Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From Planet LeMans:
Oliver & Olivier Win GT1 at Lime Rock
Friday, 08 July 2005
American Le Mans Series The No.4 Compuware Corvette C6.R dominated the GT1 Class in the American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock, driven by Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. As America celebrated July 4th, the pair, fresh from their Le Mans win with Jan Magnussen, also celebrated, coming home 2 laps ahead of their sister No.3 Corvette.
The race was not without incident. During the early laps Olivier, who set a wonderful record breaking pole position time, kept the nose of No.4 ahead of Ron Fellows in No.3. Lime Rock is the shortest circuit visited by the ALMS and traffic was always a problem on the narrow track. After 30 minutes a full course caution was called to recover the Dodge Viper and No.3 took the opportunity to take on some fuel. This put a little more distance between the two cars but there was still only seconds in it.
At 56 minutes, Ron was being overtaken by the leading LMP1 runners and was forced wide on to the dirty part of the track. With no grip the car went straight on into the tyre barriers. The hit was a hard one but Ron managed to drive the car safely back to the pits where, after a set of new tyres and some extensive taping of the damaged body work, Johnny O'Connell took over. Now down in 5th in GT1, Johnny set about catching and passing the cars ahead, eventually regaining second place.
After 65 minutes Oliver took over from Olivier in No.4 and it was then a case of keeping out of trouble. However, there was some late drama when he suffered a puncture and managed to get in and change the tyre without losing a lap.
At the end of the race, Oliver and Olivier were delighted with their win. "In its first time at Lime Rock the Corvette C6.R performed magnificantly," said Oliver. "Lime Rock is tight, twisty and there is alot of traffic here but it was all smooth running for us. Olivier did a tremendous job in the first stint and it was unfortunate what happened to the No.3 car because we were lining up to have a good race.
"My only real problem was when I felt the left rear tyre deflating. It was a concern but the team handled it perfectly. I only radioed that I was coming in immediately before I turned into the pitlane but, when I reached the pit box the crew had a tyre waiting for me. They responded really well.
"Olivier and I were both delighted with the car today and we're pleased to get our first ALMS win in 2005. Hopefully this is a springboard for the rest of the season."
Oliver & Olivier Win GT1 at Lime Rock
Friday, 08 July 2005
American Le Mans Series The No.4 Compuware Corvette C6.R dominated the GT1 Class in the American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock, driven by Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. As America celebrated July 4th, the pair, fresh from their Le Mans win with Jan Magnussen, also celebrated, coming home 2 laps ahead of their sister No.3 Corvette.
The race was not without incident. During the early laps Olivier, who set a wonderful record breaking pole position time, kept the nose of No.4 ahead of Ron Fellows in No.3. Lime Rock is the shortest circuit visited by the ALMS and traffic was always a problem on the narrow track. After 30 minutes a full course caution was called to recover the Dodge Viper and No.3 took the opportunity to take on some fuel. This put a little more distance between the two cars but there was still only seconds in it.
At 56 minutes, Ron was being overtaken by the leading LMP1 runners and was forced wide on to the dirty part of the track. With no grip the car went straight on into the tyre barriers. The hit was a hard one but Ron managed to drive the car safely back to the pits where, after a set of new tyres and some extensive taping of the damaged body work, Johnny O'Connell took over. Now down in 5th in GT1, Johnny set about catching and passing the cars ahead, eventually regaining second place.
After 65 minutes Oliver took over from Olivier in No.4 and it was then a case of keeping out of trouble. However, there was some late drama when he suffered a puncture and managed to get in and change the tyre without losing a lap.
At the end of the race, Oliver and Olivier were delighted with their win. "In its first time at Lime Rock the Corvette C6.R performed magnificantly," said Oliver. "Lime Rock is tight, twisty and there is alot of traffic here but it was all smooth running for us. Olivier did a tremendous job in the first stint and it was unfortunate what happened to the No.3 car because we were lining up to have a good race.
"My only real problem was when I felt the left rear tyre deflating. It was a concern but the team handled it perfectly. I only radioed that I was coming in immediately before I turned into the pitlane but, when I reached the pit box the crew had a tyre waiting for me. They responded really well.
"Olivier and I were both delighted with the car today and we're pleased to get our first ALMS win in 2005. Hopefully this is a springboard for the rest of the season."
