TORONTO, (July 19, 2014) – Cadillac Racing driver Johnny O’Connell finished third in today’s Pirelli World Challenge Series Honda Indy Toronto through the streets of Exhibition Place. Teammate Andy Pilgrim came in sixth.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) had a good start that saw him go into Turn One in second, from his third row starting position. Just after Turn One he had to surrender the second place spot to the Viper of Kuno Wittmer who motored by on the next straight. O’Connell had to weather two restarts and pressure late from the Audi of Mike Skeen to keep the last step on the podium earning valuable points. Teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) was able to make up a position on the start and then inherited two more positions as competitors running in front him were overcome with street racing enthusiasm and had issues.
“Week in and week out there is a lot of things that you can count on, one is that the sun will come up and the other is that we will get a good start,” O’Connell said. “We really focus on the first third of these races and the start is just the beginning of that component. The race pretty much went to plan today. I was able to get a good run on the Viper into one and then on the next straight he just out horse-powered me into the next turn. I had some brushes out there with the wall, and with a few cars, but the CTS.V.R stayed under me. The Cadillac Racing engineers improved the handling of the car and I am glad we have a super strong Cadillac. Position is everything racing on the streets. I had it and was able to keep some good cars behind me. A good points day.”
Pilgrim took what was given and was able to improve three positions and finish a solid sixth.
“Unbelievable out there today,” Pilgrim said. “Johnny moved up a couple of position to get a podium for Cadillac which is great. I was able to move up from ninth to sixth and I am actually happy with that run. I was able to improve on the start and I was getting pushed by Sofronas (James) in his Audi all race. My car wasn’t handling the best, I had some oversteer. I was able to take advantage of some situations from people banging into each other. I saw some ridiculous driving out there today. We are struggling a little right now. Johnny and I had the eighth and ninth fastest laps in the race. We are supposed to be strong on the street courses, eighth and ninth fastest is tough to take.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series Honda Indy at Toronto will air on the NBC Sports Network, Sunday, August 10 at 1:30 p.m. Race two will tomorrow, Sunday, July 20 at 12:15 p.m.
Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered an historic renaissance led by artful engineering and global expansion. Visit cadillac.com to view the full Cadillac line-up.
Additional information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com. Multi-media and team information can be viewed at Cadillac.com GM.com, media.gm.com,
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Win equals GT Le Mans championship leads; Gavin and Milner fourth after penalty
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 29, 2014) – In its 15 years of existence, Sunday marked Corvette Racing’s first event at Watkins Glen International. The team made its debut one to remember with a dominating GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
The duo led most of the day to earn their third straight class victory in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. In the process, Garcia and Magnussen moved into the lead of the GTLM driver’s championship, as did Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R in team points.
“The Corvette C7.R team’s first race at Watkins Glen was exciting given the challenging track and intense competition that kept the pressure on all race,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Antonio and Jan drove a great race and the crew executed quick pit stops. We are thankful to come out of The Glen with a GTLM class win and the class championship lead.”
Garcia and Magnussen also won the third round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – a four-race championship made of the TUDOR series’ four endurance events.
The Garcia/Magnussen combination led 154 of the 185 GTLM laps. Magnussen drove the opening stint and took the lead from the pole-sitting BMW on the first lap. Despite holding as much as a 30-second lead at various points, the final minutes were tense ones. A full-course caution with 25 minutes left brought the Corvette inside its fuel window for the rest of the race. A final yellow period just after the restart meant a final-lap dash that saw Garcia hold off the second-place Viper by 0.185 seconds.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished fourth in their No. 4 Corvette C7.R after running second to their teammates for most of the day. A stop-and-go penalty inside the last hour for what race officials judged to be avoidable contact halted their podium charge.
The day wasn’t a complete loss. Gavin and Milner moved into the lead of the Patrón Endurance Challenge with just the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans remaining at the end of the season.
The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The race, which Gavin and Milner won last year as part of the American Le Mans Series, is set for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 13.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“The car was really good. I was running perfect. Jan (Magnussen) made perfect start and pulled a gap. Then we got a caution but we made the gap back up from zero to almost 20 seconds. Whenever I was able to go full-on we went up to almost a 30-second lead. Strategy-wise we were like two or three laps short (on fuel) I believe. We decided because the Viper … maybe they gambled a little bit more at the beginning so they were out of sequence to stretch their fuel to start with; they were good to go to the end. We decided to go too, and it was hard. To go through traffic, it was really difficult to save fuel. At the end we would have been OK to the end (without the last caution). That yellow obviously helped us a little bit more just in case. We weren’t really on it, but I believe Corvette Racing again did a perfect race. I think we led everything but qualifying.”
Photo by Richard Prince
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I have to say I am so pleased for how things have gone for the team this year, with the No. 3 car especially, but how we have developed a new car and we keep finding better things to do with it. We are finding better race speed over one lap over the whole distance and making the Michelin tires last for the whole stint. We have a fantastic race car. It’s a very competitive category and you have to be on your game with everything you do. There is no room for any mistakes otherwise you lose it.”
(First race in the Corvette C7.R at The Glen) “I have been here before in other categories, the GRAND-AM GT and also the GRAND-AM DPs earlier. Driving the Corvette C7.R around here is just a fantastic feeling. It’s such a fast race track. It’s almost like there is a part missing of the corner – normally you would have a big braking zone downshifts and everything getting the car ready to rotate and then shoot out the corner. Here that little bit is gone so basically for every corner you barely touch the brake, downshift, back to full throttle. It’s all about the momentum here to build the speed, and that is where dealing with all the traffic was very important; you didn’t get bogged down too much because it would kind of ruin your rhythm. I think both of us did that really well today.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Certainly we made a step forward with the car after yesterday morning. We went back to basics with stuff, we changed a lot chassis-wise with the car. So was it the perfect setup? No because it was just really a bit of a stab at it, but it was good enough to race and be in the hunt. I genuinely think we should have had a second-place. Tommy (Milner) did a great job at the start and really got us in a fantastic position. It looked like we were going to be able to race cleanly for second.
(Race impressions) “On the double stint that I did, the first on the medium tire was good and I hung with Jan (Magnussen) pretty much. And then on the harder tire it was trickier. It made it a lot more difficult. But we were still there still in second-place looking like we were going to be able to fight for that and then Tommy (Milner) just got a crazy decision with the penalty. We went back and forth for a long time and it’s a great shame that it ruined our race. We went from second to fourth and I think we should have really had a second. That would have been a great result for the team and the guys. They worked so hard over the whole weekend.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“First and foremost, I’m very proud of our guys. After Oliver (Gavin) and I were not very happy with the car in practice they put a lot of work into trying to fix the car and it seems like that we have done that. The car was certainly quite a bit better in the race. We were just kind of behind the eight ball – just needed some more practice time to kind of fine tune it, but I think we are back in the ballpark again. That is obviously really encouraging for going forward.
(Race impressions) The race was pretty good. I had a really fun start there. It was just a shame that I got a penalty for something that I don’t believe should have been a penalty. Obviously the race control saw it differently. We can only just move on and kind of put that behind us and be proud of what we achieved. Obviously a great job by the No. 3 car guys; they executed very well. Our guys did as well. We had great pit stops, great strategy calls… they did everything right. We deserved a podium today, but we had it taken away.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“Today was emblematic of one of my key racing axioms – 25 percent great car, 25 percent great team and 50 percent good fortune. We had all those in our corner today, backed up by flawless pit stops and a great strategy by our engineers. With plenty of power from GM Powertrain, you add all that up and it’s a victory in our first visit to Watkins Glen International in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys for standing on that top step. Everyone worked very hard to earn this one.”
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 21, 2014) – Cadillac Racing drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell finished second and third respectively in the second race of the Pirelli World Challenge Series presented by Cadillac GT weekend at Road America this morning.
The field for the second race of the weekend was set by fast qualifying laps from Saturday’s race. O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) started from the second row in fourth with teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) taking the lights from the eighth position. Both Cadillac drivers were able to get strong starts. O’Connell passed Mike Skeen’s Audi for the lead with a brave move on the outside of Turn Five. Pilgrim was passing cars throughout the lap and slotted into third going into Turn One on the second lap. On lap four a full caution flew and lasted most of the race, accounting for eight laps. When the race restarted on lap 12 (16 total laps were run) the field went into Turn Eight. O’Connell got pushed wide from his second place position and Pilgrim was able to squeak by and take the runner spot to the finish.
“The start was interesting,” Pilgrim said. “I was going to go right and then Tim Bergmeister went right and I had a better launch and he was a little hesitant and gave me room into three and I went by. I made a move on the Bentley going into eight and then on the Ferrari later. It just opened up for me early. On the restart, Johnny got pushed wide out of eight and he had to get off the gas and I was able to get by him. The long yellow was a gift from the racing gods. After ten laps yesterday we lost a lot of ground. The long yellow helped to keep the tires cool and the car under me. A good weekend.”
O’Connell had no trouble with the start today.
“I had a great start, went from fourth place to the lead,” O’Connell said. “The Cadillac Racing guys gave me a great hot rod today. I am pleased with the result. Congratulations to Mike Skeen on a double win. I am thinking championship. We helped ourselves today with the points that we are taking out of here. I was able to get by Skeen on the outside of Turn Five. Our best opportunity to move up is early in the race. I was able to do that and got by him for the lead. His tires came in and he found a way back by me. Without the yellow he would have really checked out. Later I went into eight and got shoved wide and Andy got by. We had a good points weekend.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series presented by Cadillac from Road America will be televised on NBC Sports, Friday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The series will travel to Toronto for the Grand Prix of Toronto, July 18-20.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 20, 2014) – Cadillac Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim will start first and fourth for this afternoon’s Pirelli World Challenge Series GT race at Road America. Due to rain the SCCA officials cancelled qualifying and have set the grid based upon driver points.
The World Challenge Series FIA GT3 specification cars topped the time sheet in yesterday’s practice sessions. O’Connell was ninth fastest in practice with a time of 2:09.453, Pilgrim was tenth with a 2:09.495 lap. Tomas Enge paced the GT field in his Lamborghini with a time of 2:08.222. The high downforce of the FIA GT3 spec cars are showing their strength around the four-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course located 30-minutes north of Milwaukee.
“We kind of lucked into the pole,” O’Connell said. “We have some amazing handling Cadillac CTS.V.Rs here this weekend. The engineering staff at Cadillac Racing have us really feeling good about the cars. We came here thinking that the GT3 cars would have a big advantage on us here at Road America. They showed it yesterday with Andy and I being ninth and tenth on the time sheet. I love to qualify, but getting a pole when you are ninth in practice due to weather, heck I will take it.”
O’Connell would welcome a rain race.
“Right now for the race it is looking like it will be dry,” he continued. “It is easier to hold position as opposed to making it up when your hot rod is a little down to the competition. We just have to execute. We will have to perform perfectly at all ends from car preparation to race craft. The wet might work to our advantage with our driving experience and the knowledge of our CTS.V.Rs in the wet. We will take whatever Mother Nature gives for the race this afternoon. I applaud the officials for making the call on qualifying, you don’t want to lose cars in bad conditions when you don’t have to.”
Pilgrim will take a fourth place starting position today.
“It is excellent to start fourth today,” Pilgrim said. “It is a shame we didn’t qualify, everyone likes to push themselves and their cars in qualifying. If it was damp it would have been interesting, but there was just too much water. So we lucked out a little bit with that call. I think we would have qualified in the top six somewhere. We now have to take advantage of the starting positions in the race.”
“It is still raining,” he continued. “The last time I ran here in the rain was more than 10 years ago. This place can be tricky in the wet. In the previous touring car session they lost a couple of cars because of standing water. Standing water is tough to deal with. The rain will level the playing field for sure. I think it is looking like it will be dry for the race. Johnny and I will have our work cut out for us to keep the positions we have been given. My Cadillac is good in the dry, so we just have to take advantage of what has been given to us.”
Race one of the Pirelli World Challenge Series at Road America will take the standing start this afternoon at 3:15 p.m. CT. Tomorrow’s race will go off at 9:10 a.m. The race weekend will be televised on NBC Sports, Friday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
With race cars approaching from behind 40 mph faster than their Chevrolet Corvette, Oliver Gavin and his teammates turned to electronics for help at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A unique device that combines cameras and radar lets Corvette drivers know where approaching traffic is located without forcing them to look away from the road. It’s not new technology — camera and radar devices are readily available in production cars, primarily for help while the car is in reverse — but the technology has been updated for the 82nd running of the prestigious sports car race that begins Saturday in Le Mans, France.
Meet the Collision Avoidance System, which combines sensory technology with graphic elements like multi-colored arrows on a screen placed in the drivers’ peripheral vision. In the slower GTE Pro class at Le Mans, Corvette Racing’s two cars and six drivers are expected to benefit from the electronic assist to prevent collisions with prototype cars approaching quickly from behind.
“You’ve got to spend a lot of time looking behind you; that’s part of the skill of competing in the GT classes,” Gavin said. “Now we’ve got an extra set of eyes behind us. You have to consider that the GT drivers have a harder job than the guys in the (faster) prototype classes. We’re constantly looking behind while trying to pay attention to what’s ahead of us.”
The idea emerged after a bad rear-end crash in 2010 at Le Mans with a faster Peugeot. Corvette Racing teamed with engineers from Pratt Miller Engineering and Bosch Motorsport North America to develop a system that identifies approaching cars. It debuted in 2013 at the 12 Hours of Sebring and received the motorsport technology of the year award at the Professional Motorsport World Expo in November.
This year’s upgraded, lighter version of the CAS adds graphics — arrows that grow and change color as the faster car approaches — that make it easier for drivers to keep their eyes on the road and not on the screen.
“The screen is placed to the side of us, just on our peripheral vision,” Gavin said. “You can pick up the graphics without taking your eyes off the track. You have to train yourself a little to use it, but it’s very effective.”
Pratt Miller and Bosch are preparing the device for distribution to other race teams. One of its most significant selling points is its effectiveness in the dark.
“It’s really useful in the dark or the rain when cars aren’t readily visible,” said Doug Louth, Corvette Racing’s engineering director. “When the faster cars come up from behind with their LED headlights, its very hard to see what’s happening behind you. This helps drivers know where the other cars are, how fast they’re going and which side they’re passing on.”
Because of its low-slung design, the Corvette presents rear-view issues for drivers. The car features a small rear window and large rear wing that make it difficult to see approaching traffic through a traditional rearview mirror. Side mirrors leave natural blind spots that the CAS resolves.
“Without it, you’re always looking in your mirrors,” driver Tommy Milner said. “You get used to that in some ways, but it’s better if you can know exactly where everything is without looking away from what’s in front of you. They’ve utilized a camera for a number of years to be able to see behind, but the radar is new. We feel like we’re more aware of what’s behind us and able to pay better attention to what’s ahead of us.”
Corvette Racing, which has won its class in seven of the last 13 years at Le Mans, will start second and fourth Saturday in the GTE Pro class — 30th and 32nd overall. Milner, Gavin and Richard Westbrook will share the driving duties in the No. 74 Corvette C7.R, while Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor share the No. 73 Corvette.
Written by Jeff Olson, Special for USA TODAY Sports 3:25 p.m. EDT June 13, 2014
New Hudson, Michigan – 6/2/2014 – Pratt Miller Engineering attended the fifth annual, National Defense Industrial Association’s (NDIA) Michigan Defense Expo (MDEX), to illustrate the transfer of technology from race track to battlefield, at Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren, Michigan.
The event was held to demonstrate the newest technologies, products and services the industry has to offer to the warfighter with a primary focus of attracting the neighboring United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Tank-automotive Armaments Command (TACOM).
“It was a very successful event; it brought a lot of new attention to Pratt Miller and our capabilities. We are really excited about this event; it’s the fifth year we have been here. For us, this is the largest booth and the largest amount of foot traffic we’ve had. We’re thrilled at the results and the investment we’ve made here at the show,” said Brandon Widmer, Director of Business Development at Pratt Miller.
About:
Pratt Miller Engineering – a dominant force in professional motorsports – designs, engineers, and manufactures world-class vehicles, components and software. Our company is defining the future of mobility, survivability, occupant protection, electronics, and lightweight systems for vehicles. Pratt Miller serves a global customer base including those in the Motorsports, Defense, Automotive, and Powersports industries.
New Hudson, Michigan – 5/12/2014 – Pratt Miller Engineering to attend the Michigan Defense Expo (MDEX) with Corvette Racing’s C7.R racecar and Northrop Grumman’s Medium Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L), May 20-21, 2014 at Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren, Michigan.
The largest Pratt Miller display at MDEX to date will house a unique combination of vehicles to showcase technology transfer, from track to battlefield. This year’s fifth annual MDEX event, once again, aims to demonstrate the newest technologies, products and services the industry has to offer to the warfighter.
About:
Pratt Miller Engineering – a dominant force in professional motorsports – designs, engineers, and manufactures world-class vehicles, components and software. Our company is defining the future of mobility, survivability, occupant protection, electronics, and lightweight systems for vehicles. Pratt Miller serves a global customer base including those in the Motorsports, Defense, Automotive, and Powersports industries.
New Chevrolet Corvette C7.R a winner again in California
MONTEREY, Calif. (May 4, 2014) – It wasn’t nearly as easy as last time, but Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen scored their second straight GT Le Mans victory in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on Sunday. The duo won a hard-fought battle for the second consecutive season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – this time in their No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
Garcia won by 4.710 seconds as Corvette Racing took its third straight win at the track and seventh since 2004.
“Today was another fantastic day for Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Corvette Racing,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet’s Director of Racing. “It was a tremendous performance by everyone involved. The strategy and execution was perfect from the start. We saw again why this class of racing is among the best in the world.”
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R ran among the leaders early and often before finishing fifth in class after Gavin was hit from behind and spun off track late in the race.
Magnussen led all 42 laps of his stint, although this one wasn’t nearly as calm as his race to victory at Long Beach last month. Instead of a 10-second lead, he rarely led by more than a second and was under tremendous pressure. Twice, the Dane had to lock up the brakes going into the Corkscrew turn, the first time when he was pushed wide by a prototype just before the braking zone.
On a one-stop strategy following a pit stop and driver change at the one-hour mark, the focus of the battle turned to Garcia and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari. Garcia bided his time and used a slower car as a pick to move into the lead with 22 minutes left. With solid tires and great balance, he was able to steadily pull away.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15. The next GTLM round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship takes place at Watkins Glen on June 29.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I knew we had a really good car going into this race. The C6.R was successful coming into here, and I knew the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R would be good too. We proved that yesterday (in qualifying) because everything was running up to where we wanted it to. I knew the trick would be to save the tires because I saw Jan was having troubles with that. I knew he flat-spotted once or twice the front right, so it was difficult for me getting into the car knowing I had to save the tires. It was a good call on the pits just to do one stop. We lost a position to the Ferrari because Jan lost quite a bit on the in-lap and we lost maybe a second. I tried to overtake once or twice the Ferrari but I saw on pure pace that it couldn’t happen. Then getting back on my mind I knew I had to run those tires for half an hour, so I decided just to give up a little bit of pressure on them and just start saving tires as best I could. Doing that I wasn’t losing much time to them, maybe a little bit, and as soon as he caught traffic I could get him back. In the end if paid off pretty good and then I used traffic again. When I saw that prototype going to pass (the Ferrari), I really went for it and make a run as much as possible and he had no chance to block me. Then with 20 minutes to go I could use the tires I had saved.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“This is the perfect preparation for the team to go on to Le Mans full of confidence. We know when everything works we can win. Antonio did a fantastic job. He was fighting every lap. When the opportunity came there wasn’t a clear track where he was able to pass the Ferrari. As soon as the opportunity came he was there and then able to pull away for a safety margin. It was a fantastic job by the whole crew, the engineers, everyone at Corvette Racing.”
(His stint) “This was a tough stint. To begin with I had quite good grip and balance in the car. Towards the end there when the Porsche was catching me, I got pushed a little bit wide by the DeltaWing and had a huge lock-up into the Corkscrew which gave us a flat spot so that kind of took our edge away a little bit. I really, really had to fight for my position then.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was another one of those races where we showed a lot of promise, and it just didn’t really work out for us whatsoever. With the limited track time we got here, we took a bit of a shot with the setup of the car. For whatever reason, we were working our rear tires just a bit harder than most other cars out there. Tommy did a great job in hanging on to the car for so long with those worn rear tires. We took a gamble with the tires for my stint, and it was looking like it was going to be pretty good. Then the rear of the car just started to really snap away. It caught me out going into (Turn) Six – I ran wide up the hill there. I was able to get back on it and got going again. But then the No. 56 BMW was coming like no tomorrow; they had stopped and I knew they were quicker than us… I don’t know what happened, but as I came through the center of turn one, I got hit and turned around and we lost three spots. It kind of summed up our day really… very frustrating. A lot of effort from all the guys with the stop, and they did a great job. It is frustrating. It just seems right now like we can’t seem to catch a break. We always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with people. We’ve got to turn that around. We go to our next race, which is our biggest race of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hopefully it is a really nice change in our fortunes this year because it has been a rather testing first few races for us. We need to go back, regroup and think about exactly how we are attacking these weekends and if we are doing something slightly wrong, we need to address it and fix it because we need to be 100 percent for our next big race in Le Mans.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Tough stint there for sure. With the practice schedule, we didn’t get a whole lot of running. We weren’t too sure how long the tires were going to last. We found out pretty quickly in the race that we were on a little too soft of a compound early on so our lap times suffered quite a bit. Then I made a mistake in (Turn) Four and ran wide. We lost five or six seconds, something like that. Stuff like that makes a difference in a race like this with no yellows. It would be nice to get a yellow to pack everybody up, and go for the race. But, that is probably not going to happen. The gap was pretty big for awhile there, then it kind of closed up as Jan had issues as well. So he kind of brought the whole field back to me again so we aren’t too far away. But, it is hard to pass here, so every little mistake and things like that will definitely show itself at the end of the race.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“What an incredible day for Corvette Racing! Today, everything had to be perfect to win – the driving, the strategy and execution. Once again, Corvette Racing did it all and that is what enabled this victory. Two victories in a row is a great way to head to Le Mans – the most important race on our schedule.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., (April 27, 2014) – Cadillac Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished third and seventh in the second race of the Pirelli World Challenge Series Barber Grand Prix presented by RECARO.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) starting from the third row in sixth based upon his fast lap from yesterday’s race. Teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) started from the fifth row in tenth. When the lights extinguished for the standing start, O’Connell was able to get a good jump off of the line and move up three spots into third by Turn One. A little further back in the field, Pilgrim took advantage of a hesitant Rob Thorne in his McLaren to make up a spot to ninth. A first lap caution had the Pirelli World Challenge field parading around for six laps before the action restarted. Pilgrim took advantage
of the restart and moved up another position to eighth. The remaining 32 minutes had the field pretty much holding station until Pilgrim was able to get a run on Alex Figge in the second McLaren and move into seventh.
“The time and effort that Cadillac Racing has put into getting these starts paid off again today,” O’Connell said. “I was able to go from sixth to third and hold the spot to the end. To get on the podium twice here at Barber, if you would have told me that four days ago, I would have said it would be impossible. The team raised their game and gave me a great handling race car. I had to dig deep to keep Mancuso (Nick, No. 16 Ferrari) behind me while trying to maintain pressure on Andrew Palmer in the Audi. The leaders were pulling away from me. My tires started going off and that is when Mancuso started to chew on me. So I had to maintain a gap to him and keep pushing, which is fun psychological battle. If it wasn’t for getting a good start I think we really had a fifth place car.”
Pilgrim, like his teammate, had to make up ground on the start and restart.
“The start was really busy,” Pilgrim said. “Thorne in the McLaren got a slow start, so I went left it was getting tight, so I was just able to make up one position. On the restart I was able to get by Tim Bergmeister in his Porsche, but I couldn’t make up any track position the Audis toward the end. I got some help in traffic and was able to pass Figge late in the race. The Audi and the rest of the FIA GT3 cars were really fast through 14, 14a, 15 and the exits of Turns Five and Three.”
The races from Barber Motorsport Park will be televised on NBC Sports Network, Saturday, May 10 at 4 p.m. ET with a re-air Friday, May 16 at 1 a.m.
The series will travel to Detroit for the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of Belle Isle to run May 30 – June 1.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., (April 26, 2014) – Cadillac Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished second and fifth respectively in the first of two races at the Pirelli World Challenge Series Barber Grand Prix presented by RECARO.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) starting from the fourth row alongside teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) got a great standing start and blew bye the two McLaren competitors who stalled on the grid to find himself running in third position by the entry of Turn One. Pilgrim also was able to get a good start, but saw a waving yellow and hesitated, fell into sequence in eighth place. A first lap caution brought the field together for a restart. As the 50-minute race progressed Pilgrim moved up into sixth place just before the second caution on lap 18. The last caution allowed O’Connell to cool his Pirelli tires for a run at Nick Mancuso’s Ferrari running in second. The yellow also gave Pilgrim some cool down time and helped him to move up to fifth place by the time the checkered flag flew.
“The team is really the most responsible for the result today,” O’Connell said. “Cadillac Racing puts a lot of effort into the standing starts. I had one yesterday in practice, when I hit the gas the car really hooked up. I think I got an even better one in the race. The McLarens in front of me didn’t get going so I had a huge gap around the outside and I got to Turn One and things were looking great as I slotted into third. We opened up a little gap and then our tires started to go off and the Audis started coming. They were chewing on me pretty good. I had to use a lifetime of experience to get through traffic and control things. We got lucky. If there wasn’t that full course caution late to cool my tires I would have been done. That allowed me to cool things down and go after Mancuso. It was a fun race for me. When a Cadillac can finish between two Ferraris that is a good day.”
Pilgrim had a strong race, but wanted more.
“The car started well, and then I caught a yellow flag waving out of the corner of my eye and I lifted off of the gas and that cost me a few positions,” Pilgrim said. “It was really tight out there. The front running cars were evenly matched. You could make up a little here and there, but it was difficult to pass. Traffic gave you the opportunity to pass, which is what is great about the series. I was sliding all over the place, it was the hottest it has been all weekend. Start seventh, finished fifth, satisfied, but could have done better.”
Race two for the Pirelli World Challenge Series Barber Grand Prix presented by RECARO will go off on Sunday at 10:40 a.m. CT. Live streaming can be viewed at www.world-challengetv.com. The races from Barber Motorsport Park will be televised on NBC Sports Network, Saturday, May 10 at 4 p.m. ET with a re-air Friday, May 16 at 1 a.m.
