Detroit: Corvette Racing hits 100

[MOTV8]

Corvette Racing will reach a motorsports milestone during the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix weekend when the green flag signals the start of the Detroit Sports Car Challenge on Saturday, August 30.

The ninth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series will mark Corvette Racing's 100th event in international road racing.

Chevrolet's factory team made its competition debut in February 1999 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race. Since then, Corvette Racing has competed in 99 events run under the auspices of USRRC, Grand Am, American Le Man Series, and Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. America's premier production sports car team has scored 71 victories and tallied a 71.7 winning percentage. Following the team's first ALMS victory at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 2, 2000, Corvette Racing has captured seven consecutive ALMS GT1 manufacturers and team championships and six straight drivers' titles.

"Competing in our 100th race will be an amazing achievement, and another first for a factory-backed General Motors program," said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager. "Everyone at Corvette Racing is very proud of this accomplishment.

"Reaching this milestone is a testament to GM management's commitment to the Corvette as a brand and to the Corvette Racing program," he continued. "Since the program's inception, we have learned that the longer this program runs, the greater the benefits derived by the company.

"We've established Corvette as a global icon," Fehan noted. "We've established Corvette as the world's best sports car – not just America's best sports car. We've demonstrated to GM how lessons learned in racing can be applied to production vehicles, ultimately producing better vehicles for our customers. Corvette is the tip of the technological spear for GM, and everyone who buys a Corvette now knows that it is truly race bred."

Chevrolet will have a high profile at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. Chevy is the event's Official Vehicle, and racing champion Emerson Fittipaldi will drive the Corvette pace car for the Detroit Sports Car Challenge. Hundreds of Corvette owners will fill the Corvette Corral during the race weekend, and Chevy will have an extensive display on site.

Corvette Racing driver Johnny O'Connell will throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park on Wednesday night. O'Connell and Jan Magnussen teamed up to win the GT1 trophy in last year's inaugural ALMS event on Belle Isle. The pair has been on a tear in 2008, scoring seven victories in the first eight rounds of the 11-race series.

"We have many great races on the ALMS calendar, but the Detroit Grand Prix is special," Magnussen said. "It's a fantastic race with a very cool atmosphere. Roger Penske and the race organizers do a fantastic job with the facility, and you feel the atmosphere as soon as you cross the bridge to Belle Isle.

"The circuit is a fun track to drive, but it's one of those places that doesn't leave a lot of room for mistakes," Magnussen cautioned. "It's a street circuit, which makes it difficult to pass and to be passed by the prototypes, so it's really important that you have a good understanding with the drivers around you."

Corvette Racing's reigning GT1 co-champion Oliver Gavin agreed: "Detroit stacks up very well relative to other street circuits," said the Briton. "They've done a very good job with the track layout. A driver must always bear in mind that it's a temporary course, and while you might like more grip and fewer bumps, that's part of the challenge of it. That's what makes street circuits fun to drive around.

"Last year there was a fantastic atmosphere and the weather was great," Gavin recalled. "I think this year's Detroit Grand Prix should be another jewel in the crown for the ALMS." The two-hour, 45-minute race is scheduled to start at 2:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 30. SPEED will televise the race live starting at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

[Desertdawg]

Pretty cool milestone, here's to 100 more!!!

DVR set!

[MOTV8]

Cheers to that.

BTW, if any of you yahoos are at work and killing time on the interweb, like me, then you can check out the live streaming of the Detroit qualifying today starting at 1:30 PM, at this LINK

Don't forget, race is TOMORROW, on Speed starting around 11:30 Arizona time.

[MOTV8]

Well, if your boss busted you wasting time on the internet (like me) and you didn't catch the live video stream, then this should get you up to speed, no pun intended...

Detroit: Corvette Racing qualifying report

Racing series ALMS

Date 2008-08-29

Magnussen Motors to GT1 Pole in Motown

Drying Detroit Grand Prix Street Circuit Yields Quick Time for No. 3 Corvette on Final Qualifying Lap

DETROIT, Aug. 29, 2008 -- Jan Magnussen reprised his pole-winning performance for Saturday's Detroit Sports Car Challenge, taking the top qualifying spot in the GT1 class for the second consecutive year. Summer showers soaked the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix's 2.096-mile temporary circuit in both practice sessions today, limiting the Corvettes to a handful of laps before the 20-minute qualifying session began. Magnussen turned his quickest time on his fifth and final flying lap at 1:24.477 (88.213 mph) in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Oliver Gavin was 1.024 seconds back at 1:25.501 (87.1587 mph) in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.

"The first dry lap I had all day was the first lap in qualifying," Magnussen said after claiming his second pole of the season on a street circuit. "The track was getting better and better, and we needed a few laps to get the Michelins up to operating temperature. The Corvette C6.R worked very well under the circumstances.

"It was very, very tough," the Dane added. "It was a matter of thinking about how I drove the track last year, remembering my braking points and so on. Everybody was trying to find the right line. I didn't get a clear lap, but I don't think anyone did. I'm happy with the result; this makes the race a little easier."

Both Corvettes deviated from their usual qualifying strategy in the changing conditions. They ran a single timed lap, then returned to the pits to wait for the track to dry. With 10 minutes remaining in the session, both returned to the track for five timed laps.

"The track was drying and it wasn't as good at the beginning of the session as it was at the end," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. "We sent the drivers out to get a time and then brought them back in. If the drivers don't get a qualifying time and the session ends early because of a red flag, the cars would start at the back of the grid. Our strategy was to put a time down, let the track dry out, and then run when the conditions were better."

Magnussen's pole-winning time on the freshly scrubbed racing surface was more than three seconds slower than his qualifying time last year. Gavin also had to fight for traction, turning his fastest time on his fourth timed lap. He encountered traffic on his fifth lap as the session drew to a close.

"The circuit was very green and had very little grip," Gavin said. "We struggled throughout that session and just could not get the car working to my liking. We really had only one shot at it. The GT2 cars were very close in lap times, and some of them qualified in front of me, which is very unusual. I think that comes from running very few laps here in the dry."

-credit: gm racing

[MOTV8]

Blame the tire-changing crew, but the #4 beat the #3 outta the pits, and that was all she wrote...

BTW, that's 72, yes seventy-two, wins in 100 races for team Corvette Racing. Sean can help you figure the winning percentage there.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Aston.

****SPOILER ALERT****RESULTS POSTED BELOW****

Full ALMS results from Detroit:

Andretti Green Racing fulfilled the promise and potential it showed all season with its first overall victory in the American Le Mans Series on Saturday. James Rossiter and Franck Montagny won the Detroit Sports Car Challenge as Acura swept the overall podium for the first time.

Rossiter and Montagny took the lead for good when it won the race out of pitlane with 69 minutes left. Montagny never gave up the lead and beat Patron Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham across the line by 3.985 seconds.

Andretti Green won in the Series for the first time since taking an LMP2 victory at Sebring in 2007. That race marked Acura’s debut in the Series. Now late in its second season, Acura passed Porsche in the race for the manufacturer championship by four points.

Emanuele Pirro won in Detroit for the second time, and Marcel Fässler scored his first Series victory for Audi Sport North America. The Audi R10 TDI finished third overall and 20.114 seconds behind the AGR entry. Pirro and Fässler also ended a seven-race class win streak for Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner, who crashed out of the race on Lap 21.

The crash prevented the Luhr/Werner pairing from clinching the P1 championship.

Pirro and Fässler finished ahead of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud as de Ferran Motorsports’ completed the P2 podium sweep for Acura. The top six cars finished on the lead lap.

Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta won in GT1 for the first time since late March with more than a minute in hand to beat teammates Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen. Three-time and defending class champions, Gavin and Beretta took the lead early on when the No. 4 crew got the car out of pitlane ahead of the sister car during the first round of stops at the 40-minute mark.

The Bell Motorsports’ Aston Martin DBR9 of Terry Borcheller and Chapman Ducote finished third in class for the third straight race.

Flying Lizard Motorsports scored its third 1-2 finish as GT2 championship leaders Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler bolstered their class lead with their fourth win of the season. The pair of Porsche factory drivers stayed clean while Ferraris from Tafel Racing and Risi Competizione had their problems, and Johannes van Overbeek was hit while leading by Penske’s Bernhard.

Henzler, the class polesitter, crossed the line 6.570 seconds ahead of van Overbeek who teamed with Patrick Pilet. Mika Salo and Jaime Melo, last week’s winners at Mosport, finished third in Risi’s lead Ferrari F430 GT.

Saturday’s results

1. (5) James Rossiter, England; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 104.

2. (1) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 104.

3. (9) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Audi AG R10/TDI (1, P1), 104.

4. (2) Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (3, P2), 104.

5. (6) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 104.

6. (7) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 104.

7. (3) Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (6, P2), 103.

8. (11) Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (7, P2), 103.

9. (10) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (8, P2), 102.

10. (17) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 100.

11. (13) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 100.

12. (14) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 98.

13. (18) Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2, GT2), 98.

14. (15) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (3, GT2), 98.

15. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 98.

16. (19) Robert Bell, UK; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (5, GT2), 98.

17. (26) Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 95.

18. (28) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (7, GT2), 94.

19. (20) Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Aston Martin DBR9 (3, GT1), 93.

20. (16) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (8, GT2), 92.

21. (27) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (9, GT2), 89.

22. (21) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (10, GT2), 87, Accident.

23. (12) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (2, P1), 83.

24. (4) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (9, P2), 83.

25. (25) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (11, GT2), 49, Accident.

26. (24) Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (12, GT2), 38, Mechanical.

27. (8) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (3, P1), 21, Accident.

28. (23) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (13, GT2), 1, Accident.

[dewey]

So the Aston couldn't even outrun the GT2 cars...guess it ain't made for street courses.