Magnussen eighth in GT; Milner ninth following spin on oil slick
ALTON, Va. (Oct. 4, 2013) – Corvette Racing faces a tall mountain to climb for Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway. The two Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs qualified eighth and ninth Friday in the American Le Mans Series’ ultra-competitive GT class.
Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette set the team’s best time in the 15-minute session at 1:46.923 (110.098 mph). Tommy Milner, driving the No. 4 Corvette, was next in the order at 1:47.038 (109.980 mph) but the defending race and ALMS GT co-champion spun on another car’s oil and fluid at VIR’s famed Oak Tree turn with four minutes left in the session. The damage was confined to the front-left portion of the Corvette.
Corvette Racing seeks its 10th ALMS GT team championship, which it can achieve with a sixth-place class finish or better. Chevrolet will wrap up the manufacturer title with a victory in Saturday’s race, set for 2:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage on ESPN3 begins at 2 p.m.; ESPN2’s coverage airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Magnussen and Antonio Garcia are on a two-race winning streak, and their three victories are the most in the GT class this season. The pair leads the drivers’ championship by 13 points – 44 remain over the final two rounds.
Milner and Oliver Gavin won last year’s race at VIR to take the drivers’ title. It also delivered the manufacturer championship for Chevrolet and team title to Corvette Racing. Entering the weekend, they stand third in the GT standings and are 18 points back of their teammates in the No. 3 Corvette.
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“That was a tough session for both Corvettes. The car was actually pretty balanced.
The only strategy we can look at now is that we need to react to what everyone else does. We need to try to stay clean and get as many points we can. The chance of getting 20 points is slim. But if we’re good for 10 points, we’d better get 10 points.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“Looking at the track now, you can see a pretty big wet spot on the track. I had just wound up for another quick lap and wound some front brake bias into the car. My first indication of it was when I went for the brakes and locked the front. The first reaction was that I went too far on the front brake bias and just went off. I started apologizing to the crew over the radio. When I finished, Chuck (Houghton, No. 4 engineer) said, ‘I don’t think it was your fault. It looks like there was something on the race track.’
(The session) “It’s not the best qualifying all the way around. We have struggled all weekend but I think everyone has with grip levels and other areas. Maybe we are having the worst of it. We’re not miles off the pace but would like to be farther up the grid than where we are now. The good thing is that our pit crews have been phenomenal all year long. We are making the most of things because we have the right strategy calls, not making mistakes and the pit work has been great. They’ll always be up to the task and will gain us a couple spots if we need.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“Today was a difficult and frustrating day. Weather conditions compounded by a tricky and dirty race track proved to be a difficult challenge to overcome. But those out there at follow Corvette Racing know that we never give up. COTA was a perfect example of coming home victorious and not necessarily having the fastest car.”
Auto Engineering Firm Leverages CliQr’s CloudCenter to Reduce Simulation Runtime from Days to Hours; Enables Advanced Engineering Support to the Corvette, Cadillac and Chevrolet Race Teams
Sunnyvale, Calif. —Oct. 2, 2013—CliQr Technologies, a leading cloud application management platform enabling businesses to move, manage and secure applications from any physical, virtual or cloud environment to any private, public or hybrid cloud, today announced that Pratt Miller Engineering has successfully implemented its CloudCenter solution to simulate high performance street cars, race cars and tracks to predict lap times faster, more efficiently and with higher accuracy. Pratt Miller Engineering, a full service engineering company, is a well-recognized name in racing circles with victories in American Le Mans series, SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge, NASCAR, IndyCar and the GRAND-AM series. The company provides design, development, construction and at-the-track engineering support to racecar makers like Corvette, Cadillac, and Chevrolet.
Prior to deploying CliQr CloudCenter™, Pratt Miller was faced with the challenge of insufficient compute resources that reduced their ability to run simulations, costing them valuable time and potentially a race. One of Pratt Miller’s key software products is a Windows-based vehicle simulation called Pratt Miller Lap Time Simulation (PM-LTS), which gives their clients a dynamic “13 Degrees of Freedom” vehicle model to predict lap times. The software accepts input parameters for all aspects of the vehicle and race track being simulated including vehicle information such as tires, brakes, suspension, engine and drive train; and race track details including elevation, banking, friction, cornering and atmospheric conditions. Using these variables, Pratt and Miller ran simulations on a single machine, with each simulation often exceeding an hour to complete, and if multiple iterations were required, the run time increased to days. Ultimately these simulations became a design bottleneck, forcing Pratt Miller to reduce the amount of design analysis while also necessitating they pass over additional projects or markets of interest due to the inability to compress the design schedule. To address this issue, Pratt Miller concluded they needed to parallelize their simulations across multiple machines by leveraging the power of and scalability of the cloud. The company also wanted a solution that integrated the PM-LTS application to the public cloud without any recoding or re-architecting.
“Cloud computing is a game changer for technical computing—it enables any size simulation to be completed in mere hours compared to what would have taken us several days in the past,” said Chris Morgan, senior systems engineer, Pratt Miller Engineering. “CliQr lets us harness the enormous compute power of the cloud from our native user interface without forcing our users to become cloud computing experts. By programmatically benchmarking different clouds for price and performance, CloudCenter also makes it easy for us to identify the cloud provider that best meets our needs based on our simulation requirements.”
“Helping companies like Pratt Miller realize the promise of the cloud has always been CliQr’s mission. The CloudCenter platform allows companies to take advantage of the cloud infrastructure in a way that that is unprecedented in the industry,” said Basab Pradhan, president and CEO of CliQr Technologies. “The solution helps companies move, manage and secure their applications on the cloud with the click of a few buttons, without the complex migration or re-coding previously required. We are thrilled that Pratt Miller is now able to capitalize on the elasticity of the cloud giving them the resources to pursue other markets and projects.”
“Although the cloud computing market has matured significantly in recent years, we have yet to realize the promise of universal cloud computing for enterprises, where workloads can be moved between clouds as market prices and service quality fluctuate between the cloud providers,” said Paul Burns, President of Neovise, a cloud computing research firm. “CliQr has developed a solution to the workload portability issue that plagues the cloud computing market and the CloudCenter platform represents a significant advance in making the ethos of cloud computing more attainable.”
CliQr’s CloudCenter is a cloud application management platform, providing Pratt Miller with most of the functionality they asked for out of the box. CloudCenter’s unique profiling templates allow quick migration of a variety of application classes including simulation and other high-performance computing applications. Using CliQr’s command line interface to the CloudCenter, Pratt Miller was able to transfer simulation files from local machines to cloud storage options and invoke the simulation workflow in the cloud without any changes to the desktop GUI. The platform also allows Pratt Miller to benchmark their application and then run simulations without modification, at any time, and on any public cloud provider based on the lowest price, the best performance or the best overall price/performance value.
With the CliQr platform, Pratt Miller was able to increase processing power anywhere from two to hundreds of times with no changes to the PM-LTS application. In the past Pratt Miller users ran simulations on a single multi-core machine and a base simulation model took one hour to run and 200 iterations typically took multiple days. But with CliQr, users are now able to run iterations in parallel, enabling 200 iterations to run in about 1.5 hours.
About CliQr Technologies
CliQr Technologies is a leading provider of cloud-application management solutions, enabling businesses to quickly and efficiently move, manage, and secure applications from any on-premise physical or private cloud environment onto any private, public, or hybrid cloud without the need for a costly and complex migration. Unlike other approaches to cloud migration and runtime management, CliQr’s innovative CloudCenter™ enables businesses to on-board once and run anywhere by decoupling a business’ application from the complexity of the underlying cloud infrastructure without scripting, recoding of applications or creating virtual machine images. Once on-boarded, CliQr enables applications to be benchmarked across any cloud or cloud configuration, optimizing price-performance by ensuring the application is running on the best cloud environment possible. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., CliQr Technologies is backed by Foundation Capital and Google Ventures. For additional information, please visit
DETROIT, (Oct. 1, 2013) – Team Cadillac is heading to the Pirelli World Challenge season finale FOAMETIX Grand Prix of Houston to run Oct. 6 focused on repeating as GT champions. Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim have a shot at the GT driver’s title.
The tale of the tape for the Houston finale shows a very tight battle for the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge GT driver’s championship (Cadillac has already sewn up the GT manufacturer title). O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is the GT series defending champion. The No. 3 Team Cadillac driver has weathered a season of ups-and-downs in his CTS-V, but is still in contention to defend his title. This weekend’s advantage has to go to O’Connell. The Georgian is the only driver on the grid that has raced and won on the Houston street circuit which runs next to Reliant Field, home to the National Football League Houston Texans. In 2007, piloting the Chevrolet Corvette in the American Le Mans Series, O’Connell, together with teammate Jan Magnussen, won the GT class.
“I need to win,” O’Connell said. “That is the only way to secure the championship. So each lap will need to be attacking. We were very strong at Houston in the Corvette, and my win there with Jan Magnussen was very special. It is a challenging circuit with a lot of nuance to it. It necessitates that the driver is committed. It’s always nice returning to a circuit where you have won before.”
O’Connell is ready to help teammate Pilgrim who is also a possible for the championship.
“Andy is a world-class driver and certainly doesn’t need any help from me,” he continued. “As teammates we have always worked extremely well together to make each of us stronger drivers. I’m confident that we will both be helping each other in Houston and will have a pair of very competitive Cadillac CTS-V race cars for the weekend.”
O’Connell’s 2013 Pirelli World Challenge season stats include:
• Four wins: Circuit of the America’s (COTA), Detroit, Lime Rock and Toronto
• Second place finishes at Detroit (race two) and Mid-Ohio
• Third place runs at St. Pete (2) and at Lime Rock (race two)
• Average finishing position of fifth
• Average starting position of 2.62
• Six fastest race laps Completed 351 of a possible 417 race laps, 84.17%
O’Connell received a 20 point penalty for avoidable contact in race two at Detroit to go along with four did not finish classifications. Those penalty points, if not received, would put O’Connell a single point behind current GT points leader James Sofronas, No. 14 Audi R8 LMS, who also received a penalty at Lime Rock for avoidable contact.
Teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) is also very much in contention for the GT title. Known for his speed and consistent finishes, the Floridian is within striking distance to equal last year’s second place championship standing or he can win it all. Pilgrim is looking to be a factor at the front come race day.
“With such little practice time at Houston I am going to take it one corner at a time,” Pilgrim said. “I see good places to pass on the videos I’ve seen, so I am thinking we can wait and see as opposed to being super aggressive. Obviously qualifying will be critical. A good qualifying run with little practice and no track knowledge will make it very tough for all the drivers. Putting it on the limit and making a mistake in qualifying could end your championship hopes right there. Some caution will be needed, there is just too much concrete to afford any errors. It looks like Johnny will be the only driver with any knowledge of this track. I will be talking to him for sure to get some pointers or to hear about particularly rough or difficult areas of the track.”
Pilgrim knows the track surface will change throughout the weekend.
“I like the track layout, it seems like we will have some areas to pass, but the track will be very dirty to start and changing every hour,” he continued. “On Friday, passing will be difficult, but by Sunday it will be a totally different track as it gets rubber down and also cleans up, which is typical of a temporary street circuit. I’m looking forward to running the track. I really enjoy Texas as I used to live in El Paso for many years. It will be great to get back there for the second time this year.”
Pilgrim 2013 Pirelli World Challenge season stats:
• One race win at Sonoma
• Second at Long Beach, COTA, Lime Rock and Toronto
• Third place runs at COTA (race one) and Detroit
• Pilgrim has an average race finish of 3.31
• Completed 415 race laps of a possible 417, only GT leader Sofronas is better with 417/417 (Sofronas 2.85 average finish).
The Cadillac duo has been successful on closed street courses. O’Connell has posted two wins, Detroit and Toronto to go along with a second place and two third place runs on temporary circuits. Pilgrim has two second place runs at Long Beach and Toronto to go along with a third place as well as fourth and fifth place street race runs.
Team Cadillac will travel to Houston, Texas for the Pirelli World Challenge finale Oct. 4-6.
Team Cadillac 2013 Pirelli World Challenge GT Results
ALMS manufacturer, team titles within reach in next-to-last round
DETROIT (Oct. 1, 2013) – Twelve months ago, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet celebrated a championship weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Now let’s fast-forward to the present day – Chevrolet and Corvette Racing are on the verge of securing a repeat championship titles in the American Le Mans Series… once again at VIR.
The Oak Tree Grand Prix on Saturday, Oct. 5 could see the ALMS GT team and manufacturer championships wrapped up. The two yellow Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs have five victories between them: three for the No. 3 of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen – Laguna Seca, Baltimore and Circuit of The Americas – and two for Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette – Sebring and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
All Corvette Racing needs to win its 10th ALMS team championship is for either of the two cars to finish sixth or better in class at VIR. A victory for either Corvette would secure Chevrolet’s 10th manufacturer title with one race left in the season. That’s what happened in 2012 – Gavin and Milner’s triumph landed them the drivers’ championship, Chevrolet clinched the manufacturers’ crown and Corvette Racing wrapped up the team title.
In the drivers’ standings, Garcia and Magnussen are in the midst of a remarkable run of three wins and two podium finishes in the last six races. That streak places them in the lead of the championship despite coming away from the season’s first race at Sebring with no points.
Saturday’s race is set for 2:15 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN3 beginning at 2 p.m. ESPN2’s coverage airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
VIR, which opened in 1957, has been a happy hunting ground for Corvette’s stable of four drivers. In addition to his GT victory last year with Gavin, Milner also won in GRAND-AM competition in 2005. The Virginia native made his professional debut in GT racing a year earlier and claimed pole position.
Magnussen also is a past winner at VIR in Rolex Series competition having taken a Daytona Prototype victory in 2007. This will mark Garcia’s fourth straight year competing at the venue, and he posted the fastest GT lap of the race in 2012. He and Magnussen placed eighth in class last season.
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“VIR is a race track that I’ve always liked since I went there for the first time in 2010. Overall, the track has a lot of momentum and flow. The backstraight is the only place where you are not turning and are just going straight. Everywhere else, you need to place the car well. As you go toward the Oak Tree Corner, which sadly is missing the Oak Tree now – and the other side of the track, you have a section of very, very fast corners. The first time you go through there can be a little scary. No matter what car you are driving, you are flat or just breathing a little off the throttle at the last corner. The track is very challenging and very narrow with no room for even little mistakes. There is no runoff. If you crash there, it’s going to be big.”
(More conservative given lack of runoff?) “The thing about the ALMS is that you can’t be conservative. There will always be someone who is not and will be faster than you. You really need to give everything you can even if in the back of your mind, you know you will be in a big one if you go off the track. I like VIR because of that factor. You are willing to nail everything at 100 percent but if you go over just a little bit, it’s likely you will have a big off.”
(Similar to other ALMS venues?) “I would say VIR is a bit like Road America and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. You really need to get in a rhythm, and it takes some time to get to that point. But once you are there, it looks like you are way more relaxed and the level of stress goes a little bit lower. For sure, the first time people race at VIR and go through sections like the esses, it is very stressful. But once you do it flat, you realize it is possible and you relax slightly.”
(Championship thoughts): “It’s a mistake to start thinking about the championship with still two races to go. We’ve seen that anything can happen. We need to remain focused and take care of the next two races. Then we will be champions.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“I’ve raced at VIR in the past with the Rolex Series, and all the way back in the Panoz days we would test there. I really enjoy the track and the whole area. We will race for the first time there without the Oak Tree. It was very much the trademark of the track but it will still be a good race without it.
“The circuit is pretty narrow with some really, really fast sections. It’s very hard to pass at VIR, especially with the situation we are in with top speed. But we do have a very good-handling car. It will be tough for us to pass anyone but I have great faith in the guys that if we are a little behind, we can turn it around with a minimum of two stops. It’s different from last year when it was a four-hour race. We will have to go there and see if we can qualify toward the front. When we aren’t the fastest car, much more emphasis goes into qualifying because you can control the race from the front. It’s much harder controlling anything when you’re fifth.”
(Championship chase) “The importance of the win at Laguna Seca proved to the No. 3 team that it was possible to win. We had a whole 2012 season where we were fast and had a shot but something would always happen. As a result, we had a season with no wins. We started off at Sebring this year really poorly; Long Beach was a decent weekend but wasn’t great. Laguna proved that if we were perfect, we could win. It turned things around a little bit.
“I have to say that just because we won (in Monterey) that come VIR we would be leading the championship. After Sebring, I wrote off the championship completely. We thought we weren’t going to catch up and just went for wins. Maybe we would risk things once in awhile. Now things have changed and we’re in the lead and have to conserve things to make sure we get points.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“VIR is very much a momentum track, and our cars are very good in those areas and on the brakes. There are a few heavy brake zones around the circuit where our car is pretty strong. It is a circuit that is very challenging and one that is narrow. It usually punishes you pretty badly if you make mistakes. You have to use every bit of the track to be quick but you have to drive it with some respect. It isn’t a place where you can really attack and be very aggressive like Road America. At VIR, you have to turn the dial back just one notch so you aren’t too aggressive. If you are, you’re going off the track, onto the grass and you’re not coming back for quite awhile. Along with that you’ll pick up all kinds of junk and rubbish in the radiator. It will for certain make your race that much harder. With all that in mind, you have to be aware that it can bite you.”
(Championship outlook after COTA) “What happened in Austin was bitterly disappointing. From us leading in the championship and being in control of our title run, now we are very much on the back foot with only two races to go and us having to have other people run into poor luck. For Tommy and I, we won’t necessarily be driving with caution in mind. We really just have to go for it and go for wins over the next two races. We have to try and score maximum points to give ourselves a chance and see how others’ races go. There still is some 12 hours and 45 minutes of racing to go in the season so there is still plenty that can happen. We know from our experience at COTA that it can turn around very quickly. It’s not all lost and the possibility of winning is still there. But it does give us a mountain to climb. We can’t afford to sit back and be content to collect points. We have to maximize every opportunity.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“The track does have significance in my career. It was where I got my start in professional GT racing. I did my first race there in 2004 with my dad’s team and won my first GT pole – I outqualified Bill Auberlen and Boris Said to do that. It was great to go there last year and clinch my first ALMS championship at VIR where my GT racing career started. That was pretty special to have that connection at a race track like that. It’s a fantastic circuit with a very pretty setting and has a traditional, old-school feel to it. They took a piece of land, put down roads where it looked good, left the elevation changes and didn’t touch much of the surrounding area. That’s how Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is, and that’s how VIR is. I have fun racing on those tracks and have had recent success racing there, so let’s hope that continues.”
(On difference in venues between Austin and VIR) “I would rate COTA and VIR similar in their feel, so to speak. The big difference is that Austin is very wide and spacious with a lot of run-off room, and VIR is very narrow and doesn’t have a lot of run-off. The flow to the racetrack is very similar between the two. Obviously, your heart rate is a little bit higher at VIR; you know that any little mistake will send you off the track. Fortunately there is a lot of grass and not anything solid! But running on grass will slow down your momentum and kill your laptime and lot faster than running on dirty asphalt like at COTA.
(Traffic concerns) “One of my concerns last year was traffic, based on experience from years past. The track was just as narrow as I remembered. But as the race went on and traffic went along, for the most part it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. Everyone played nicely. The way the classes were spaced at that moment suited what the track offered. Yes, there are sections where traffic holds you up, and it is frustrating. You wish the slower cars weren’t there. But I can tell you from experience that there are tracks where it’s way worse than that just because of the nature of the track and how the corners are linked. I didn’t have any real issue last year and I don’t see it being any bigger of a problem this year.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“VIR is a venue that promotes fantastic racing. Even with a lap of more than three miles, there is no chance to rest with a great combination of slow-to mid-speed turns early in the lap and then a very long section of high-speed corners and a massive backstretch. As evidenced at all our previous events, the competition in the ALMS GT class is extremely well balanced. Winning here will take a total team effort – the kind of effort that wins championships.”
Oak Tree Grand Prix (all times ET)
• GT Testing: 3:30-5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 3
• Practice 1: 10:25 a.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• Practice 2: 2:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• GT Qualifying: 4:05 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• Warmup: 9:35 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 5
• Race: 2:15 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 5
VIR: Watch It!
Friday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 6 (all times ET)
• Qualifying: Live – 3:35 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4 (ESPN3)
Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP Scored Race Victory; Marsh Racing Whelan Corvette GT.R Took the Win in GT
LAKEVILLE, Conn. – September 28, 2013 – Chevrolet was a double winner in today’s GRAND-AM Rolex Series season finale at Lime Rock Park. Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor took the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) to Victory Lane and claimed the 2013 DP Driver’s Championship. And Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach driving the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT.R were with winners in the Grand Touring (GT)P class.
It is the fifth victory of the 2013 season and third consecutive to end the final GRAND-AM Rolex Series season for Angelelli and Taylor. The trip to Victory Lane extended the team’s undefeated streak at Lime Rock Park to four races. The performance of the Wayne Taylor Racing team culminated in the popular pair winning the Rolex Daytona Prototype Drivers’ Championship by 13 points.
“Congratulations to Jordan Taylor, Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor and the entire No. 10 Corvette DP team on their win at Lime Rock Park today,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Today’s victory was their fifth win of the season as they clinched the Rolex DP driver’s championship. While the season had itsups and downs; the team made adjustments and finished the season strong with the championship. It is extra special to see Wayne Taylor and his team win the championship in the final season of GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. This will certainly give them momentum as they enter the Tudor United SportsCar Championship in 2014”
This is the eighth win of the season for the Corvette Daytona Prototype and propelled Chevrolet to clinch the 2014 DP Engine Manufacturers’ Championship.
Late-race contact ended the championship opportunities for Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney, No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP. They have one win in 2013, at the Circuit of the Americas, and finished third in the final DP driver and team standings. The No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP team with drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa finished in a tie for fourth in the DP team points with two wins during the season.
“Congratulations to the entire Wayne Taylor Racing team on their Lime Rock win and the 2013 Rolex DP drivers’ championship,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, Rolex Sports Car Series. “The entire team all season never gave up, and overcame adversity to triumph at the end of the season.”
Today’s win was the first of the season for Curran and Aschenbach in the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT.R. Aschenbach was substituting for Boris Said who is the full-time driver, but was unable to attend the Lime Rock race.
“Congratulations to Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach on winning the GRAND-AM Rolex GT race today at Lime Rock,” Campbell said. “They have been knocking on the door of victory all season, so it was nice to see them end the GRAND-AM Rolex Series era with a win. The entire Marsh Racing Corvette GT.R team executed flawlessly to secure the win.”
Robin Liddell and John Edwards, No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R fought back from a tire issue to finish fourth and claim third in the final GT driver and team standings.
“Congratulations to Marsh Racing for their win by the Whelan Corvette in the GT class,” said Lutz. “And to Stevenson Motorsports drivers Robin Liddell and John Edward for achieving third place in both the driver and team championships in the GT class.”
In the final Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race of the season, the Stevenson Motorsports No. 9 Camaro GS.R finished second, and moved to second in the final team and driver standings.
Chevrolet Racing will return to competition in 2014 as the inaugural season of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship begins with the 52ND running of the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona International Speedway on January 24-26, 2014.
PRESS CONFERENCE: MAX ANGELELLI, JORDAN TAYLOR AND WAYNE TAYLOR, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE CHEVROLET CORVETTE – RACE WINNERS ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES OVER-ALL AND DP, AND 2013 DAYTONA PROTOTYPE GRAND-AM ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES DAYTONA PROTOTYPE DRIVER’S CHAMPIONS:
CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE THE 2013 DAYTONA PROTOTYPE CHAMPIONS. TELL US WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU:
JORDAN TAYLOR: “That is pretty crazy. I’ve been coming to watch my dad all these years and GRAND-AM was really the place that I kind of grew up and started to understand racing and understand that I wanted to be in the sport. First of all to win the final GRAND-AM season is pretty crazy just because it’s kind of where I grew up and watched Max (Angelelli) and my dad (Wayne Taylor) over the years and kind of grew up as a driver and made a career out of it. It’s a little special, but after the past few races it’s obviously come down to the team. Every single time we have won a race they have put us out in front. All Max or myself had to do was keep everyone behind us and when you have track position it’s a lot easier. I think we have passed like two or three cars all year on track and everything else has been done in the pits. It’s definitely a team championship. It’s unfortunate that the team didn’t win the championship the driver’s did, but we can’t really complain too much.”
MAX ANGELELLI: “It’s special I mean it’s a lot because I did it with Wayne (Taylor) when he was a lot younger and now I’m doing it with his younger kid. So I’m very proud of them Jordan and Ricky. It’s been an amazing journey for me and the Taylor family and Chevy obviously. It’s been great and finally clinch the championship. Wayne are you going to be relaxed I hope for the next 24 hours and looking forward to a new challenge and more races to win.”
CAN YOU COMPARE THE FEELINGS OF WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH MAX YOURSELF AND WINNING IT WITH YOUR SON JORDAN?
WAYNE TAYLOR: “Well you know I’m sure everybody knows this, but the relationship between Max and I goes back to 1998. I don’t know how many driver pairings that have existed for the length of time that Max and I did. It was great him and I winning the 2005 championship as well as my second Daytona win. Obviously he’s been so supportive of both Ricky and Jordan and nurtured them and brought them up as good as we can. Both of these guys did unbelievable jobs but there are so many people behind the scenes the team has just been superb. Then at the end of the day none of this can happen if somebody doesn’t pay for it. I have to say a special thanks to Ryan Stockman, Enda McShane and Paul Blakely. Paul and I met and instantly we thought there was a way to work together. Toshiba has been with us since 1997, General Motors, Chevrolet and I couldn’t be happier. Imagine having my teammate win the championship with me and then he wins the championship with my youngest son. I couldn’t have written a script any better.”
YOU GUYS HAVE THE MOST WINS THIS YEAR, FIVE, BUT YOU ALSO HAD THAT STRETCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON WHERE YOU HAD FOUR PRETTY BAD RACES IN A ROW. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND WHAT YOU FELT THEN VERSUS HOW YOU FEEL NOW:
JORDAN TAYLOR: “I think everyone was very hopeful in the middle of the year. Going into Watkins Glen I think we had a lead and then the car was great during the race, but we had an unfortunate break, but we still left there within I think two points of the lead. We still knew there was a shot. I think we went to Indy and then Road America two consecutive bad races. I think from then on we kind of thought we were basically out of the championship. Then that is when we kind of made a few changes and we were going to start going for race wins. Just fortunately for us everyone else had their own issues. Starworks had a couple of bad races, GAINSCO, Ganassi, so we were just kind of doing what we were trying to do and that’s win races and the other guys kind of lost their championships. I think everyone had their issues throughout the year we just kind of maximized those races that we didn’t have problems.”
IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GUYS WERE SORT OF IN A COMMANDING PERFORMANCE AGAIN TODAY. DID YOU FEEL ANY PRESSURE FROM ANYBODY BEHIND YOU OR WERE YOU JUST RUNNING YOUR OWN RACE?
JORDAN TAYLOR: “I think when we I got in the car Max was saying how good the car was. He was just stuck behind (Justin) Wilson who was pretty aggressive. We knew we had a decent car, but we didn’t know how good it was because it’s obviously hard to pass here. Running behind someone you are going to lose a lot of lap time. Max didn’t take any risks which was good for the championship. When I got in we just had clear track and we were saving fuel for the whole middle stint. When it went to that restart that was the only time we really had an idea of how competitive we would be compared to everyone else. I really didn’t know how fast we were going to be, but when we went green and we could gap them pretty easy I was pretty happy to see that. I thought Gustavo (Yacaman) was going to do a good job holding off (Scott) Pruett and everyone so I was happy he was the one in between us he’s pretty hard to get by. We were able to gap them and kind of maintain it so I was pretty happy out there.”
TODAY WAS A LOT HOTTER THAN YESTERDAY. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT TIRE MANAGEMENT AND HOW THAT WENT TODAY?
MAX ANGELELLI: “Tires performed really well. Continental Tires did really well for the tires during the weekend. When they were cold they were good, quick to pick up grip and the race there was no problem. They were really good all the way.”
LAST GRAND-AM RACE LAST RACE AT LIME ROCK WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
JORDAN TAYLOR: “I actually won my first ever or my only other championship here in Skip Barber in 2007. So it’s kind of cool to win my only other one here. It’s a cool track. When you think of American road courses you think of Lime Rock. It’s very traditional. I was happy to drive on the old surface and now the new surface. Obviously a little sad to see it go, but I’m sure it will be back on the schedule sometime in the future.”
THE TWO OF YOU HAVE WON THE LAST FOUR RACES HERE AT LIME ROCK. WHAT IS REALLY THE DIFFERENCE IN DOING IT BESIDES BEING UP FRONT AND HAVING TRACK POSITION? WHAT IS YOUR SECRET?
WAYNE TAYLOR: “If you have watched the races this year the competitiveness is at an all-time high. I don’t know any other series that there is not even a second that separates 15 cars. When you have that situation it’s impossible to pass on the track. So everything has to get done in the pit. We had to put all the drivers in the best position. The first three wins we had here was Max and Ricky and obviously we know that the car worked really well here and track position was everything yet again and we were able to do that.”
PRESS CONFERENCE: LAWSON ASCHENBACH AND ERIC CURRAN, NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX/MARSH RACING CORVETTE GT.R– RACE WINNERS ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES GT CLASS
YOU STARTED THE DAY PUTTING THE NO. 31 CORVETTE ON THE POLE AT A RACE YOU WEREN’T REALLY EXPECTING TO RACE. TALK ABOUT THAT AND HOW IT FEELS TO BE SITTING HERE IN VICTORY LANE:
LAWSON ASCHENBACH: “Well first and foremost I really want to say thank you to everybody at Whelen Engineering, Team Fox, Marsh Racing the Chevrolet Corvette was just fantastic. It rolled off the trailer fast. We barely really made that many changes to it and it was just fantastic all weekend. Secondly, obviously I’ve got to thank them for the opportunity. I know Boris (Said) obviously wanted to be here and would have done a fantastic job in the car as he always does. I’m really proud to be able to race with Eric (Curran). Getting the pole this morning was really cool. It felt good and I knew we had a shot at it, just had to put the lap together and fortunately it worked our way. I had a decent start there. I got kind of blocked up on the restart. I got the green flag a little bit late and John (Edwards) got by me, but I was able to get back by him and take off from there. Eric did a fantastic job. With all the restarts and everything he had to go through I mean that is a superb drive. That is exactly what you want in a teammate. I expect nothing less of him every time he is in the car. Had a fantastic weekend I can’t thank them enough for doing it and really happy for everybody on the team.”
HOME RACE FOR YOU, HOME RACE FOR THE TEAM, LAST RACE FOR THE CAR, PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR A WIN HERE:
ERIC CURRAN: “I mean it’s truly unbelievable for us really. It’s interesting to think back and 19 years ago I was winning IT races in SCCA at Lime Rock Park. This is my home track. I used to come here as a kid and sit in the outfield with my father. This is home track I’m from Massachusetts and it couldn’t be better to put this all together here this weekend. Most importantly Sonny Whelen is sitting up in that white tent right above us right there and all of his Team Fox members, but most importantly Sonny Whelen we wouldn’t be here without him. He supports this team through all the stuff that we have been through continues to support it, a superb guy and it’s just amazing to get the pole and to lead a bunch and then to win the race at Lime Rock Park. It’s the last race for us in the GT car and it really has good momentum going into our Corvette DP direction that we are going to do for next year. This is just awesome. Lawson (Aschenbach) did an amazing job. Lawson and I are teammates on a regular basis anyway in the Continental CKS Camaro. It’s fun to jump over here and do a race here together and it really couldn’t have went better. Pole, win, home track, Sonny Whelen is here on the hill, Team Fox all the members. Have to thank Marsh Racing, Teddy (Marsh) all the guys working so hard to get us here and we’ve got a big road ahead next year with the DP. To finish here home track Whelen Engineering all the folks at Whelen Chester Connecticut right up the road. All my family, friend, everybody it couldn’t be sweeter to pull this off together here. I have to thank Lawson and Marsh Racing and Sonny Whelen and everybody that helps put this together. Awesome.”
DID YOU FEEL ANY CHALLENGE THERE COMING ON AT THE END FROM PAT LONG BEFORE HE HAD HIS INCIDENT?
ERIC CURRAN: “Oh yeah for sure. I think the No. 63 Ferrari put the pressure on me pretty hard. I just wanted to keep him behind me and not burn the tires off the car which is easy to do here. The No. 63 was tough and yeah you never want to have Pat Long in your mirror (laughs). I mean that is no fun. The traffic kind of helped me some. The DP stuff is really tricky here. These guys will tell you too the DP’s are passing you in crazy places and you are just trying to work with them the best you can. The track is so narrow and it’s tough. The No. 63 pressured me and Pat Long definitely put the pressure on. The traffic kind of helped me. It looked like Pat got tangled up with somebody at the end. I hate to see that for Pat he is a good friend of mine, but it made it a little easier for me I’ve got to say.”
MATT BELL, NO. 9 STEVENSON CAMARO CHEVROLET GS.R – FINISHED SECOND IN CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE RACE:
YOU DEFINITELY GAVE A VALIANT EFFORT THERE AT THE END. TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY:
“I don’t get a chance to finish many races so this is a lot of fun and that is just trial by fire. It was very tough. I said over the radio it felt like I was driving in the wet and everyone else was in the dry. It’s not completely true, but it was very difficult. I would understeer turning in and big oversteer coming out. My best bet was to just kind of park them at the apex. I would just watch my mirror every time he would pop out and try to get a run I would be like ‘well I’m pushing too hard anyway.’ Back off get under my tire and try to power on. That worked for a while, but he had such a good car off the final corner which is obviously the most important turn on the track. I just could only last so long. Unfortunate couldn’t hold on for just one more lap.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE EFFORT OF THIS TEAM THIS YEAR?
“It’s been an unbelievable season actually. We have had a lot of difficult seasons, a lot of breakages. Really trying to cut our teeth with this car and we really didn’t feel like we were done. We had a bunch of issues and we really felt or personally I felt like this is the first year we’ve really had a handle on this car. It’s not for not trying. The effort they have put in between running the car through CAS technologies and just everything that Chevy gives us it’s been a huge effort and as sad as I am to see Charlotte (referring to the car) here go I’m very excited to see what Chevy brings us next year.”
JOHN EDWARDS, NO. 9 STEVENSON CAMARO CHEVROLET GS.R – FINISHED SECOND
ON HIS DAY:
“It was a little nail biting, but Matt (Bell) drove as hard as he could. I knew the car was going to struggle at the end of the stint particularly when some of the fast guys are in the cars and putting pressure on him. You could see the car sliding coming out of (turn) two every lap and you could see it pushing into the downhill and then sliding coming out. I knew he was driving for his life right there. I think we can accept second as a good result, but it’s a little frustrating losing on the last lap as always.”
LAKEVILLE, Conn. – September 28, 2013 – For the second consecutive year, Chevrolet has won the GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype (DP) Engine Manufacturers’ Championship. Today’s win by Wayne Taylor Racing in the season finale at Lime Rock Park capped the championship-winning effort by the seven Corvette DP teams.
“Winning the GRAND-AM Rolex Series Engine Manufacturers’ Championship for the second consecutive year is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the Corvette DP teams and drivers,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicle and Motorsports. “Our partners at Earnhardt-Childress Racing along with our Powertrain team worked each and every week to deliver the right combination of power, fuel economy and durability. It was truly a team effort. “
On the way to winning the coveted title, Chevrolet’s Corvette DP teams and drivers won eight of the 12 races held during 2013 season.
“With the efforts of Earnhardt-Childress Racing, the technical support Pratt and Miller provides, as well at the expertise from GM Racing Powertrains, Chevrolet Racing in the Rolex Series has accomplished a great deal this season,” said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing. “As a new chapter is set to begin with the debut of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship in January, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway, we are honored to leave the final event of the GRAND-AM Rolex Series as a champion.”
The Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype team and driver roster that contributed to Chevrolet capturing the Manufacturers’ title are: Wayne Taylor Racing – Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor. GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing – Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney; Spirit of Daytona Racing – Richard Westbrook and Ricky Taylor; Action Express Racing (two cars) – Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa, Brian Frisselle, and Burt Frisselle and 8 Star Motorsports (two cars) Enzo Potolicchio, Stephane Sarrazin, Michael Valiante, Sebastien Bourdais and Emilio DiGuida.
“Congratulations to our Chevrolet teams and all of our technical partners on winning the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Series DP Engine Manufacturers’ Championship,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. “The level of cooperation and dedication among our Corvette Daytona Prototype teams, in addition to the tremendous support from our technical partner were the key components of this championship-winning effort. I am very proud of the contributions made by everyone involved in this program, and celebrate this achievement for Chevrolet as we move to the Tudor United SportsCar Championship in 2014.”
Chevrolet Racing will return to competition in 2014 as the inaugural season of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship begins with the 52ND running of the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona International Speedway on January 24-26, 2014.
2013 CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE RACE WINS:
• Circuit of the Americas – No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing
• Barber Motorsports Park – No. 10 Velocity WW Wayne Taylor Racing
• Streets of Belle Isle – Detroit – No. 10 Velocity WW Wayne Taylor Racing
• Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – No. 5 Action Express Racing
• Watkins Glen International – No. 5 Action Express Racing
• Kansas Speedway – No. 10 Velocity WW Wayne Taylor Racing
• Laguna Seca Raceway – No. 10 Velocity WW Wayne Taylor Racing
• Lime Rock Park – No. 10 Velocity WW Wayne Taylor Racing
Third win of season and GT championship lead for No. 3 Compuware Corvette
AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 21, 2013) – Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia scored their second straight victory in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class on Saturday, winning the eighth round of the championship at Circuit of The Americas. Garcia led the final 58 minutes in his No. 3 Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.R under intense pressure to win by less than a second.
Their third victory of the season moved Garcia and Magnussen into the lead of the ALMS GT drivers’ championship with two rounds remaining. The result bolstered Chevrolet’s lead in the manufacturer standings and Corvette Racing’s advantage in the team championship.
“The ALMS GT class is ultra-competitive,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Corvette Racing’s teamwork was the key element to put us in the best positions to race for a win today. Preparation, strategy, flawless pit stops and incredible driving by Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia delivered a fifth win for Corvette Racing this season. The championship points standings remain very tight. Our focus remains on prep for the final two races of the season.”
Saturday’s race will air on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
On the opposite end of the spectrum were Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. Their No. 4 Corvette lost its transmission just shy of the one-hour mark. The duo entered the weekend with the drivers’ championship lead.
Milner started from third but moved to lead class lead at the start the race as both Corvettes got around the pole-sitting BMW before Turn 1. Magnussen dropped back to third but moved up two positions and into the lead 10 minutes later when the then-race leading Viper went wide off track and forced Milner to back off slightly.
Two stellar pit stops and an incredible strategic call on the team’s first stop put Garcia in the lead for good with a little less than an hour remaining. The Spaniard fended off multiple charges from Dirk Muller by timing the race traffic just right. He was able to put slower cars between himself and his competitors on numerous occasions to build gaps from as little as 0.2 seconds to 1.5 and 2 seconds at a time.
In the No. 4 Corvette, Milner reported having issues shifting up to third gear 11 minutes in, and the problem grew worse when the car lost drive in fourth gear at the 57-minute mark. It stopped halfway around the circuit and could not continue.
“It was great to see the Corvette Racing team salute our Corvette customers in the Corvette Corral directly across from our pit location with a win,” Campbell said. “We race to improve the production car, and we race for our Corvette owners.”
The next race for Corvette Racing is the Oak Tree Grand Prix on Saturday, Oct. 5 from Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Va. The race will air on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 6 with live coverage at 2 p.m. ET, Oct. 5 on ESPN3.
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“We made the right decision with strategy. We saw the No. 55 BMW stop early before because of traffic, and that’s why our team decided to pit me early as well (on the last stop). I knew we were pitting before everyone else and I had to be really focused and aggressive on my out-lap on new tires. That’s what I think gave us the lead. From that point, traffic played a huge role in this race. From Turn 3 to Turn 8, no one could pass. I’m sure all the prototypes were getting mad behind us, and we were getting mad at the GT Challenge cars. So basically we needed to stay in line and stay aggressive. There was a point with 30 minutes to go where Dirk (Muller) right on my bumper. I thought it was going to be a really long finish with 30 minutes of holding him back. There was no traffic at that point, but when I did see traffic I knew that was my only opportunity. I was really aggressive and could build a gap over him. In the end, it’s second victory in a row for us and the GT championship lead. I’m very happy.”
(Have you driven in a stint that intense?) “I have but I was chasing people for a long time. Last year, we were there in four or five races in a row where we couldn’t make the winning pass. The team did a great job on strategy by stopping Jan earlier so the fuel fill was a little shorter. We know that from being in the lead, other cars have to work harder to pass you. “
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“The start was mayhem. A lot of cars were trying to get into turns 1 and 2. I went three-wide with a prototype and my teammate and didn’t win anything. I lost a spot to the other Corvette. When things got settled, we were struggling to get by the Prototype Challenge cars, which at that point hadn’t gotten up to speed. It was really hard to get back into a rhythm and go for it from there. I was able to just about hang on to one of the Vipers, which was extremely fast at the beginning. Once we pitted, I handed over to Antonio. Once all the stops were over, we were in the lead. After that, Antonio did a fantastic job with all the pressure he faced.”
(How tough was it to watch the finish?) “It’s nerve-wracking and frustrating to watch someone else be under the kind of pressure Antonio was under. I know exactly what he was going through, and you’re honestly exploding inside. I looked at the clock with 17 minutes left and watched a lot of racing. Then I looked up again and the clock said 16 minutes! That clock was counting down very slowly. You feel pretty helpless there watching the monitor. I think what makes you so nervous when you’re watching the race is that you get all the information – all the lap times, who is going fast and who isn’t, and all the TV cameras. It was no good!”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“It was an extremely disappointing day for the No. 4 car. We were encouraged by Friday’s qualifying performance, and Tommy’s strong start to the lead put us in an ideal position. But in racing, bad luck can strike at any time and it hit us today in a most inopportune time. We still have a lot to race for during the final two rounds to help Chevrolet and Corvette Racing secure another ALMS championship. Congratulations to Antonio, Jan and the No. 3 team on a phenomenal victory in an absolutely stunning race.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“It’s a disappointing day. A gremlin that was around all weekend finally bit hard in the race, which is unfortunate. It doesn’t kill our drivers’ championship hopes but it puts a big damper on them. It’s great for the No. 3 guys. It’s hard to be too mad because our teammates are out front, doing well and have won two in a row. So that’s good for them. This is how a two-car team should be. We have two very good teams and two very good cars. The weekend started pretty poorly in general. But we had a great qualifying effort, which was a whole team effort. We had great cars in the race, obviously. All credit to Corvette Racing.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“The drive that Antonio put on the last hour-and-a-half of that race was as strong an effort as I’ve seen in my time in the ALMS. It was just an incredible drive – precision, skill, being cool under fire – that demonstrates all the things we represent at Corvette Racing. Antonio Garcia put on an awesome show for the fans today. If you didn’t enjoy this one, nothing will make you happy.”
DOUG LOUTH, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, CORVETTE RACING
“Kyle Millay in the No. 3 car and Chuck Houghton on the No. 4 did a phenomenal job with the car setups. Facing a new track with a different mix of segment types than we usually see and the hottest track temps we’ve had in years, they came up with a package relatively unusual for us that obviously had great long-run pace and consistency. Jan and Antonio were spot on; Antonio’s drive to work traffic and hold off the BMW is one of the best I’ve ever watched. And of course the No. 3 crew had two perfect pit stops. As close as the finish was, anything less than perfect would have put us mid-pack. The No. 4 car had a tough day, but the guys were just as successful getting their car tuned for the hot conditions as Tommy showed early in the race.”
Oak Tree Grand Prix (all times ET)
• GT Testing: 3:30-5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 3
• Practice 1: 10:25 a.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• Practice 2: 2:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• GT Qualifying: 4:05 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4
• Warmup: 9:35 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 5
• Race: 2:15 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 5
VIR: Watch It!
Friday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 6 (all times ET)
• Qualifying: Live – 3:25 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4 (ESPN3)
Team makes massive gains from practice to qualifying on damp day in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 20, 2013) – Corvette Racing didn’t let heavy rains and an unfamiliar track deter its efforts in qualifying Friday for the inaugural American Le Mans Series race at Circuit of The Americas. The two Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs earned the second- and third-place starting spots in the GT field for Saturday’s two-hour, 45-minute race.
ESPN2 will air at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday with live coverage available on ESPN3 beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette qualified on the outside of the GT front row with a lap of 2:17.442 (89.056 mph) around the 3.4-mile, 20-turn layout. The Spaniard, who drives with Jan Magnussen, set his best time on his final lap to overtake teammate Oliver Gavin for the second spot.
Gavin posted a best lap of 2:17.594 (88.957 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette. The Englishman and seatmate Tommy Milner come to Circuit of the Americas with a two-point lead in the GT drivers’ standings as they try to repeat as class champions. Garcia and Magnussen are second in the championship and sit just two points back.
In the manufacturer standings, Chevrolet leads BMW by 20 points. Corvette Racing also heads the team championship with three rounds left in the season.
Friday’s qualifying effort saw a remarkable turnaround for the two Corvettes. After placing fourth and seventh in the day’s first practice and fifth and eighth in the second session, team and Michelin tire engineers developed a sound strategy for time trials. The results spoke for themselves. Only Joey Hand qualified faster at 2:17.178 (89.227 mph).
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
International Sports Car Weekend (all times CT)
• Warmup: 8 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 21
• Race: 3:45 p.m., Saturday Sept. 21
Circuit of The Americas: Watch It!
Saturday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 22 (all times ET)
“We know this track appeared to be very aggressive on tires. So over 15 minutes you only have two or three shots at a good lap. My very first lap, the balance wasn’t quite there. So I knew where to push on my second run. I put together a very, very nice lap. It is great to have Corvette Racing in P2 and P3, especially after how the last session went. We knew the performance was there but couldn’t quite put it together. But I am very happy. The car was really good.”
(His best lap) “On the very last lap, the tires were giving up on the last three corners. At one point I thought comparing that lap to my previous best that I could go down in the 2:16s but the tires just gave up over the last few corners. Still, it was pretty decent work and happy to be on the first row.”
(Starting second and third) “Being up front is always good. We know anything can happen. In a situation like Baltimore, just being one spot or one row behind where we were would have put us out of the race. You cannot predict that but for sure being on the front row gives you the best shot in the race.”
(The fight with BMW) “We are the meat in the sandwich. For sure, we’ve seeing again that the four strongest cars are from both manufacturers. They will be very strong tomorrow so we will see how it develops. We still don’t know how the weather will be. If it is part of the race, it will come down to the pits and crews again. As I’ve said in the past, Corvette Racing is the best third driver you can have. I’m glad to be in this position.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“This is a big fill-up for us. It’s been a difficult couple of sessions for us, and we didn’t look so good in the rain early on. But we worked away at a plan. (Lead engineer) Chuck (Houghton) and the guys from Michelin worked hard together as well with the No. 3 car and us to put a plan together of how we were going to run the session. We knew that we had to do (the times) early to make it work, and it did. So we’re pleased to be second and third. My strategy after the first timed lap maybe wasn’t as aggressive as Antonio’s in terms of what he did to get the performance back for his (final) timed lap. But he did a fantastic job to get to that time. This is a very solid place for us to start the race tomorrow.”
(On the race outlook) “I think it will be dry and we will just have to see. It’s a little bit of an unknown for all of us being here for the first time – seeing what tire life is like, how cars hang up in the heat and how the race evolves. The track will be washed off today and should rubber up for our race. Balance of the cars may change throughout and how cars react to certain things. Things like tire pressures and different compounds… It will be very busy on top of the timing stand to make sure we’re on top of all that.”
(Adjustments from practice to qualifying) “The biggest change was our approach with the tire, understanding it and how we were going to get the lap time from that tire and which particular wet tire we were going to run. It looked like we made the right choice because we made a nice little jump. I’m pleased with that. I far prefer to start second and third than eighth and ninth.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“We saw earlier in the week the challenge that Circuit of The Americas can present. Those were amplified today with periods of heavy rain and a wet track. The improvements our engineers – both from Corvette Racing and our partners at Michelin – and crew made between practice and qualifying was the stuff of champions. Baltimore proved how critical your starting position can be, and having our Corvettes second and third on the grid gives us a great chance to secure important championship points.”
‘Flying Dentist’ is oldest living American to race at Le Mans 24 Hours
AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 20, 2013) – Through the years, Corvette and Chevrolet have had the honor of racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A number of American sports car achievements have come from Corvette drivers over the years, and those contributions will be front and center during a special ceremony this weekend at Circuit of The Americas.
Friday evening, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the governing body of Le Mans, will honor Dr. Dick Thompson, the oldest living American to race at Le Mans. “The Flying Dentist” won multiple SCCA national championships from the mid-1950s to early-1960s, and Thompson was part of Corvette’s initial journey to Le Mans in 1960 in one of Briggs Cunningham’s three Corvettes.
Cunningham’s trio of cars, plus a fourth entered by Camoradi USA, started a dramatic shift in the perception of Corvette as a global sports car brand. Corvette Racing’s debut of the C5-R at the great race in 2000 added to its rich history. Since that time, Corvette Racing captured seven class victories at Le Mans with the C5-R and C6.R.
As part of this weekend’s tribute, both of Corvette Racing’s Compuware Corvette C6.Rs that race in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class will feature the names of every American driver who has raced at Le Mans in the race’s first 90 years. Included on that list are seven American drivers who drove or currently drive for Corvette Racing.
The ALMS shares the COTA weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship.
JIM CAMPBELL, CHEVROLET VICE PRESIDENT, PERFORMANCE VEHICLES AND MOTORSPORTS
“We salute and honor all of the American drivers who have competed at Le Mans, including Dr. Dick Thompson for his achievements. He was inducted in the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2000 – a very special honor in the Corvette community. I personally had the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Thompson at the 12 Hours of Sebring a number of years ago, where we sat in the 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer. It was extra special because he had actually raced that car.”
PIERRE FILLON, PRESIDENT, AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE L’OUEST
“As part of the ceremonies linked to the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest is pleased to honor the American drivers who have raced at Le Mans through their most senior, Dr. Dick Thompson, a former Corvette driver. An iconic American brand, Corvette’s racing history is tied to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and there could be no more appropriate a manufacturer to carry the names of all the U.S. drivers who have distinguished themselves at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 20, 2013) – Continuing its commitment to revolutionize sports car racing in North America, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today announced a 12-race schedule for the 2014 debut season of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship starting with the 52nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26.
“We have created a premium schedule for sports car fans, taking our new championship to some of the best road racing facilities in North America,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “Our event lineup also underscores the cooperative spirit of the merger between the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS). The ‘best of both worlds’ approach, our shared guidepost throughout the merger process, is certainly evident when you look at the 2014 schedule.
“We had many interested parties but for 2014, we only considered facilities from our 2013 Rolex Series and ALMS schedules. That was in fairness to our existing track partners, who have been such strong supporters of both series. The first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season will feature iconic tracks deeply rich in history. We are very proud of this group of 12 facilities which have been selected for the inaugural season.”
Illustrating the post-merger synergy is the fact that the 2014 lineup features four race tracks currently on the Rolex Series schedule, four that are on the current ALMS schedule and four that are on both series’ 2013 slates.
In addition, preseason test sessions have been set for Nov. 16-17 at Sebring International Raceway and Nov. 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. The test sessions will be open to all four classes of cars that will compete in the new championship: Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona. Session schedules will be announced in the near future.
The 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship schedule rundown:
• Jan. 25-26: Daytona International Speedway … The 52nd running of the Rolex 24 will be perhaps the most significant sports car race in the history of North America, as the debut event for the new championship.
• March 15 Sebring International Raceway … The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh From Florida – North America’s oldest sports car race – will be run for the 62nd time. … For the first time since 1998, the Daytona and Sebring endurance classics will be part of the same series and under the same sanctioning (IMSA). … Previously the ALMS’ premier event.
• April 12 Long Beach … Longtime ALMS street race again in conjunction with IZOD IndyCar Series. … Prototype and GT Le Mans classes will compete in one of the largest and most important consumer markets (Southern California) for nearly all TUDOR United SportsCar Championship stakeholders.
• May 4 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca … Historic Monterey, California circuit considered hallowed ground for sports car racing. … On both series’ schedules this season.
• May 31: Detroit Belle Isle … Also a companion street-race event to IndyCar. … Will feature the Prototype, Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona classes. … The Rolex Series has raced at Detroit the last two years; previously, the ALMS was part of the Detroit weekend. The “Motor City” is home to many of the auto manufacturers participating in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship plus numerous supplier partners.
• June 29: Watkins Glen International … The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen endurance event in Watkins Glen, New York has been a staple on the Rolex Series schedule. … Event started in 1968 and for many years was part of IMSA’s former Camel GT Series.
• July 13: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park … Historic Bowmanville, Ontario circuit – currently amid a massive renovation project – is retained from the ALMS schedule.
• July 25: Indianapolis Motor Speedway … Brickyard Grand Prix will again join the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend for third consecutive year, with Friday-at-dusk finish. … Previous two years was part of Rolex Series schedule.
• Aug. 10: Road America … Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin track has been on both ALMS and Rolex Series schedules. … Hosted historic event this season when both series raced there on the same weekend.
• Aug. 24: Virginia International Raceway … Danville, Virginia track has fervent fan following and an ALMS race next month. … Formerly part of the Rolex Series schedule. … Event will have a combined GT Le Mans/GT Daytona race and another race featuring the Prototype Challenge class.
• Sept. 20: Circuit of The Americas … Spectacular year-old road racing facility in Austin, Texas hosted the Rolex Series in the spring this season and is hosting the ALMS and FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend.
• Oct. 4: Road Atlanta … The Petit Le Mans, traditional 10-hour or 1,000 mile ALMS season finale at the storied Braselton, Georgia road course. … Event will retain its status as a link with the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With three circuits (Long Beach, Detroit Belle Isle and Virginia International Raceway) on the 2014 schedule not having all four TUDOR United SportsCar Championship classes competing, each class (Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona) will race 11 times next season.
“This is, without a doubt, the best sports car schedule in the history of North America,” said IMSA President and COO Scott Atherton. “When we announced the merger plans last year, we immediately envisioned a dream schedule, one that our industry and, most importantly, our fans would embrace. Although it wasn’t easy, we feel like we have arrived at just that. There were so many options to consider and we could have added more events, but we had to ensure that we didn’t over-tax our industry. So, we stuck to our plan of going with the ‘best of the best’ and capped the lineup at 12 events.
“This lineup will have it all – historic road courses, major market street circuits and two of the most spectacular superspeedways in the world, Daytona and Indy. And it also will have the continent’s new jewel – Circuit of the Americas. Overall, a dream schedule, indeed.”
