Corvette Racing's Future?

[MOTV8]

Corvette Racing's Future 'Depends' on Aston Martin?

By GARY WATKINS, Autoweek.com

Corvette Racing will confirm its continued participation in the American Le Mans Series--as soon as the Aston Martin Racing team does the same. GM road racing manager Steve Wesoloski even suggested that questions about Chevrolet's 2008 plans should be directed at Prodrive (which runs the Aston team) boss David Richards.

"As soon as they announce they are coming back, we'll announce that we'll be back," he said. "I think you should ask that question to David Richards and George Howard-Chappell [who also runs Aston racing]."

Wesloski and Corvette program manager Doug Fehan denied they are trying to goad their rival into returning, and they distanced themselves from a Corvette ad in the Mosport ALMS race program that clearly took a swipe at Aston. A picture of a Corvette passing a solitary team member, which just happened to be Howard-Chappell, bore the words: "Corvette: Turning participants into spectators." Wesoloski insisted that Chevrolet's Canadian subsidiary created the ad and had no understanding of the image's significance.

Should neither Aston nor any other meaningful opposition join the GT1 class next season, Corvette Racing will almost certainly end its long-time participation in the series. It has always insisted that it could only justify racing alone for one season only.

"The only thing I can say with any confidence is that we will be at the Le Mans 24 Hour next year," said Wesoloski. He also said that any operation built around Le Mans will not involve a full assault on the Le Mans Series in Europe, something that the team considered for this season.

In the longer term, Corvette is reviewing its options. It is evaluating a step down to GT2, while Pratt & Miller--which runs the team--appears interested in moving up to the new class for prototype coupes that is due to become Le Mans' top class in 2010.

Aston is also evaluating the future of prototypes. Any chance of it rejoining the ALMS appears to hinge on the series giving it some kind of performance break(s) akin to those it received the last time it competed in the ALMS, in 2006.

So, Aston will only run here if they're given the same performance edges that helped them and their better aero finally win at LeMans.....and if Corvette steps 'down' to GT2 and beats the piss outta the Porsches and Ferraris then that series will suffer as well.

"Corvette: Turning participants into spectators." - Damn straight!

[Desertdawg]

It's sad that the GT1 class is a dying breed, and at the same time it's funny as hell the Corvette Racing won't say yes or no until the Aston teams commit ....

Kind of like, if your going to play, well be there to beat on you again, otherwise we're going home!!!

[P51tj]

"Corvette: Turning participants into spectators." - Damn straight!

Very nice!!!

[Bigfoot]

Why the hell aren't Proshce and Ferrari playing GT1 anyway...they are 1/4 to 1/2 a mil $ cars, us lowly vettes should be easy pickins. Guess they're all a bunch of and afraid to come out and play.

[MOTV8]

Looks like we might be stuck with the SCCA's Speed GT Challenge class. Corvette, Cadillac, Porsche, and some Dodge Vipers. Lou Gigliotti of LG Motorsports still races there. They try to maintain parody by 'rewarding' race winners with additional weight for the next race, even so, 'vettes and Caddys have been kickin' ass there too...but the Porsches and Vipers are still very competitive.

I wanna hear more about this upcoming 'new' coupe prototype class slated for Lemans 2010. Do you think somewhere in the skunkworks they're readying a C7R or a Blue Devil/ZR1 racer?

[Grayeagle]

grr .. I hate 'weight class' racing.

Fastest guy should win, period.

Granted .. I enjoy bracket racin ..

..the challenge of cuttin a good light and runnin the number draws me.

I could do it in a Nissan Pickup if I had to

-Frank (if I could afford to run Top Fuel or F1 you bet I would tho

[MOTV8]

Set your TiVos and VCRs for this weekend's penultimate (next to last, Chad) round of the ALMS series, could be your last chance to see the C6R's kickin' some euroass. There is some competition this round in the form of a Maserati MC-12. <snicker>

Petit Le Mans

Braselton, GA, US

The 2007 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta marks the 10th running of the 1,000-mile, 10-hour endurance classic that provided the foundation of the American Le Mans Series. Only the best teams and brightest drivers have tasted victory at Petit Le Mans, the only race that serves as a qualifier for the 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year.

It's on Speed Channel, Oct. 6th, at 8 a.m. I think....

In my youth I considered myself a motorcycle roadracer, until I went to a CCS race at Road Atlanta...that track was HAIRY, elevation changes, a blind off-camber high speed sweeper, 5000 ft back straight with 'the Dip', crazy...they've since removed the Dip and added a chicane. I wadded up my bike after lowsiding thru turn 7, and never raced again.

[MOTV8]

Damn, that Maserati is actually pretty quick.....unless the C6Rs are just sandbagging, this could be a good race this weekend:

Road Atlanta: Night practice notes 10/04/07

The Corvette-Maserati battle in GT1 continued to be tight with Corvette Racing's lead Corvette C6.R, paced by Oliver Gavin, turning in a class-best lap of 1:17.879. The car, which also will be driven by Olivier Beretta and Max Papis, was 0.229 seconds ahead of the No. 3 car with drivers Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows. The No. 27 Lista Doran Racing Maserati of Andrea Bertolini, Didier Theys and Fredy Leinhard was third at 1:17.958.

[Desertdawg]

I have it set to record, I hope its that close at the end....

[MOTV8]

I have it set to record, I hope its that close at the end....

I don't wanna jinx it, but I'll bet $5 that Maserati isn't within 5 laps of the winning 'vette after 1000 miles or 10 hours of dicing with slower GT2's and faster P1/P2's around that skating rink.

No offense to any o' yous dats got a Mazzerati, I'm jus sayin'...<smack-talk accent>

[dewey]

AFN was showing the ALMS race from Mosport.

Now, with the way Speed shows those races, and work getting in the way, were there three Vettes at Mosport in GT1?

Didn't get to see the end, or much of the Vettes.

Oh, and the Maserati ended up qualifying on the pole for GT1.

Someone finally bringing some competition for the boys.

[MOTV8]

AFN was showing the ALMS race from Mosport.

Now, with the way Speed shows those races, and work getting in the way, were there three Vettes at Mosport in GT1?

Didn't get to see the end, or much of the Vettes.

Oh, and the Maserati ended up qualifying on the pole for GT1.

Someone finally bringing some competition for the boys.

Yeah, Dewey, at Mosport there were three, two yeller and one white driven by Ron Fellows and Andy Pilgrim. Canadian in Canada, eh? Also a tie in with the white special edition Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06.

Okay....SPOILER ALERT!!!

Results posted below! Do Not Scroll down if you have this recorded for viewing later, all 10 hours of it.

Petit Le Mans:

"Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta wrapped up their third straight GT1 championship with a class victory in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R with Max Papis. The trio survived the carnage as both the No. 3 Corvette and Lista Doran Racing's pole-sitting Maserati MC12 went out of the race with accidents. Gavin, Beretta and Papis repeated their 12-hour win at Sebring with a smooth and consistent run. Their only scary moment was a tap by the No. 2 Audi going through the Esses which sent the Audi off track and into the outside wall."

"Okay, you can owe me..." Al Czervik, Caddyshack

But "I told you so!" That race was a demolition derby, no way that Mazzerati could take it. The #3 'vette was out within the first 20 minutes! Those P1/P2 rockets had so much more downforce they could just 'shoot' the esses while the GT cars needed every bit of road thru there and couldn't just 'move over', and man there were some bonehead moves out there...

And if you blinked, you missed the interview with Lou Gigliotti, he's sayin' he'll be in a Riley-prepped C6R in the GT2 class next year! Ferrari, Porsche...."say hallo to my lil' friend!" - Tony Montana

Laguna Seca should be a hoot.

[Desertdawg]

I got to watch it off and on between calls today, didn't see any GT1 racing, but I did see the little blip about the vettes heading to the GT2 class....

I'll have to look online for the couple of big wrecks.

[P51tj]

Saw the #3 "incident, pretty ruff ride. With all the rubbin and racin that was going on I thought it was NASCAR!

[MOTV8]

Post-race report with Corvette Racing:

Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis drove their No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R to a GT1 class victory in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta. It was the sixth class title at Petit Le Mans for Corvette Racing, and the win clinched a third consecutive GT1 drivers championship for Gavin and Beretta. The trio completed 364 laps, finishing 50 laps ahead of the runner-up No. 27 Maserati MC 12, which retired after an accident. The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell, and Ron Fellows was sidelined in an accident after completing 15 laps.

"The traffic was suicidal at some points today," said Gavin. "People were doing the craziest stuff. I'm not sure whether it was the track, the conditions, or just people having a bad day, but there just were so many people going off the road. Fortunately everybody in the No. 4 car kept it on the road, the team did a fantastic job, and we came through without any issues."

The race was slowed by nine caution periods for accidents and off-course excursions. The first serious incident of the day occurred 20 minutes after the start when Magnussen was hit by Bryan Herta in the No. 26 LMP2 prototype in the high-speed downhill Esses. The impact sent Magnussen hard into the tire barrier at Turn 3 at about 110 mph, damaging the front end and left-front suspension. Magnussen got out of the car under his own power and was examined and released by the medical staff. Race officials subsequently penalized Herta for avoidable contact.

"I'm sore, but I'm OK," said Magnussen. "We had a great car and I was feeling really good about the race. Then something like this happens - he went for a gap that wasn't there. When you're half an hour into a 10-hour race, it's too big a chance to take.

"As far as wrecks go, this one ranks pretty high," Magnussen observed. "The fact that I can stand here now shows how strong the Corvette C6.R is. All of the safety devices built into the car absolutely did their job."

Course workers brought the car back to the paddock on a flatbed, and the Dan Binks-led crew surveyed the damage, which was too extensive to repair.

"There is no question that all of the safety systems, including the HANS device, performed admirably," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "The crush zone in the nose box and the way the frame rail is designed to absorb an impact did exactly what they were supposed to do. When you build a car to that specification, the driver can avoid injury in a big hit like the one we had today.

"It was a huge disappointment for the No. 3 Corvette team because they had a great car for the race," Fehan said. "The upside is that the No. 4 Corvette ran flawlessly, the crew did eight perfect pit stops, and despite a great challenge from Maserati, Corvette once again prevailed."

Papis also had a close encounter of the prototype kind when he was hit by the No. 2 Audi LMP1 in the same corner where Magnussen was punted off course.

"I was pretty upset when I saw Jan's accident and my semi-accident with the Audi," said Papis. "There was absolutely no room to pass in that corner. People were taking a lot of risks, braking very late and diving under you at the last moment.

"We had a couple of very close calls, but we definitely deserved this win," Papis noted. "Even though we didn't have much opposition, we went as hard as we could to prove the Corvette is an invincible car. It's an amazing feeling to bring this car into the winner's circle. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta are the two best teammates I could have."

Beretta extended his record for ALMS career victories with his 36th win today. He also became the first ALMS driver to win five championships - three with Corvette Racing and two with Oreca.

"It was unfortunate today that we lost the No. 3 Corvette C6.R because we could have finished one and two," said Beretta. "I'm very happy about winning in the No. 4 Corvette. Our biggest problem was to stay out of trouble. The car was quick, but I have never seen such traffic. I didn't have one lap where I didn't overtake or was overtaken.

"It's a very special moment to win the championship," Beretta continued. "The crew and engineers have done a perfect job since the beginning of the year. Everybody is working in the same direction. I have a fantastic teammate - Oliver is super quick, very straightforward, very clever, and a good guy. We work very well together; we don't even need to speak, we just understand each other from an expression or a gesture. We trust each other completely, and that is a very good thing."

"It's great to win the championship by winning here today," said Gavin, who tallied his 27th career ALMS victory. "This makes up somewhat for the huge disappointment of Le Mans. I'm delighted for everyone in the team, and especially for my engineer, Steve Cole, who's done a marvelous job all season. Ray Gongla, my crew chief, has been a rock, a real leader, with his cool head and his ability to keep talking us through the races. All of the team managers - Gary Pratt, Doug Fehan and Steve Wesoloski - have been at the helm, steering the ship along. Olivier has done a fantastic job, and it's marvelous to have Max back in the car."