Shifty Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 And, to make it worse, it's a pretty good-looking paint scheme.... Thanks for teh find! Just a few more days now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertdawg Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Teh nice blurbage and vadered pics Deano, teh beemers running off to DTM crybabies! A 1-2 finish for CR would be most awesome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Team Chevy | Corvette Racing - Flat Out - 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans "The Prep" (Episode 1 of 5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WgmuknJuwgk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 2012 Le Mans: Corvette Racing at Scrutineering As you know, the Corvette Racing team is in France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans which will take place this weekend. Yesterday the team was in downtown Le Mans at the Place de la Republique for scrutineering which is where all the teams and crew report to have their cars and equipment inspected. While in the Center of Le Mans, the team pauses to take their annual group photograph. If you noticed that there were only 4 drivers in the photos, then you are correct. Richard Westbrook and Jordan Taylor were late to Scrutineering as they both raced Saturday at the Grand-AM event at Mid-Ohio. Based on a couple of the tweets from Westbrook, it wasn’t all that smooth of trip across the pond. But now the whole team is together and ready to race. Today is a light day for the drivers as they are mostly doing PR events. The first practice sessions start on Wednesday at 4pm local time (10 AM ET) with the first qualifying sessions beginning later that evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Corvette drivers reckon Ferrari has raw pace advantage in Le Mans GTE Pro battle The factory Corvette drivers doubt that they will be the GTE Pro class pacesetters in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, but are confident that the car's new wider track makes it more stable and easier to drive over 24 hours, giving them a good chance of fighting for victory. Richard Westbrook reckons the AF Corse and Luxury Ferraris have better raw pace than the Corvette. "At Le Mans it's always a trade-off," he told AUTOSPORT. "We're a little bit behind Ferrari but I think we've got reliability, I think our driver lineup is as good as any. I think we've got a great chance. "Ferrari is, for me, the favorite. But that's not a bad thing because we've been the favorites for the past two years. It's a bit of pressure off." Oliver Gavin agrees that the car is easier to drive and that it is still not the fastest GTE Pro car on the track. "The fastest Ferrari will be quickest and then the Aston and then us. We won't be the quickest but Porsche will be there at the end of the race too and you can never write them off," he said. "It is a bit of performance balancing from last year because basically we were really struggling at the end of last year against the Ferrari. "We'll be better through the Esses and Indianapolis; the penalty is the car has more drag and the straight-line speed is similar to last year's with the engine upgrades." Corvette won the GTE Pro class in 2011 but had to run close to the limit of its capabilities according to Antonio Garcia, the Spanish driver saying that he found it "very, very hard." Garcia, who partnered Olivier Beretta and Tommy Milner to victory for Corvette in 2011, said that he finds the 2012 C6 to be significantly easier to drive than last year's car. "Last year was probably the most difficult car I have had here," Garcia said. "The Ferrari and the BMW were very competitive and we had to go 100 percent straight away. "Right away when I did my first laps at the test, it was a definite change. It was a little bit easier to get the Le Mans flow." Flow, schmo....kick their asses mofos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertdawg Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I like that blurb, let them think teh vette is not competitve, then stomp 'em on race day. Teh DVR is set to speed, looks like they are covering almost teh whole race, I'll be in El Paso so try to not ruin teh finish for me here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VenomOnWheels Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Snake Bit: SRT Viper Returning to ALMS’ GT Class Factory-backed effort set to debut later this season . . . Check out this one minute video of the new ALMS Viper GTS-R being test run on a track. Got me off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkV4RfmY-l0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifty Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Did I see CR qualify 1st and 3rd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 I concur, indubitably! Blazed 'em with a lap FOUR seconds quicker than Test Day's times. LE MANS: Audi On Provisional Pole For LM24 Andre Lotterer leads Audi 1-2-3 following first of three qualifying sessions for 80th Le Mans 24 Hours Coming as no major surprise, Audi showed the upper hand in qualifying Wednesday at Le Mans, sweeping the top three positions for this weekend's twice-around-the-clock French classic. (Live! SPEED, Sat, 8:30 a.m. ET). Andre Lotterer saved the best for last, as the defending Le Mans winner took his No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro to the top of the time sheets just as the checkered flag came out. Lotterer's 3:25.453 lap time in the diesel-hybrid knocked eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen from the provisional pole, who had turned a 3:26.536 early in the two-hour session. While the German had enough to secure the provisional pole, it was still nearly four-tenths slower than his 3:25.163 lap time set during the afternoon's Free Practice session in the car he'll share with Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler. Nonetheless, it resulted in an Audi 1-2-3, with the No. 3 Audi R18 ultra of Loic Duval ending up third on the time sheets heading into tomorrow's final pair of qualifying sessions. Toyota, returning to Le Mans for the first time in more than a decade, showed promise with its pair of gasoline-powered hybrids, with the No. 7 entry of Nicolas Lapierre setting a respectable 3:27.191 lap time to slot in fourth, 1.738 seconds behind the pace-setting Audi's time. The sister Toyota TS030 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, which lost the majority of this afternoon's Free Practice due to an engine failure, rebounded to qualify sixth, behind the fourth and final Audi of Mike Rockenfeller, who laid down a 3:27.554 late in the session. Quickest of the privateers was Danny Watts, who reeled off a 3:32.750 lap time in his No. 21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX-03a. The two Rebellion Racing Lola B12/60 Toyotas wound up eighth and ninth overall, with the No. 17 Pescarolo Team Dome S102.5 Judd rounding out the provisional top-ten overall. LMP2 saw the Mathias Beche storm to the top of the time charts in his Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 03 Nissan, turning a blazing 3:39.252 lap time. It edged out the similarly prepared Murphy Prototypes entry by a considerable 0.625 seconds. Starworks Motorsport, which paced Wednesday's four-hour practice session, wound up third, thanks to Tom Kimber-Smith's 3:40.639 in the No. 44 HPD ARX-03b. Bousten Ginon Racing made it three Oreca-Nissans in the top-four, with the Olivier Pla-led No. 24 OAK Racing Morgan Judd provisionally completing the top-five in class. American favorites led the way in both the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am categories. Oliver Gavin topped the time charts in his No. 74 Corvette Racing C6.R, with the Englishman turning a 3:55.910 lap time, nearly four seconds quicker than the car's best time during the official test day two weeks ago. Gavin, who will share his Corvette with co-drivers Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook, edged out the No. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari F458 Italia by 0.166 seconds. The sister Pratt & Miller-run Corvette of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Le Mans rookie Jordan Taylor wound up third in class. GTE-Am was paced by the No. 79 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Pilet. The factory Porsche driver, a late addition to the American Le Mans Series regulars, ran an impressive 3:57.694 lap time in the 2011-spec Porsche, which ended up sixth among the GTE contenders overall. Sean Edwards made a late improvement to take his ProSpeed Competition Porsche to second on the class time sheets, ahead of the No. 99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 of Allan Simonsen in third. The day didn't go without incidents, as the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella suffered a heavy accident at the Porsche Curves in practice, which could potentially rule out the Prancing Horse until race day as it undergoes repairs. It comes after a similar shunt for co-driver Gianmaria Bruni during the test day two weeks ago. The highly-publicized Nissan DeltaWing also encountered misfortunes, but not to the same degree. An on-board fire extinguisher mistakenly went off, which led to Michael Krumm being stranded on track and not able to rejoin qualifying. It came, however, after the German set an impressive 3:42.612 lap time, which put it 26th overall and among the the LMP2 contenders. Two additional qualifying sessions are on tap for Thursday, scheduled for 7-9 p.m. and 10 p.m.-12 a.m. local time. @Dawg - Don't worry! We won't say a peep in here until you give us teh green light. [/snicker] @Venom - It does look purdy quick. I wonder if they'll ever get teh chance to bring it over to France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifty Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VenomOnWheels Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 [snip]. . . @Venom - It does look purdy quick. I wonder if they'll ever get teh chance to bring it over to France? Dunno. We'll see. The interesting dynamic is whether Sergio Marchionne will give Chrysler/SRT the freedom to compete internationally. Marchionne splits his time between Fiat and Chrysler, but since Fiat also owns Ferrari I'm not convinced the Italians will want the added competition in Europe. The Corvettes should (hopefully) smother the Ferraris again this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertdawg Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Post away Dean, I probably won't get to watch the race until sometime next week, When i finally get to watch, I look for the stuff you guys posted during the race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 As you wish. Teh prophecy has come to pass, Ferrari quickest in today's sessions so far. Vaderism from today and last night: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Loic Duval moves Audi's #3 Ultra onto provisional Le Mans pole 24 Hours Loic Duval put the #3 Audi R18 Ultra on provisional pole for the 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours with a spectacular lap of 3m24.078s. Times had already fallen prior to Duval's effort, with his team-mate Romain Dumas getting to within five tenths of a second of Andre Lotterer's overnight benchmark in the #1 e-tron quattro - before the man himself dropped down to a 3m24.997s, at the time putting him 0.861 seconds clear. That was shattered with 30 minutes of the session remaining however, as Duval pulled more than nine tenths of a second clear of the field - a margin that could gain even more significance if the expected rain arrives during Thursday evening's third qualifying practice. Allan McNish's effort of 3m26.038s, set at the end of a six-lap stint, was enough to secure third for the #2 R18 e-tron he shares with Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. Anthony Davidson prevented an Audi top-four lock-out by securing fourth in the #8 Toyota TS 030 Hybrid. The Briton had just about matched Duval in the first two sectors of his fastest lap - making up most of the time he surrendered in the first split over the second – but lost a significant chunk in the final sector and ended just over two seconds down on the Frenchman. The #4 Audi R18 Ultra of Oliver Jarvis, Marco Bonanomi and Mike Rockenfeller found just over one second from Wednesday's opening qualifying session but remained fifth fastest, just ahead of the second Toyota of Nicolas Lapierre, Alexander Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima. Nakajima had put the #7 TS030 as high as third before those around him improved, while Lapierre lost the rear of the car and ran through the grass at the entrance of the Ford chicane. Danny Watts kept the #21 Strakka HPD as the top independent in seventh, just ahead of Neil Jani's #12 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota. As was the case on Wednesday LMP2 remained incredibly close, with less than one second covering the top six for the majority of the two hours. Toward the close however OAK's Olivier Pla – already fastest at the time – improved to a 3m38.698s, pulling more than half a second clear of the #26 Signatech and #46 TDS ORECA-Nissans. There were further complications for the DeltaWing Nissan, which dropped to 28th overall after a session truncated by technical issues. Across in GTE Pro Frederic Makowiecki put the #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari top, moving just over four tenths of a second clear of the #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Darren Turner, Setfan Mucke and Adrian Fernandez. The #74 Corvette of Richard Westbrook, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner did not improve on Wednesday's showing but remained third, less than six tenths of a second down on Makowiecki. Flying Lizard's #79 GTE Am pacesetting Porsche likewise did not improve from Wednesday but still finished as the sixth fastest GTE car, and over four tenths clear of its nearest competition, Prospeed's #75 911. Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time 1. P1 Dumas/Duval/Gene Audi Ultra 3m25.453s 2. P1 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi e-tron 3m26.536s 3. P1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi e-tron 3m26.694s 4. P1 Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin Toyota 3m27.191s 5. P1 Bonanomi/Jarvis/Rockenfeller Audi Ultra 3m27.554s 6. P1 Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima Toyota 3m28.295s 7. P1 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD 3m32.750s 8. P1 Prost/Jani/Heidfeld Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m33.140s 9. P1 Belicchi/Primat/Bleekemolen Rebellion Lola-Toyota 3m33.211s 10. P1 Ara/Minassian/Bourdais Pescarolo Dome-Judd 3m34.716s 11. P1 Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck JRM HPD 3m37.088s 12. P1 Montagny/Baguette/Kraihamer OAK Pescarolo-Judd 3m37.367s 13. P1 Collard/Boullion/Hall Pescarolo-Judd 3m37.485s 14. P2 Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla OAK Morgan-Judd 3m38.598s 15. P2 Panciatici/Ragues/Rusinov Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m39.152s 16. P2 Beche/Thiriet/Tinseau TDS ORECA-Nissan 3m39.252s 17. P2 Perez-Companc/Ayari/Kaffer Pecom ORECA-Nissan 3m39.711s 18. P2 Firth/Hughes/Hartley Murphy ORECA-Nissan 3m39.877s 19. P2 Heinemeier Hansson/Leinders/Martin OAK Morgan-Nissan 3m39.899s 20. P2 Martin/Charouz/Graves ADR ORECA-Nissan 3m40.174s 21. P2 Potolicchio/Dalziel/Kimber-Smith Starworks HPD-Honda 3m40.639s 22. P2 Briere/Petersen/Nakano Boutsen ORECA-Nissan 3m40.727s 23. P2 Ordonez/Brundle/Brundle Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m40.738s 24. P2 Dolan/Hancock/Kurosawa Jota Zytek-Nissan 3m40.989s 25. P2 Sims/Buurman/Iannetta Status Lola-Judd 3m41.287s 26. P2 Tucker/Bouchut/Diaz Level 5 HPD-Honda 3m42.224s 27. P2 Mailleux/Lombard/Tresson Signatech ORECA-Nissan 3m42.292s 28. CDNT Franchitti/Krumm/Motoyama Highcroft Delta Wing Nissan 3m42.581s 29. P2 Zugel/Gonzalez/Julian Greaves Zytek-Nissan 3m42.612s 30. P2 Frey/Hirschi/Meichtry Race Performance ORECA-Judd 3m43.619s 31. P2 Giroix/Johansson/Badey Gulf Lola-Nissan 3m47.244s 32. P2 Holzer/Schultis/Moro Kodewa Lola-Lotus 3m48.025s 33. P2 Haezebrouck/Thirion/Rosier Extreme Limite Norma-Judd 3m48.067s 34. GTE P Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher Luxury Ferrari 3m55.393s 35. GTE P Fernandez/Mucke/Turner Aston Martin 3m55.870s 36. GTE P Gavin/Milner/Westbrook Corvette 3m55.910s 37. GTE P Taylor/Garcia/Magnussen Corvette 3m57.181s 38. GTE P Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.509s 39. GTE A Neiman/Pilet/Pumpelly Flying Lizard Porsche 3m57.594s 40. GTE P Lieb/Lietz/Henzler Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m57.606s 41. GTE P Alfaisal/Curtis/Edwards IMSA Porsche 3m58.035s 42. GTE P Bergmeister/Long/Holzer Flying Lizard Porsche 3m58.717s 43. GTE A Simonsen/Nygaard/Poulsen Aston Martin 3m58.725s 44. GTE A Ehret/Montecalvo/Jeannette Luxury Ferrari 3m58.800s 45. GTE A Ried/Roda/Ruberti Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 3m59.181s 46. GTE A Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy Larbre Corvette 3m59.192s 47. GTE P Walker/Cocker/Wills JMW Ferrari 3m59.638s 48. GTE A Perazzini/Cadei/Griffin AF Corse Ferrari 4m00.288s 49. GTE A Armindo/Narac/Pons IMSA Porsche 4m00.332s 50. GTE A Kauffman/Aguas/Vickers AF-Waltrip Ferrari 4m00.691s 51. GTE A Rodrigues/Ferte/Illiano JMB Ferrari 4m02.461s 52. GTE A Bourret/Gibon/Belloc Larbre Corvette 4m02.969s 53. GTE A Camathias/Daniels/Palttala JWA Porsche 4m03.358s 54. GTE A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugolo Krohn Ferrari 4m03.661s 55. P2 Deletraz/Ihara/Rostan Gulf Lola-Nissan 4m14.086s 56. GTE P Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander AF Corse Ferrari - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Equal opportunity vadering from Speed's stash: Love teh glowing rotors Looks like a car you'ld see running Bonneville, not Le Mans For 'ski This one reminds me off the old shots of Porsche 917's or Ferrari P4's What do Ferrari mechanics make hourly? "...don't take teh brown acid..." http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/0eGz5ka3JiacT/575x459.jpg Mofos http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/06mq9Dj9zEg2j/575x459.jpg Cross plane crank my @ss http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/0bKG3Tm5WXgnf/575x459.jpg http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/00wC1xG3mVfDR/575x459.jpg http://dlstatic.speedtv.com/imageserve/05AddYP1X8a1h/575x459.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 "You're doing it wrong." Merde...that's good acid L8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Flat Out 2012, Episode 3 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVmyNXWaiMA&feature=player_embedded LEMANS: Corvette Racing Qualifies 3rd and 5th for 24 Hours of Le Mans LE MANS, France, June 14, 2012 – When the clock struck midnight at Le Mans, the field was set for the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing's Compuware Corvette C6.Rs will start third and fifth in the GTE Pro field in the classic endurance race. A pair of two-hour qualifying sessions that ended at midnight determined the final qualifying order, but the Corvette Racing crew concentrated on preparations for the upcoming 24-hour test of endurance. Both Compuware Corvette C6.Rs stood on their qualifying times set on Wednesday night. The No. 59 Ferrari turned the fastest lap in today's first session at 3:55.393, followed by the No. 97 Aston Martin at 3:55.870, knocking the No. 74 Corvette C6.R off the GTE Pro pole that it had held provisionally at the end of yesterday's session. Oliver Gavin turned a lap in 3:55.910 on Wednesday night, and that time held for the third spot in GTE Pro. "Track conditions were different tonight and that seemed to affect us more than the others," Gavin said. "I just couldn't generate the same cornering force that I could yesterday, and couldn't attack the corners like I did yesterday. It was very close with the Aston Martin getting ahead of us by only a few hundredths of a second on an 8.5-mile circuit. So we'll go with what we've got – third is quite good. I'm looking forward to the race now." Jan Magnussen's 3:57.181 in the No. 73 Corvette C6.R on Wednesday was the fifth quickest in the GTE Pro category. "In the first session tonight we gave Jordan (Taylor) as much track time as we could to make sure he’s comfortable with the car and the track," Magnussen said. "As for a fast lap, we decided not to go for that since Antonio (Garcia) still had to get his night time laps in and we were still working on finding the right setup. The good news is that we've saved an extra set of soft tires for Saturday and Sunday." Garcia agreed with his Danish co-driver: "The car is good but we’re still trying different setups and ideas to make sure we have the best possible package," he said. "All three of us put in a good number of laps at night to get used to the darkness and the traffic, which is a good practice for Saturday night. All in all we’re ready to go." Long runs in the No. 73 Corvette C6.R bolstered the confidence of the team's youngest driver, 21-year-old Jordan Taylor. "Today was definitely an improvement over yesterday," he noted. "I felt more confident and my lap times were a lot more consistent, which was exactly what I wanted to accomplish. I still keep learning the track over the course of each session, and will continue to do so throughout the weekend." Tommy Milner opened today's first session with a solid one-hour stint in the No. 74 Corvette C6.R, setting the early pace with a 3:58.214 time that stood as the fastest lap for the first hour. "I had relatively little traffic tonight, a stark contrast to last night," Milner reported. "We worked through several setup options and made improvements. Ultimately the race is the most important thing, so we're working on making the car comfortable. This is a great test for us, with conditions that are comparable to what we'll see in the race. "Comparing to last year's car, I'm much happier with the new wide-body C6.R," Milner noted. "Speeds are definitely faster, although some that has to do with the track resurfacing. I would say that all of the computer simulations and technology have paid off." Richard Westbrook ran nearly an hour in the first session in the No. 74 Corvette C6.R and then completed his mandatory laps in darkness in the second session. "The car feels good, the lap times are very good, but we don't know what the competition is doing," Westbrook said. "Everyone is on a different program. Some are using qualifying as a race setup simulation like us, some are going for a qualifying lap. It's very difficult to judge where you are. All we can do is our own thing; the Corvette C6.R feels great. It would be nice to know for sure that we are as competitive as it feels we are, but we'll all know for certain on Saturday afternoon." Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 16-17. The race will start Saturday at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). SPEED and SPEED.com will provide continuous coverage in the U.S. starting at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 16; see local listings for program times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 2012 Le Mans 24: Magnussen Ready To Fight For Fifth Le Mans Crown Four-time Le Mans class winner Jan Magnussen has his sights set on a fifth crown for Corvette Racing when the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off this weekend. Magnussen first drove for Corvette in 2004 and immediately charged to victory lane with Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. The Dane then continued a winning run to repeat the effort in 2005 and 2006. He added a fourth crown in 2009 when he took the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R to victory with Johnny O'Connell and Antonio Garcia. Magnussen and Garcia are now full-time teammates for Corvette Racing and will be joined at Le Mans this week by rookie, Jordan Taylor. The race starts at 3:00pm on Saturday and will be broadcast live by Eurosport in Europe and SPEEDTV in the US. Jan Magnussen Q&A Q: Can you describe your first time driving around Le Mans? What were your first impressions of the track? A: “The first time I ever drove the track was in pre-qualifying in 1999. That year I drove the Panoz with Johnny O’Connell and Max Angelleli. “I remember going out of Tertre Rouge and down the first of the straights. I’d driven the track in a road car the day before, but it doesn’t really sink in how big this place is and how long the straights are until you’re in a race car. “So I was going down the straight the first time, going pretty fast and thinking ‘I know there’s a chicane somewhere’ but I really didn’t know where it was. So eventually I lifted off because I thought ‘Wow, this thing probably going to come up on me really fast’ and then way out I saw the tires for the first chicane. “I’d never been on a straight that long before.” Q: What makes Le Mans so special? A: “Just the challenge of it. “When I first started racing here at Le Mans, I never really enjoyed it the same way I do now, but since joining Corvette Racing, there’s a big difference – we have a realistic chance of winning it. “Because of that, Le Mans has become my favorite race of the year, and something I look forward to every year. “Le Mans is the one to win, the one we all look forward to and everything we do is in it for this one race.” Q: With many strong manufacturers and programs competing at Le Mans, how tough is the challenge of what is now a 24 hour sprint race? A: “Very tough. Le Mans is a sprint race between pit stops, it’s not at all like it was maybe 10 years ago. “All 9 of the GTE-Pro category cars can win at Le Mans. For Corvette Racing and the No. 73 car, we are going to have to go in at full-attack mode and get everything out of it. And of course our competition will do exactly the same thing. It’ll be interesting.” Q: As it generally rains at Le Mans during the 24 hour event, what challenges do you have driving the track in the wet? Does the Corvette have anything to make it easier for the drivers in the rain? A: “Of course Corvette Racing tries to help the drivers as much as possible, but we don’t really have a lot of stuff to help us in the rain. It’s the worst condition really, especially if it starts to rain a lot. “If it rains a lot, the car starts aquaplaning and it becomes a big problem for everyone – which makes the track really scary. And the visibility is about zero because you’re more or less always behind somebody, so you really can’t see anything. “When it rains at night it’s even worse because you may not know where you are on the track. “In the end, you know you have to be pushing a little bit, but you’ve also got to be safe and try to make it back. It’s very easy to make a very big mistake in the night when it rains.” Q: How difficult is it to deal with traffic at Le Mans, with the faster prototype cars, some slower cars and drivers who may or may not cut you any slack? A: “Traffic is a big part of Le Mans and that’s where I think Corvette Racing does a fantastic job with spotting for the drivers. The team uses all the available tools that they have – cameras and 10 to 12 different screens in the pit box – which are used really well and the drivers are told what’s going on ahead of us and what’s coming up behind. That is a huge help. “What is important to winning the race is getting through the traffic, making sure when getting passed by the prototypes we don’t lose too much time and most importantly not damaging the car.” Q: How important is your crew at Corvette Racing, knowing that Le Mans can be won or lost in pit stops and repairs? A: “The Corvette Racing crew is fantastic, and they work so hard. “For those guys it’s a minimal amount of sleep all week and then when race day comes they get up super early for the morning warmup, and then it’s time to get ready for the race, which starts at three o’clock in the afternoon. “Then we race for 24 hours, with all types of situations happening. The guys all work hard. Some of them may have the chance to get a little bit of sleep, but it’s not much and it’s more or less standing up in the pit waiting for something to happen. “Le Mans is so tough on the guys and I feel very lucky to have them around working like they do. They never give up, nomatter how desperate the situation might get, and when you have teamwork like that, it’s very special.” Q: What do you do at Le Mans during the race when you’re not driving? A: “When I’m not in the car I’m usually in a room in the Corvette Racing compound. I try to relax and I try to sleep, but it’s hard to let go of the race. “During the early morning hours I can get an hour or two just because I’m so exhausted, there’s no way out of it, but it’s very hard to go there during the race, close your eyes and sleep because the race is going on right outside. “It is important though to get away for a bit during the race, relax and refresh so I’m ready for my next stint.” Q: What’s your favorite Le Mans memory? A: “My first win in 2004 with Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. “That was a special moment, and a special race, because we started off looking really good, and then we got taken out just around midnight, and all during the night we were fighting our way back. “In the morning we were back in second place, four or five laps behind the leader, and then they had a problem and we were on the same lap as them and we had to fight them for it from there. It was a series of fantastic battles all night and then for the lead. “Before that I’d never had as much success at Le Mans – my best was a fourth overall in 2003 (in an Audi R8), but winning put it all into perspective. “And then we backed it up with two more wins in a row – 2005 and 2006.” Q: How do you feel about your teammates this year in the No. 73 Corvette? A: “I’ve got some great and fast teammates with Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor. “Antonio is who I’m paired with for this year (in ALMS) and he’s been great, even a little faster than me at times. He’s got lots of experience and we work well together. “Jordan is a super good kid – he’s only 21 years old and this is his first time at Le Mans. There’s a steep learning curve, but from the experience I’ve had with him previously I don’t think it’s going to be a big issue. “I think the driver lineup in the No. 73 car will certainly be one to beat.” Q: What about the No. 74 Corvette and the other competition on track in the GTE-Pro category at Le Mans? A: “For sure the No. 74 car is always a tough car to beat. They have a great driver lineup with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook. That’s a fast combination of drivers and they also have a lot of experience here. “My gut feeling is that the No. 74 car will be tough, but our main competition will be coming from one or all of the four Ferraris in the class, but we’ll have to see how it turns out.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Reporting live from a wifi-enabled McDonalds on Valencia in Tucson: 21 hours, 45 minutes to go.... The leading AF Corse Ferrari finally pulled in for their second pit stop, leaving Milner in the #74 vette leading but dicing with the Aston of Darren Turner. The Ferrari emerged from the pits in 3rd and Garcia in the #73 vette is 2 minutes further back in 4th and he's dealing with a Felbermayr Porsche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Now reporting from a Tucson Starbucks featuring uni-browed barristas: 20 and a half hours to go... Milner, still in the car, still leading, but the quick as snot Aston in 2nd has cut the gap from 3.6 seconds down to just .6 seconds. AF Corse Ferrari in 3rd, Felbermayr Porsche 4th, youngster Taylor in 5th in the #73. Oops, Aston just pitted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifty Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I told ya, we've gotta watch that damned Aston... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Milner pits after a helluva stint, Westbrook gets in the car. AF Corse takes over the lead during the stop but they still have to pit soon. Aston moves to 2nd, Westbrook emerges in 3rd, Wolfie Henzler in the only fast Porsche in 4th, a Luxury Racing Ferrari in 5th, and finally Mags gets in the car and sits 6th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 A little under 19 hours to go. Canal in a Larbre vette leads GTE-Am by 12 seconds after the leading Flying Lizard has offroading "issues." Safety car out after a Toyota/Ferrari crash 'em up. Westbrook takes over the lead in GTE-Pro from AF Corse Ferrari who stopped to get world-class wuss Vilander behind the wheel, Aston 3rd, Henzler in 4th, Mags in 5th acting bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Under 15 hours to go....if you get tired of teh Speed stream or broadcast (like I do) you can just ride along with teh #73 C6.R Yea yea, teh Toyota flip was epic...but come on, vettes leading in two classes is moar epicer! Teh Larbre vette just pitted and gave up teh lead but they look good to go. Teh #74 has like a 1:20 lead over teh AF Corse Ferrari, and #73 sits third after a dice with teh Luxury Racing 458. Porsche 5th, Aston ...a lap down...in 6th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Ugh. Come ON...fix it already! It's a good thing I'm so hammered or I'd be super pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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