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Gone but not forgotten
From Crash.net:
Corvette take GT1 honours and outright podium
TUESDAY 5TH JULY 2005
Fresh from taking a one-two finish in the Le Mans 24 Hours, Corvette Racing celebrated its return to ALMS competition by securing the same result in the Grand Prix of New England at Lime Rock.
In an exact repeat of the Le Mans result, Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta led the Corvette challenge, taking the C6-R to an impressive third place overall behind the two Champion Racing Audi R8s and finishing two laps clear of the sister car of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.
Victory for the #4 car came despite suffering a puncture, while the #3 car also had its problems during the race making contact with the tyre wall after being forced off the track.
"In its first time at Lime Rock, the Corvette C6-R performed fantastically," British ace Gavin said. "Lime Rock is tight, twisty, and there is a lot of traffic here, but it was smooth running for us. Olivier did a tremendous job in the first stint, and it was unfortunate what happened to the #3 car because we were lining up to have a good race. From then onwards we were just being patient and trying to stay out of trouble.
"The only drama was when I felt the left rear tyre deflating. That was a bit alarming, but the team handled it perfectly. I radioed that I was coming in literally seconds before turning into the pit lane, yet they were ready to change the tyre when I arrived in the pit box. The team responded magnificently."
Beretta was the fastest qualifier in the GT1 class on Saturday, setting the ALMS all-time record with his 15th career pole, and used that pace during a strong stint in the race.
Like Gavin, he was delighted with the performance of the car and also of the team.
"My car was awesome, no problem at all," he said. "The track is very narrow and the traffic is unbelievable, but we knew that from our here experience last year. My engineer and the crew did a perfect job, and the car was flying."
However the expected battle between the two Corvettes didn't materialise when the #3 car hit problems just before the hour mark. Running second in class, Ron Fellows got involved in an incident with one of the LMP1 prototypes and ended up in the tyre barrier.
"I just got forced off the road in turn seven with no place to go," he said. "I didn't think he was going to try the pass, but as I started to turn in, he stuck his nose in. A little more patience on his part would have been helpful. When you get off line here there's so much dirt and rubber that it just sucked me off the road."
Fellows nursed the battered car back to the pits where the team were forced into carrying out repairs before Johnny O'Connell returned to the track in fifth in class.
Having worked hard to make his way back up the order, a strategic pit-stop vaulted O'Connell up to second in the GT1 standings just before the two hour mark and he held the position to the finish.
"Another one-two finish is a great result for Corvette Racing, but this was a tough one today, with the bumps and the heat," he said. "It was just bad luck getting pushed off the track, but the crew did a great job fixing the car. We ran some quick laps even with her all torn up."
Another lock-out of the top two step of the podium left Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan to reflect on another job well done, with the team boss delighted with the performance.
"From top to bottom, we've got the total package," he said. "The drivers, the cars, the crew, the engineers - they all stepped up and made it happen today. Today's result was a testament to the design of the Corvette C6-R. We've demonstrated time and time again that these cars are built for endurance racing. The #3 Corvette took a terrific hit, yet Ron was able to drive it back to the pits and the team was able to make repairs. Not only did that car continue to race, but it finished second in class and fourth overall.
"At the end of the day, we're in the entertainment business. Anyone who wasn't entertained by today's events either had the TV turned off or they were in a coma."
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Corvette take GT1 honours and outright podium
TUESDAY 5TH JULY 2005
American Lemans Series. 1-4 July 2005. New England Grand Prix. Lime Rock Ct. #4 and #3 Corvettes.
Fresh from taking a one-two finish in the Le Mans 24 Hours, Corvette Racing celebrated its return to ALMS competition by securing the same result in the Grand Prix of New England at Lime Rock.
In an exact repeat of the Le Mans result, Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta led the Corvette challenge, taking the C6-R to an impressive third place overall behind the two Champion Racing Audi R8s and finishing two laps clear of the sister car of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.
Victory for the #4 car came despite suffering a puncture, while the #3 car also had its problems during the race making contact with the tyre wall after being forced off the track.
"In its first time at Lime Rock, the Corvette C6-R performed fantastically," British ace Gavin said. "Lime Rock is tight, twisty, and there is a lot of traffic here, but it was smooth running for us. Olivier did a tremendous job in the first stint, and it was unfortunate what happened to the #3 car because we were lining up to have a good race. From then onwards we were just being patient and trying to stay out of trouble.
"The only drama was when I felt the left rear tyre deflating. That was a bit alarming, but the team handled it perfectly. I radioed that I was coming in literally seconds before turning into the pit lane, yet they were ready to change the tyre when I arrived in the pit box. The team responded magnificently."
Beretta was the fastest qualifier in the GT1 class on Saturday, setting the ALMS all-time record with his 15th career pole, and used that pace during a strong stint in the race.
Like Gavin, he was delighted with the performance of the car and also of the team.
"My car was awesome, no problem at all," he said. "The track is very narrow and the traffic is unbelievable, but we knew that from our here experience last year. My engineer and the crew did a perfect job, and the car was flying."
However the expected battle between the two Corvettes didn't materialise when the #3 car hit problems just before the hour mark. Running second in class, Ron Fellows got involved in an incident with one of the LMP1 prototypes and ended up in the tyre barrier.
"I just got forced off the road in turn seven with no place to go," he said. "I didn't think he was going to try the pass, but as I started to turn in, he stuck his nose in. A little more patience on his part would have been helpful. When you get off line here there's so much dirt and rubber that it just sucked me off the road."
Fellows nursed the battered car back to the pits where the team were forced into carrying out repairs before Johnny O'Connell returned to the track in fifth in class.
Having worked hard to make his way back up the order, a strategic pit-stop vaulted O'Connell up to second in the GT1 standings just before the two hour mark and he held the position to the finish.
"Another one-two finish is a great result for Corvette Racing, but this was a tough one today, with the bumps and the heat," he said. "It was just bad luck getting pushed off the track, but the crew did a great job fixing the car. We ran some quick laps even with her all torn up."
Another lock-out of the top two step of the podium left Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan to reflect on another job well done, with the team boss delighted with the performance.
"From top to bottom, we've got the total package," he said. "The drivers, the cars, the crew, the engineers - they all stepped up and made it happen today. Today's result was a testament to the design of the Corvette C6-R. We've demonstrated time and time again that these cars are built for endurance racing. The #3 Corvette took a terrific hit, yet Ron was able to drive it back to the pits and the team was able to make repairs. Not only did that car continue to race, but it finished second in class and fourth overall.
"At the end of the day, we're in the entertainment business. Anyone who wasn't entertained by today's events either had the TV turned off or they were in a coma."
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