No. 45 Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long, and Chevrolet extended its lead in the GT manufacturer championship. The win was the eighth for Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio, but the first in the GT class after a string of three consecutive runner-up finishes that began in 2009.

The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia was running third with 20 minutes remaining when contact with a GTC Porsche punctured the left-front tire and damaged the suspension. The Corvette crew repaired the car and returned Magnussen to battle, but the 12 minutes lost in the pits dropped the No. 3 Corvette to 13th at the finish.

Gavin made the decisive pass for the victory immediately after the final round of pit stops with one hour remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute race. Gavin caught Magnussen on his out-lap and then passed race leader Bergmeister with a daring outside move to notch his third ALMS win at Mid-Ohio and the 37th of his career.

"I had one lap on my new tires, and I caught Jan going into Turn 2," Gavin said. "My crew chief radioed that Joerg was on cold tires and told me to go for it! Last year I passed him around the outside into Turn 4, and I did the same again. I thought I could pull it off, and I'm so pleased that I did."

Bergmeister responded by putting intense pressure on the Corvette as the pair raced nose-to-tail in the closing laps.

"At the end of the race, there wasn't much between us and I got caught up in some traffic," Gavin reported. "It was tough, and those last few laps were really hard. I'm thrilled with the result and what it means for the championship. This is exactly what we needed after a couple of difficult races."

Milner started sixth on the GT grid, but rocketed to third on the first lap. He held that position until the first pit stop at the 30-minute mark as the team got both Corvettes in just seconds before a full-course yellow closed the pits. That strategy vaulted the Corvettes to second and third when racing resumed.

"I had a great start," said Milner, who scored his third career ALMS victory today. "I'd like to say that I planned it, but it was more about being in the right spot at the right time. I gained three spots and then the Corvette crew did a great job with the first pit stop. That was a brilliant call that put me ahead of the BMW. I ran down the No. 45 Porsche, but just couldn't get close enough to pull off a pass. I tried on the restart on Turn 2 and got alongside him, but couldn't make it stick.

"The pit stop and Oliver's out-lap made the difference," Milner explained. "The stop was flawless and that got us ahead of the No. 3 Corvette, and then the No. 45 Porsche. It was a perfect day from the crew – the right calls and flawless execution."

Crew chief Brian Hoye agreed: "Pit stops did make a difference," he said. "We've been practicing over and over, week after week. We knew it was going to come down to a pit stop in one of these races, and the hard work paid off today."

Garcia started fifth but was bottled up at the start as the field raced two-wide around the narrow 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit. He was seventh after the first lap, but worked his way back to fifth two laps later. Garcia also benefited from quick pit work on his first stop, emerging in third after the pit stop cycle.

"We were packed up at the start, two and three wide, and at that point you are stuck in one line," Garcia said. "An LMP spun in front of us and I lost positions. I made up as many spots as I could, but the Ferrari was very fast and aggressive. A great pit call by the Corvette team gave us the opportunity to run up front again and make a charge on the Porsche. I had a very quick car, and every time they opened a gap in traffic, I could make up time. We got caught in some traffic on my in-lap for the second stop; it was a good call by the No. 4 car to get a clean run into the pits a lap earlier."

Magnussen was in hot pursuit of the Porsche for second place when he was caught out by a GTC driver in Turn 6. "He opened the door and then slammed it shut," Magnussen said. "I came up to the GTC car and he opened the door for Joerg to go through. I was a car length behind and was going through on the same gap, and just as I made the move, he shut the door. I was committed and I hit him. We're racing for positions and running for a championship. We all have to race, and I feel bad for all the guys. I had a great car and great pit stops."

Today's victory gave Gavin and Milner a 12-point lead in the unofficial standings over BMW drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller (93-81). Magnussen and Garcia are one point back (80). Chevrolet increased its lead in the GT manufacturer championship to 20 over BMW (114-94) with four races remaining.

Corvette Racing's next event is the Road America Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Saturday, August 18.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 115

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 115

3. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 114

4. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 114

5. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 114

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 113

7. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 113

8. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 112

9. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 112

10. 91 Wittmer/Farnbacher, SRT Viper GTSR, 111

[Shifty]

Next stop - Road America, but before we leave Mid-Ohio we bring you an interesting development. Veteren sports car driver Jeroen Bleekemolen was testing with Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio earlier in the week prior to the race activities. More news on this development within the next few weeks.

So which current driver is going away? (My guess is Westbrook)

[MOTV8]

For Bleekemolen? I'm not sure that I'd ditch any of them. Just sayin'

[Shifty]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm......maybe we're ok, I've seen that teh Black Swan Racing is trying to run a Corvette in GTE-AM....

[MOTV8]

Corvette Racing Road America at Elkhart Lake American Le Mans preview

The long and winding road to the American Le Mans Series championship runs through Road America, a track that is revered and respected by generations of sports car racers. The classic 4-mile circuit in the rolling Wisconsin countryside will host the Road America Road Race Showcase, the seventh round of the 2012 ALMS on Saturday, followed by the Corvette World Tribute on Sunday.

Like the famed French circuit that is the series' namesake, Road America's soaring straights and high-speed curves are a test of both horsepower and fortitude. The track has long been a proving ground for America's iconic sports car, from the early days of solid-axle Corvettes, Sting Rays, and Grand Sports to today's advanced Corvette C6.Rs.

"Road America is a fantastic circuit, a great track for teams, drivers, and race cars," said Oliver Gavin, who shares the GT championship points lead with teammate Tommy Milner. "It's got all the ingredients to make a great race. It's the highest speed track we run on apart from Le Mans, and it's the one track where we can test for the 24-hour race."

"I like race tracks that are fast, with quick corners and a layout that has a rhythm – and Road America has all of those things," said Milner, Gavin's co-driver in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. "When the setup is right and the car feels comfortable, it's a very rewarding lap. With the long straightaways and heavy braking zones, you can make passes happen.

"We tested at Road America early in the year when we were preparing for Le Mans," Milner revealed, "and the new wide-body C6.R was very good there. I got a feel for how far the car has progressed since last season."

Gavin and Milner are riding a wave of momentum after scoring their third win of the season and regaining the points lead in the preceding round at Mid-Ohio. With four races still to run, both are mindful of the championship scenarios.

"Every race is important, and there are bonus points on the table at Road America because it's a four-hour race," Milner explained. "It would be great to have a cushion going into Baltimore because anything can happen at street races."

Gavin agreed: "I think that a four-hour race at Road America suits Corvette Racing's strengths," he said. "We seem to have a good approach to these longer races. With the opportunity to clock up some more points, it's vital to keep that scoreboard ticking over."

Jan Magnusssen and Antonio Garcia are aiming to rebound after contact in the closing minutes at Mid-Ohio knocked them out of the lead in the GT championship race. They will go into Road America third in the standings, 13 points behind their teammates.

"Road America is a very challenging track with mega-fast bits and some good technical corners," Magnussen said. "Of course there is the Carousel and the Kink that everyone talks about. It's a fantastic feeling going through there when the car works – and when it doesn't work, it's not so fantastic!

"Racing for four hours at Road America adds both strategy and points," he continued. "The track lends itself to really good racing because of the long straights; it's possible to tow up behind people and then outbrake them going into Turn 1 and Turn 5. We're going there with a clear goal – to win the race."

The action at Road America will continue on Sunday, August 19, with the Corvette World Tribute, a gathering of vintage and contemporary examples of America's favorite sports car that celebrates the marque's 60th year in production. The Corvette World Tribute offers a full slate of activities for participants, enthusiasts, and spectators to experience the Corvette lifestyle. Autocross and slalom courses, a concours featuring People's Choice awards, a road rally, and track sessions for touring and race-prepared Corvettes will provide nonstop activity.

The Corvette Racing Display also will on hand at Road America on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and fans can receive a Corvette Racing T-shirt for registering at the display. On Friday and Saturday, the Team Chevy Test Drive will be in operation in the karting area near Turns 7 and 8. This ride-and-drive gives customers the opportunity to drive a variety of Chevy vehicles, including Corvette, Camaro, Volt, Cruze, and Sonic. Participants in the Test Driver will receive a 60th Anniversary Corvette T-shirt.

The four-hour Road America Road Race Showcase, the seventh round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 18. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 3:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will televise the race at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 19.

[MOTV8]

Mags wants a win...

Magnussen Looking To Bounce Back At Road America

Danish Corvette Racing star Jan Magnussen has his sights set on returning to victory lane at Road America this weekend – the venue for his first ever GT class victory back in 2003.

Magnussen’s victory with David Brabham aboard a Ferrari in 2003 may just have been the catalyst to the Dane becoming a Corvette driver for the first time the following year. He put a pass on former Corvette driver Johnny O’Connell on the final lap for the win – the man who would later be Magnussen’s teammate at Corvette Racing.

Magnussen and current co-driver Antonio Garcia are looking to bounce back from a disappointing weekend at Mid-Ohio where late race contact took the duo out of contention for a podium finish and pushed them out of the GT championship lead.

With Road America being the first of three longer races to finish the 2012 season, the Danish/Spanish combination is confident Corvette Racing’s outstanding reputation in long-distance race strategy should put them in strong contention around the four mile Elkhart Lake circuit.

This year’s Road America and the penultimate round at Virginia International Raceway will be contested over four hours. Petit Le Mans will finish the season with the annual 1,000 mile/10 hour enduro, leaving only the two hour sprint on the streets of Baltimore as the only “sprint” race to finish the season.

Jan Magnussen Q&A

Q: How would you describe Road America?

A: “It’s a very European-style track. A lot of people compare Road America to Spa Francorchamps and with good reason. It’s a very fast track with super-fast corners.

“The layout of Road America lends itself to some really good racing and in the past all the ALMS races there have been very exciting all the way through.

“There are some really good passing areas and with the long straightaways you can tow up behind a car and then out-brake them.

“It’s a great track and the fans give it a great atmosphere.”

Q: What’s your favorite corner at Road America?

A: “That’s hard to say because I enjoy the track as a whole.

“But the Kink is special and very demanding in a GT car. It’s a fantastic corner because the speeds are so high and there’s not a lot of room for mistakes. You’ve got to lift every time and try to figure out the best and fastest way through.”

Q: What’s your favorite Road America memory?

A: “It’s got to be 2003, when I was driving a Ferrari in the GTS category and I passed Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3 Corvette to win.

“Johnny was in the car for a double-stint, and this was before they had improved the interior cooling in the Corvette, so he was hot and pretty well used up.

“I had just gotten in the car and was able to catch Johnny by the second-to-last lap. I tried to work around him at turn six and it didn’t work, so I knew my last shot would be on the main straight going into the last lap.

“I was towing up behind him and there was Andy Wallace in a prototype towing up behind me. I made a move because the prototype was on me and Johnny saw that as an attempt to pass. He blocked me on the inside and was successful. At the end of the straight, Johnny pulled out to the proper brake point and that’s where I made my move, and luckily I made it stick.

“It was a very late move and I bounced off the inside curb and ended up on the outside. But it worked and it was very cool.

“That move ranks among the top of the list of best passes I made in the ALMS.”

Q: Do you think that move was what caused Doug Fehan to call you for you to join Corvette Racing in 2004?

A: “Maybe. It wasn’t until the end of the season that Doug called me up. I had not spoken to him before, but after a half-hour conversation we had a deal.

“I enjoyed my time in ALMS in prototypes and had only a short time in the GT class with my teammate David [brabham], and we didn’t know what was going to happen after that.

“To be sitting here nearly 10 years later with Corvette Racing and to think that the 2003 Road America race had something to do with our coming together is very rewarding.”

Q: You ended up having a rough Mid-Ohio race due to an on-track incident, so how much are you looking forward to the next ALMS round at Road America?

A: “I can’t wait to get going again. Corvette Racing tested at Road America earlier this year as a preparation for Le Mans, so we have some pretty good data on the cars.

“It’s hard to say what it’s going to be like. We’re going to be strong but all the GT cars will be. In fact I think that the car to beat coming into this weekend will be the Ferrari. It’s a mega-fast car.

“We need a win to make up for the driver championship points that we lost at Mid-Ohio and it’ll be easy to forget that bad race with a good result at Road America.”

Q: Three out of the four races in the remainder of the 2012 ALMS season are long – two four hour events, including Road America, and one 10 hour / 1000 mile event. Do you prefer the longer races or the shorter two hour and 45 minute events?

A: “Well that depends on the position I’m in. If I’m in the lead, then I’ll be happy for the race to last 20 minutes!

“Actually my favorites are 24 hour races, so the difference between two, four or ten hours makes no difference to me.

“That being said the longer races suit the Corvette Racing team a little bit better, because strategy comes more into play and the guys are great at that.”

Q: On another note, how did your son Kevin do filling in for you in your Camaro at the Danish Thundersport Championship on the Mid-Ohio weekend?

A: “Well he had a bad day and a good day. For qualifying on Saturday he had contact with another car, which hurt his chances.

“The way that it worked in qualifying was each driver was out on the course by themselves for one flying lap. The guy that went before Kevin slowed down too much when he was cooling down, and Kevin was on his fast lap. They had some contact so it wasn’t a good thing.

“On Sunday though he went out and beat everybody. He had a great win and it was fantastic to see.”

“Next he’s back on track at Silverstone next week in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and tracks he knows well. He had a test last week at Silverstone and that went really well, now it’s time to go get after it.”

[MOTV8]

Corvette Racing qualifies third and fifth at Road America

Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia qualified third and fifth respectively for Saturday's Road America Road Race Showcase as the record book took a beating. The seven quickest cars in the GT category eclipsed the previous qualifying record on the 4.0-mile circuit.

The Corvettes were frontrunners in today's practice sessions, and continued their pace in the 15-minute GT qualifying session. Gavin turned his best time at 2:04.871 (116.703 mph) in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R on the second of his four flying laps, and Garcia was close behind at 2:04.921 (116.588 mph) in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Marco Holzer won the pole in the No. 44 Porsche at 2:04.415 (117.131 mph), bettering the GT record set in 2011 at 2:05.447 by 1.032 seconds, followed by Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 Porsche.

"It was an unbelievable qualifying session," said Gavin. "Going into qualifying, I didn’t think that the No. 44 and No. 45 Porsches had shown their hands, and I suspected they would be the cars to beat. We'd made some changes on our setup before qualifying, searching for that last bit of speed. My car was just a bit too loose; usually I like it that way, but this time it was a little too much and I couldn't attack the corners.

"A lot is going to happen tomorrow in a four-hour race, so now we'll focus on sorting the car for the long run," Gavin continued. "The car's pace has been good, and our quick laps in qualifying reflects on how hard Corvette Racing has been working and how well we've developed the car."

Garcia also posted his quickest time on his second lap in his first qualifying run in the Corvette C6.R at Road America.

"We saw in the final practice that the times were going to be fast, and we proved that in qualifying," Garcia said. "Today was the first time I enjoyed this track on low fuel and new tires. I wasn't expecting my second lap to be my best lap; on the next lap I had a little mistake in Turn 3 that hurt the speed on the back straight. We could have been P3 with a lap time just a tenth of a second quicker.

"We've been focusing on consistency and tire conservation," he noted. "The Porsches are strong, as they have been in the last three races, so we will continue to work on our Corvette to beat them."

The four-hour Road America Road Race Showcase, the seventh round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 18. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 3:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will televise the race at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 19.

Road America Road Race Showcase GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:04.415

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:04.428

3. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 2:04.871

4. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 2:04.913

5. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 2:04.921

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 2:04.994

7. 56 D. Mueller/Summerton, BMW E92 M3, 2:05.098

8. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:06.640

9. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 2:07.177

10. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:07.182

LMAO!!! Teh 48 Porch got beat by teh Evora!

I couldn't watch today, were teh Vipers present?

[MOTV8]

Harumpf. Spoiler alert, results posted below. Mags has contact under braking with a Bimmer with 5 minutes to go, finishes third. Gavin 6th.

[Shifty]

Of all teh teams to lose to....I think I'll go take a sh*t....

[MOTV8]

At least this was cathartic...