ALMS at Laguna Seca

[cor123]

WIN A 2014 CORVETTE! https://www.racetowincorvette.com/:b=ie8/#/intro
2013 American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patrón
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California, USA
May 9 - 11, 2013

Tune-in Details:

Live Qualifying:
5/10/2013 at 6:45 pm CDT on ESPN 3

Live Streaming:
5/11/2013 at 5:15 pm CDT on ESPN 3

Television Broadcast:
5/12/2013 at 3:00 pm CDT on ESPN 2


LIVE TIMING:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2003/lt/ltc.html

http://scoring.alms.com/



Live Timing for mobile device:
Live Timing & Scoring for Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach :: Race


SEBRING PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

http://www.alms.com/races/tequila-patr%C3%B3n-american-le-mans-series-long-beach-1



RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

Live onboard cameras:
Live Audio Broadcast | American Le Mans Series


TICKET INFO:
http://www.mazdaraceway.com/get-tickets/american-le-mans-montereypresented-patron


Entry List:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2013/events/04-Laguna/2013 ALMS MRLS Entry.pdf


Spotters Guide:
Spotter Guides

Corvette Corral:
Not posted yet

Event Schedule:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2013/events/04-Laguna/2013 ALMS MRLS Supp Regs.pdf

Map:
http://www.mazdaraceway.com/track-map-racing-lines


WEATHER:
http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/United-States-of-America/Laguna-Seca-Circuit.aspx


Corvette Racing Banquet:
http://corvettemuseum.com/registration/RaceDinners/champ2013.shtml

 

[ltmax]

Which competition?

You may want to look at the badboyvettes site and the IMSA rules to get a good idea of what the Vette team is up against. We're hit with a lot of extra weight and fueling restrictions, not sure what else. Pretty good for running against a waivered 8 liter viper and a non-production BMW, huh?

 

[cor123]

Corvette Racing Returns to Laguna Seca, Site of 1-2 Finish in 2012

(Monterey, Calif., May 9, 2013) – When teams and drivers return to a track where they have previously enjoyed success, it sparks a heightened sense of anticipation heading into the event. For the drivers and crew members of the No.’s 3 and 4 Compuware Corvette C6.Rs, this weekend’s four-hour American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca means a return to the site of a 1-2 Corvette Racing finish in 2012.

“I think the longer format is going to play into our hands,” said Oliver Gavin, co-driver with Tommy Milner of the No. 4 Corvette C6.R. “We have performed well over the longer races recently, and I really feel we have got the best team.”

Gavin teamed with Milner to win the GT class in last year’s event at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course, finishing 3.45 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette C6.R, driven by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen.

“We regularly make up time on people in the pits – either with quick tire changes, how we play our fuel strategy or the strategy in general,” Gavin said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. These races are so tight it sometimes comes down to when you take your last stop and how much fuel you take on, and with a longer race you’ve got a wider strategy window to play with.”

Corvette Racing, which won the season-opener at Sebring and scored two top-five finishes at Long Beach, is tied for the ALMS GT Team Championship lead. Chevrolet leads the series’ GT Automobile Manufacturer standings by three points.

“Monterey is always one of the great events of the year,” Milner said. “The track lends itself to some great racing.”

Corvette Racing produced a 1-2 finish at the six-hour American Le Mans Series at Monterey last year as Gavin and Milner bounced back from a troubled pit stop to finish 3.45 seconds ahead of Magnussen and Garcia. While Magnussen drove the No. 3 Corvette C6.R from fifth to second in the final hour, Gavin took the No. 4 Corvette C6.R to the lead with about hour remaining en route to producing Corvette Racing’s second consecutive win of the season on its way to the 2012 manufacturer and team and championships.

“We had success there last year with our Corvettes, but as we saw at Long Beach we need to be on our game to give ourselves a chance to win again this year,” Milner said.

Gavin said the track conditions this weekend should make for a challenging event.

“Looking at the forecast, it looks as though it could be quite cool, so how well you make your tires work could steer the outcome of the race; they will certainly play a big part in the weekend,” Gavin said. “There’s likely to be plenty of cautions and incidents with 36-plus cars in the field; it makes for a full race track. Additionally, the track surface is always very dusty which adds to the challenges. The GT class drives around in a high-speed train and it only really gets broken up when there’s an incident, or when you come against faster or slower traffic. You have to be 100 percent on top of your game and concentrating fully; you can’t afford one slip up otherwise you won’t finish in the top-five, let alone on the podium.”

Corvette Racing has 78 ALMS class victories, including four in 2012, making it the most successful team in American Le Mans Series history.

The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Monterey starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, May 11. GT qualifying is 7:55-8:10 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, May 10.

 

[cor123]

[h=1]3rd place start on grid for Laguna Seca 4-hour race[/h]11/05/2013
In the 15-minute qualifying session this afternoon at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Olly set the fourth quickest lap of the session in his No.4 Corvette C6.R and was due to line up behind the pole-winning Risi Ferrari and two Porsches. However, the Core Autosport Porsche which was due to start on the front row failed its post-session tech inspection and Olly and his team mate Tommy Milner will now start tomorrow’s four-hour race, round three of the 2013 American Le Mans Series, in third place.
Olly’s best time of 1:22.924 was only two hundredths of a second behind the Falken Porsche – a measure of just how close the ALMS GT category remains. With Milner, the British driver won the GT class in last year’s event at Laguna Seca, finishing 3.45 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette C6.R, driven by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen.
“Where we are right now with the car with the weight we have got on and everything else, I think we are pretty much maxed-out,” said Olly. “For a four race it’s a pretty decent spot and we know that plenty can happen. Last year we proved that we could win races from wherever you are on the grid – fourth, fifth, seventh, no matter where – and we didn’t have to be on pole.
“I was quite surprised to see the cars in front of us – not necessarily the Risi Ferrari as we know that’s fast – but Core Autosport has come out quickly with their brand new Porsche and the Falken car has worked extremely well on the slower speed circuits where it’s not quite so warm. Porsches have traditionally been good here.
“The temperature hasn’t been so great for us but we’re pretty happy with our balance and the race is long so strategy will be important. We know there’s still plenty of potential for a good result. It’s difficult to see or know what the temperature is going to be tomorrow as the marine layer keeps coming over and the sun keeps going in and out;, temperatures are yo-yoing up and down. Just trying to get the right tire choice and pressures right is going to be tricky, but someone is really going to hit it right tomorrow and end up winning.
“We’ve had a pretty good direction on set up from last year and we haven’t had to chase it wildly but we’ve been adjusting the car throughout every session. With the changing temperatures, it’s a bit of a moving target here. In qualifying all the GT cars have generally good drivers and you didn’t have a load of people dropping wheels off and dragging sand onto the track, taking weird lines. Everyone was pretty disciplined and good so that was satisfying and pleasing. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow.”


http://www.olivergavin.com/2013/05/3rd-place-start-on-grid-for-laguna-seca-4-hour-race/

 

[O Vette]

Corvette, Magnuson/Garcia, takes first at Laguna Seca. Once they got lead they kept it for the rest of the race. Gavin and Milner had transmission trouble and finished way off. There were too many cautions. I wish they could improve on the time it takes to drag a car out of the pebbles. They need to have a few more tow vehicles that could get to the disabled car more quickly and if it is obviously done for the day, drag it to the nearest tow vehicle station just to clear the tract so racing could resume. Anyway, still a nice win and things are looking good for LeMans.

 

[ltmax]

Our Latest Vette Victory

Very nice to take the victory at Laguna Seca again, despite the additional weight added after the victory at Sebring. Very fitting result at the track where Randy Pobst demonstrated the capability of the 4-yr old ZR over the new Viper back in Dec., causing them to re-do the Viper right after it's introduction.
Great that Mags and Garcia won in the #3 car, but what happened to #4? Can't allow that no more...

C7 - are you watching this? Pay attention!

 

[ltmax]

Very nice to take the victory at Laguna Seca again, despite the additional weight added after the victory at Sebring. Very fitting result at the track where Randy Pobst demonstrated the capability of the 4-yr old ZR over the new Viper back in Dec., causing them to re-do the Viper right after it's introduction.
Great that Mags and Garcia won in the #3 car, but what happened to #4? Can't allow that no more...

C7 - are you watching this? Pay attention!

I'll also be curious to see how they run at Road America - looking for a 1-2 finish!

 

[O Vette]

What I want to see is a win at LeMans. LeMans is a difficult race to win and it is one of the world's premier auto racing events of the year.

 

[ltmax]

What I want to see is a win at LeMans. LeMans is a difficult race to win and it is one of the world's premier auto racing events of the year.

Me too - absolutely..... and I won't say anymore hnoes

 

[catbert]

I've been a big time sports car, ALMS, fan for a long time - back to the days when there was no "series" to run. I enjoy the spectacle, especially the big bore machines like the Vette roaring down a long straightway. That said, the series is run like WWE or, even worse, NASCAR. The rules are strictly for show, and don't reflect the true performance of any of the cars involved. After every race the results are evaluated, and the rules are adjusted for specific models to close the gap between the winner and losers. We see that now with the Viper, but before that it was Aston Martin, etc. Race directors, Doug Fehan included, talk about teams not wanting to win by a large margin, especially before LeMans. Right now there is a lot of sandbagging going on in the camps of the top performers.

So the truth is that racing today doesn't say much about the performance of actual cars you can buy. Are the Vettes superior to the best of the European machines? Who knows? It's still fun to hang out at the Corvette Corral at a race, even if it's only a show. It's worth the price of admission to just compare the exhaust notes of the Vette and Ferrari at the end of a long straight. I can't wait for the VIR race later in the year.

 

[yenkoguy]

LeMans is the Super Bowl of GT racing..........I would like to see the C6R go out with the win !!!!

 

[ltmax]

I've been a big time sports car, ALMS, fan for a long time - back to the days when there was no "series" to run. I enjoy the spectacle, especially the big bore machines like the Vette roaring down a long straightway. That said, the series is run like WWE or, even worse, NASCAR. The rules are strictly for show, and don't reflect the true performance of any of the cars involved. After every race the results are evaluated, and the rules are adjusted for specific models to close the gap between the winner and losers. We see that now with the Viper, but before that it was Aston Martin, etc. Race directors, Doug Fehan included, talk about teams not wanting to win by a large margin, especially before LeMans. Right now there is a lot of sandbagging going on in the camps of the top performers.

So the truth is that racing today doesn't say much about the performance of actual cars you can buy. Are the Vettes superior to the best of the European machines? Who knows? It's still fun to hang out at the Corvette Corral at a race, even if it's only a show. It's worth the price of admission to just compare the exhaust notes of the Vette and Ferrari at the end of a long straight. I can't wait for the VIR race later in the year.

Well, ya just sunk the knife of truth into the show of current-day racing. I hate it too but still get wound-out rooting for the Vette team regardless. You can, however, look at the history of Vette performance and see a consistent trend of wins throughout the life of the series, which I think is based on the no-give-up outlook of the whole Vette racing organization. Also, there is a great deal of vital knowledge gained from the experience that does find its way into production cars, particularly dealing with durability. Ya gotta admit, they do beat the crap outta these cars, 'specially at Sebring.
Also, to see at the capability of the Vette, you can look at lap times at all the various tracks, particularly N'schleife, where the time of the NEW Porsche 911 Turbo S is ~3 sec. slower than that of the Z-06/07 (now out of production) - at twice the cost! Leguna Seca being the track where the C6R won 2 days ago (and last year), and where the ZR-1 (also out of production) beat the new Viper, causing them to scramble for an even newer version that barely eeks out faster time by 8/100th of a second (source: Motor Trend mag).
Then of course, there's always the terabytes of video on Youtube showing guys slaying Euro-rockets all over the world.
So take heart Catbert, I agree with you completely on the reality of current-day racing, but the overall picture says it all: These are glory days for team Vette - owners be proud!