Corvette Racing at Lime Rock

[cor123]

Back in the USA: Corvette Racing Readies for Lime Rock
Next steps toward title defenses in ALMS

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 2, 2013) – Two weeks after both its Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars completed the Le Mans 24 Hours, Corvette Racing returns stateside to continue defense of its GT driver, team and manufacturer championships in the American Le Mans Series. Next up is scenic Lime Rock Park and the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday, July 6.

The fourth ALMS round of the year will air live starting at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2 with simultaneous live streaming on ESPN3 beginning with a 2:45 p.m., pre-race show. It’s an event Corvette Racing has won four times but none since 2008.

At 1.474 miles with seven turns, Lime Rock Park is the shortest track on the ALMS calendar but offers a surprisingly quick lap with average speeds in qualifying nearing 105 mph. The compact nature of the venue coupled with the two-hour, 45-minute race length means constant overtaking and frequent car-to-car contact.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen return to ALMS competition as the most recent winners in the GT class at Laguna Seca in May. The pairing – fourth in GTE Pro at Le Mans with Jordan Taylor – drive the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner share the No. 4 Compuware Corvette. The defending ALMS GT champions – seventh with Richard Westbrook at Le Mans – stand second in this year’s drivers’ standings and are three points out of first. Magnussen and Garcia are fifth but just 12 points from the lead. The Lime Rock round pays 20 points to the race-winners, 16 for second and 13 for third.

Corvette Racing leads the team standings, as does Chevrolet the manufacturers’ race.

“Le Mans was as challenging as ever. We battled the weather as well as the competition and I can tell you we are glad to get back to racing in the ALMS,” said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager. “The crowd is always great at Lime Rock, and the racing is as tough as anywhere else we compete the rest of the season. At just 1.5 miles in length, Lime Rock presents some unique challenges. You can't make a green flag pit stop without losing a lap, so your strategy there will most likely determine your level of success. Our guys thrive on that pressure and are ready to go racing again."

EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix (all times ET)
· Qualifying: 4:35 p.m., Friday, July 5
· Race: 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6

Lime Rock: Watch It!
Friday, July 5-Saturday, July 6 (all times ET)
· Qualifying: 4:25 p.m., Friday, July 5 (ESPN3)
· Race (TV): 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN2)
· Web: 2:45 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN3)

ALMS GT Championship Standings

[TABLE="class: MsoTableGrid"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 197"]Driver Standings
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]Team Standings
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]Manufacturer Standings
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Dirk Muller – 42
2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 39
3 .Dominik Farnbacher/ Marc Goossens – 37
4. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 34
5. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen - 30
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Corvette Racing – 56
2. BMW Team RLL – 52
3. SRT Motorsports – 37
4. Risi Competizione – 28
5. Paul Miller Racing - 26
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Chevrolet – 59
2. BMW – 52
3. Ferrari – 43
4. SRT – 40
5. Porsche - 37
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock
[TABLE="class: MsoTableGrid, width: 441"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]Year
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]Class
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Drivers
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]Result
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Car
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Notes
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2004
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GTS
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C5-R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta pole,
fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2005
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta pole,
fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2006
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
4[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2007
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]O’Connell fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2008
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]1[SUP]st[/SUP]
2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2010
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]12[SUP]th[/SUP]
5[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2011
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Beretta/Milner
Gavin/Magnussen
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]9[SUP]th[/SUP]
10[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2012
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Garcia/Magnussen
Gavin/Milner
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
3[SUP]rd[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“Because it is such a short track, everything has to run really, really smooth. It is easy to lose time and get in a position that conflicts with your strategy. You must run the whole race full-on and 100 percent. Knowing we ran a perfect race at Laguna – and I have to say we almost ran a perfect race at Le Mans – we need a repeat to be successful at Lime Rock. Our crew is running at its best and is pumped in the job they have done. We have to be consistent and not make any mistakes. That is what it takes every race to win in the GT class.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“I enjoy driving at Lime Rock. It’s a very short lap and the penalty for making a mistake can be quite big. Lime Rock is a fun track with interesting corners and is very, very old-school. In the past we have done quite well there but it has been awhile since we have won a race there but maybe that means we are due. It will be a case of us trying to have another race like Laguna Seca where we were almost perfect. With the competition being as equal and difficult as it has been in the first three ALMS races, it will take a perfect race with perfect pit stops and a good-handling race car. We know we have that and need to execute on race day.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“At Le Mans, you have 55 cars on a long track. At Lime Rock, you feel like you have 200 cars because there is no place for you to run off and hide. You can’t get a nice little piece of tarmac to run around by yourself for two hours and 45 minutes. It’s one of those places where you can never let your guard down even for a millisecond. You’re either on top of someone else or someone is coming to overtake you. You have to have eyes in the back of your head to deal with the traffic situation. The likes of someone like Brian (Hoye, No. 4 crew chief) spotting for us it critical too. There are people coming from every which way, not to mention incidents that may be developing in front.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“Le Mans wasn’t a great race for us. It was frustrating on many levels. But coming back to the U.S., I think we’ll be on par and pace with our competitors. Once we get back going again at Lime Rock, we will be right in the thick of things again. Our focus turns back to our duties here in the ALMS and putting Le Mans behind us. Lime Rock is tough both physically and mentally. There are no breaks; you’re always working. I’ve had tough races there where I’ve driven two hours in the car with high heat humidity and had to work hard to survive there. It’s one of those races that you know what to expect – hot, humid and tough.”

Connect with Corvette Racing and Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter @CorvetteRacing and @TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.

 

[Tuna]

World Challenge Spoiler

Corvettes are also in the Pirelli World Challege races this weekend in the GT class which is holding a double header for the GT and GTS cars.

The first GT/GTS race finished just a short while ago. Skeen in a Corvette started third behind the 2 Cadillac Racing Team CTS V.Rs but took second in the first turn and then first a couple of laps later. Skeen held a 2-3 second lead for the first two thirds of the race then a full course caution bunched up the field putting the 2 Cadillacs on his bumper. The last 5 laps, the top 4 cars in GT were pretty much nose to tail. The Cadillacs tried a last lap, last turn pass on Skeen but he managed to hold them off to the finish line.

1 - Skeen in the Corvette
2 - Pilgrim in a CTS V.R
3 - O'Connell in a CTS V.R
4 - Ende in an Audi R8

 

[Hib Halverson]

“Le Mans was as challenging as ever. We battled the weather as well as the competition and I can tell you we are glad to get back to racing in the ALMS,” said Doug Fehan.

Fehan is many things–including a master of understatement.

 

[ltmax]

“Le Mans was as challenging as ever. We battled the weather as well as the competition and I can tell you we are glad to get back to racing in the ALMS,” said Doug Fehan.

Fehan is many things–including a master of understatement.

He's what a gearhead buddy of mine described as 'a good talker', which I guess is to be expected from someone in that position. They're always cautious of what they say.
Given that, this round of Le Mans was, from everything I've read over multiple sites, theft for the Vette team. With the additional weight, untested tires, engine restriction and untold breaks for the other teams, Team Vette was held back on a leash. After all, there is no such thing as a Vette racecar with a "lack of pace" or "down on power".

Now we qualify 3rd at Lime Rock behind two BMW's THAT DON'T EXIST!!!ad

 

[cor123]

Corvette Racing Stands Up to the Heat
Compuware Corvettes to start third, fifth in GT at Lime Rock

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 5, 2013) – Corvette Racing’s two Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars will roll off the GT grid from the second and third rows for Round 4 of the 2013 American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park, airing live at 3 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2. Oliver Gavin qualified the No. 4 Compuware Corvette third in class for the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix with Antonio Garcia fifth in the No. 3 entry.

Gavin’s best lap Friday was 51.490 seconds in the car he shares with Tommy Milner. Garcia, teaming with Jan Magnussen, turned a 51.357-second lap around the 1.5-mile circuit in northwestern Connecticut. Both cars are in prime position to repeat last year’s performance that saw the velocity yellow Corvettes second and third in the GT class.

The heat Friday bordered on oppressive. Air temperatures hovered near 95 degrees with track readings above 120 degrees. Both crews worked up a sweat throughout the day – especially the No. 3 group, which had to change the car’s gearbox following the day’s first practice.

The efforts of both teams paid off with each of the Corvettes within a half-second of the pole-winning car.

“Today was a mixed bag,” Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan said. “We had to change the gearbox on the No. 3 Corvette, but both Oliver and Antonio put in solid qualifying efforts. We know the race will be the typical GT slugfest, which is made that much more difficult with the close quarters and short lap around Lime Rock. It will come down to who can execute on the track and in pitlane. If we can do that and run as clean a race as possible, we will be in the hunt at the end of the day.”

EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
Qualified third, 51.490 seconds (103.057 mph)
“We found a bit more speed from the practices, and you always push harder in qualifying. I managed to stick a reasonable lap together, and we made a few adjustments with the car that helped us find a little bit more. It’s always a delicate balance here. There is not a huge amount of grip and you’re all the time seesawing from the rear of the car being too loose to the front of the car being too pushy. You try to massage that balance between the two because one end is always breaking free. Very rarely will you get a car that’s really good and stuck and lets you attack every corner with no fear.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
Qualified fifth, 51.537 seconds (102.963 mph)
“We all lost a lot of time from the first session due to the red flags and then we had to change the gearbox. We never got to try anything to improve the car from the first practice. In qualifying, I had no read from the car on new tires and we needed to judge what the car would do on new tires. I think I was pretty close to everyone other than the two leading cars. But after the problems we had this morning, we put in a very good qualifying effort. We are all very close and know how races here work out. We will all be single-file for two hours and 45 minutes, very close to how Laguna Seca was. We need to be spot on pit stops, tire changes and everything. If everything goes smooth, we have the car to be out front at the end.”

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix (all times ET)
· Race: 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6

Lime Rock: Watch It!
Saturday, July 6 (all times ET)
· Race (TV): 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN2)
· Web: 2:45 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN3)

ALMS GT Championship Standings
[TABLE="class: MsoTableGrid"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 197"]Driver Standings
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]Team Standings
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]Manufacturer Standings
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Dirk Muller – 42
2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 39
3. Dominik Farnbacher/ Marc Goossens – 37
4. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 34
5. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen - 30
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Corvette Racing – 56
2. BMW Team RLL – 52
3. SRT Motorsports – 37
4. Risi Competizione – 28
5. Paul Miller Racing - 26
[/TD]
[TD="width: 197"]1. Chevrolet – 59
2. BMW – 52
3. Ferrari – 43
4. SRT – 40
5. Porsche - 37
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock
[TABLE="class: MsoTableGrid, width: 441"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]Year
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]Class
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Drivers
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]Result
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Car
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Notes
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2004
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GTS
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C5-R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta pole,
fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2005
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta pole,
fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2006
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Fellows/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
4[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Beretta fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2007
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
1[SUP]st[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]O’Connell fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2008
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT1
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]1[SUP]st[/SUP]
2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2010
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Magnussen/O’Connell
Beretta/Gavin
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]12[SUP]th[/SUP]
5[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2011
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Beretta/Milner
Gavin/Magnussen
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]9[SUP]th[/SUP]
10[SUP]th[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 54"]2012
[/TD]
[TD="width: 60"]GT
[/TD]
[TD="width: 159"]Garcia/Magnussen
Gavin/Milner
[/TD]
[TD="width: 57"]2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
3[SUP]rd[/SUP]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 106"]Corvette C6.R
[/TD]
[TD="width: 153"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[ltmax]

Lime Rock & LeMans

He's what a gearhead buddy of mine described as 'a good talker', which I guess is to be expected from someone in that position. They're always cautious of what they say.
Given that, this round of Le Mans was, from everything I've read over multiple sites, theft for the Vette team. With the additional weight, untested tires, engine restriction and untold breaks for the other teams, Team Vette was held back on a leash. After all, there is no such thing as a Vette racecar with a "lack of pace" or "down on power".

Now we qualify 3rd at Lime Rock behind two BMW's THAT DON'T EXIST!!!ad

6July13: Well, we finished 2nd, behind the non-production BMW, so that was o.k., I guess. One of the mighty Vipers crapped-out 25 laps into it, one finished.

As for LeMans, here's a typical report - from Racer.com:
INSIGHT: Level 5, Corvette Racing pinpoint Le Mans frustrations - Racer.com

How much more of these manipulations that Vette racing has to tolerate, I don't know.