O’Connell wins, Pilgrim second

TORONTO, (July 14, 2013) – Team Cadillac driver Johnny O’Connell won today’s running of the Pirelli World Challenge Toronto Grand Prix GT at Exhibition Place. Teammate Andy Pilgrim made it a Cadillac one – two by coming second.

In qualifying this morning O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) put his No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V on the pole with a time of 1:10.304, his sixth pole position of the season. Teammate Pilgrim drove his No. 8 CTS-V to a fourth place qualifying run with a time of 1:10.832.

“The practice that we had on Friday was minimal,” O’Connell said. “I had a slight brake issue on my car in practice. I was able to run strong in practice, but just didn’t have the full confidence I needed. Team Cadillac did a great job to get it fixed for qualifying. I was excited going into this morning’s session. Even though we weren’t on the track yesterday, I got a million laps in watching the IndyCar race and the Touring Car guys. I had already driven the perfect lap in my head. On my first flying lap, I made a little mistake and then on my second I could not have asked for a more perfect lap. This Cadillac team gets better every race weekend. We are making improvements on the small things every race. That is why this team is successful.”

Pilgrim also had a strong practice and qualifying run.

“Practice on Friday morning was good,” Pilgrim said. “Turn One was very slippery that first practice, almost like it was wet. The officials did some work on it for the IndyCar guys, combine that with the rubber from the weekend and it wasn’t that bad today. The whole track was faster. I had a good qualifying run. I was ok for a while in second position early in the session, but got pimped by a couple of cars later. Our car usually runs the fast laps at the beginning of the session not the end. Starting fourth is tough on a street course because it is so hard to pass. I will just have to manage my race and take advantage of every opportunity today.”

When the lights on the starting lamp went off at 12:50 pm this afternoon, the Volvo of Alex Figge, starting second, got the jump on O’Connell into Turn One. Pilgrim filled in fourth position. As the race progressed O’Connell was hounding the Volvo for the top spot in GT. On lap 12, with reported water on the track in Turn Six, Figge spun and O’Connell assumed the lead. Nine laps later, the No. 14 Audi of James Sofronas had a moment going into Turn One, went wide, which allowed Pilgrim to take over the second position. For the remainder of the 50-minute race, the No. 3 and No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V cars went on to take the checkered flag. O’Connell logs his fourth win of the season.

“The Volvo got a great start, as we expected,” O’Connell said. “He was able to hold a nine or ten car lead to me. I was pushing. I couldn’t close on him. In Turn 11 he got caught up in traffic and I was able to get by. The lap I went by, Figge spun, I think in the water that was on the track in Turn Six. That was pretty much the race. The Cadillac was good all 50-minutes. The handling was pretty good in this heat. I had to manage the tires, but everything worked out.”

Pilgrim also had some luck with front running competitors.

“I had a good start,” Pilgrim said. “Sofronas was able to get by me and I fell in line. It was really tight for the first few laps. We were headed into Turn One and Sofronas locked the rears and went straight on and had a long lazy spin, giving me the position. Johnny and I were running second and fourth, with a good four way battle upfront. They made us look better than we were with what happened to the Volvo and the Audi. We will take it. It was a good win for Johnny. I am happy with second. We also had a good manufacturer point weekend.”

The Pirelli World Challenge GT race from Toronto will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, August 18 at 2 p.m. ET. The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET.

The series will travel to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a double race weekend Aug.2-4.

Pilgrim and O’Connell have Toronto miles

DETROIT, (July 9, 2013) – Team Cadillac drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell are headed to the Pirelli World Challenge Toronto Grand Prix with a lot of momentum based upon their finishes last weekend at Lime Rock Park. The GT series will run a single race this weekend on Sunday, July 14.

Cadillac has earned the manufacturers points lead in the Pirelli World Challenge GT category. With help from a win and a third place in last weekend’s races at Lime Rock Park O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is second in points, 31 back from first. Teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) is third in the GT standings, 95 back from O’Connell.

The series is making a return to the streets of Toronto after a three-year hiatus. The track that traverses around Exhibition Place is not new to the Cadillac duo. O’Connell has turned laps there in an open-wheel Atlantic car and Pilgrim last raced in the Canadian city in 2010 and before that in 2007 in the first-generation Cadillac CTS-V.

“I ran the Cadillac back in 2007,” Pilgrim said. “I qualified fourth and finished fourth in the first-generation CTS-V race car. In 2010, I drove the Volvo and finished third. Toronto is a lot like the track in St. Petersburg. It is not as wide as the Long Beach circuit. More like St. Pete without the straight-away. It is narrow and there are not a lot of passing zones. You really have a lot of mid speed and sharp turns connected by narrow alley ways. It is a challenging track, not a lot of room to pass, which means bumping and rubbing.”

“You have to have a car that can turn in well and then get the power down quickly,” he continued. “You also have to carry a lot of momentum through the mid speed turns. It think the Audi should have the advantage at Toronto.”

Although O’Connell last raced at the 1.7-mile, 11-turn circuit in the early 90s, the track has remained basically the same.

“They haven’t changed the layout of the circuit really at all since I raced Atlantics there in 1990,” O’Connell said. “Maybe little nuance things here and there. Team Cadillac has done well on the street courses and we hope to show well in Toronto this weekend.”

“At this time in the season and where we are at in the points we have to attack every race,” he continued. “Team Cadillac has a lot of engineering expertise and that gets us off of the trailer fast at these tracks. The biggest challenge of this series is not having a lot of track time, especially at these shared street events with IndyCar. You have to be pretty close on your setup right off of the truck. Team Cadillac is deep and that is an advantage for us. The crew is well practiced. We rarely have car issues that keep us off the track.”

The Pirelli World Challenge GT race will take the standing start on Sunday, July 14 at 12:30 p.m. ET in Toronto. The Toronto race will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, August 18 at 2 p.m. ET.

The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET.

Hard-charging effort pays off with another podium finish

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 6, 2013) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen stood on the podium at Lime Rock Park for the second straight season with a runner-up finish Saturday in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R ran a nearly flawless race to lead Corvette Racing’s effort in the fourth round of the American Le Mans Series.

The result, which played out for a live television audience on ESPN2, moved Garcia and Magnussen from fifth in the ALMS’ GT driver’s championship into a provisional three-way tie for second.

Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin finished sixth in a trying race. The defending ALMS GT champions stand third in the provisional standings. Corvette Racing is tied for first in the team standings, and Chevrolet continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship.

Magnussen drove his entire stint in the car under green flag conditions on the crowded and steamy Lime Rock circuit. Starting from third, he pitted just over an hour into the race to hand over to Garcia. The hard-charging Spaniard chased down the first-place BMW and clicked off faster laps than the race leader before a late-race caution period halted his charge.

Misfortune struck Milner early as the driver’s side mirror broke after contact with a Ferrari early. He fell to 11th in class but worked his way up to seventh by the first pit stop. Gavin entered the race in fifth but the team was assessed a stop-and-go penalty when the Corvette left the pitlane with a cable still attached. Gavin also sustained minor damage when a prototype attempting to overtake him instead made contact.

“Today we saw both sides of racing at Lime Rock Park,” said Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan. “”It provided great entertainment for the fans with Jan and Antonio giving it their all and earning a well-deserved, runner-up finish. On the other end of the spectrum, I know Tommy, Oliver and the No. 4 crew would have liked to be part of the fight at the end. We head next to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – a track that should favor our Corvettes and keep us in the GT championship hunt.”

Next up for Corvette Racing is the Grand Prix of Mosport on Sunday, July 21 from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. It is the fifth round of this year’s ALMS championship.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“Corvette Racing again did an awesome job. It was the second race in row, plus Le Mans, where we gave 110 percent. We made very good calls and very good pit stops. I think we forced the BMW to take two tires at the end. I don’t think they believed they could stay ahead of us. They took that gamble. I don’t know how much it helped them to take that last yellow; maybe it cooled down everything. At that point, you don’t really know their strategy. I was saving tires and don’t know if they were. Looking at the last four laps how much they were suffering, I don’t know in a full green race what would have happened. I knew the race would come down to tires. We managed things as best we could. We had a very strong car, very good strategy and very good points for the championship.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“It surprised me that I did my whole stint under green. It’s not like anyone was falling off but they managed to get back on so as to not cause a safety car. I don’t know if people were getting too hot but the driving standards were quite bad. The gap (from Garcia to the leader) was closed up at the end and we wanted Antonio to have as much time as he needed to see if he could do anything about the BMW. Whether it was six or eight minutes, it probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. It looked like Antonio had the car at the end. Had we been right with the BMW, maybe we could have done something. Second is probably the best result we were going to have, so I’m very happy.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“To say that this was a frustrating day would be an understatement. The race didn’t start well for us and never got better. The contact Tommy suffered put us behind early, and we found out again that it is near impossible to recover. The penalty was unfortunate and clearly didn’t help matters. Traffic was more of an issue than ever before but it’s a by-product of the circuit layout. Great result for Jan and Antonio; Tommy and I are eager for similar results again.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“We got completely hosed at the start by a competitor who decided to drive into me for the entire length of the braking zone in Turn 1, which knocked the mirror off. I checked out after that and had a nice little race going on before we had to pit to replace the mirror. The guys did an awesome job changing it out. Then on our pit stop, we just didn’t execute and got a penalty for that to put us back again. Traffic was just awful. It made everyone frustrated. You had to drive around in many cases at half your ability. It’s been a frustrating few days and months but we will learn from this and go to Canada with even more determination and desire. We’ll have to make up for these bad couple of races with a win. That’s how it has to be.”

Grand Prix of Mosport (all times ET)

GT Qualifying: 3:50 p.m., Saturday, July 20

Race: Noon, Sunday July 21

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park: Watch It!

Saturday, July 20-Sunday, July 21 (all times ET)

Qualifying: 3:20 p.m., Saturday, July 20 (ESPN3)

Race (TV): Live – 1 p.m., Sunday, July 21 (ESPN2)

Web: Live – 11:45 a.m., Sunday, July 21 (ESPN3)

O’Connell first, Pilgrim second

LIME ROCK, Conn., (July 6, 2013) – Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim drove their CTS-Vs to first and second-place finishes in the second of two races in today’s Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

Coming back from second and third-place finishes, Pilgrim second and O’Connell third, in yesterday’s Pirelli World Challenge race one at Lime Rock, the duo improved one position each on today’s podium to make it a Team Cadillac win for O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and second place for teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.).

Starting from the pole, based upon running the fastest lap in yesterday’s race, O’Connell was able to speed off into the lead. Teammate Pilgrim started third, directly behind the No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V of O’Connell, but the Volvo of Randy Post beat him to Turn One, putting the Cadillac drivers one and three for the first nine laps. On lap nine, Pilgrim was hounding Pobst and made the pass into Turn Three. The race witnessed one caution on lap 27, which bunched the field. On the restart, there was the lapped No.12 Nissan of Tim Bell between O’Connell and Pilgrim. Pilgrim made quick work of the Nissan, but his pursuers were caught behind the GTR as the Cadillac duo were able to get some breathing room thanks to lap traffic.

“I got a break on the start. Yesterday’s winner Mike Skeen in the Corvette had some problems and had to pit leaving me alone on the front row for the standing start,” O’Connell said. “It was too bad. I was kind of looking forward to a good drag race with my CTS-V and that Corvette to Turn One. The half-time yellow brought us all back together. Up to that point I was really easy with my inputs, making sure to keep the car as solid as possible. Boy when the clouds came over for brief periods you could really feel the difference.”

“It was a good day and good weekend for points for Team Cadillac,” he said. “This has opened up the door for the championship for us. We have put some points pressure on the No. 14 car (Audi of James Sofronas) for the championship and gained some valuable manufacturer points for Cadillac. I am excited about how the weekend went and how the whole team has worked here at Lime Rock.”

Pilgrim had a strong weekend with two second-place finishes and a good drive chasing O’Connell today.

“I had a little worry at the start,” Pilgrim said. “When we went out on the pace lap before the race, the clutch was soft, maybe some air in the system. So I was really pumping it up all the way to the five-second board with the hope that it would work for the standing start. The team asked if I wanted to come in, but I had to try it, and it worked out. Randy got around me on the start. A few laps later I was right on him into Turn Three, he got caught up by traffic and I was able to get by him.”

“The Nissan really helped us on the restart,” he continued. “I am sure the guys behind us are upset. With the Nissan holding guys up Johnny and I were able to separate ourselves from the rest of the field a little for the run to the checker.”

The Pirelli World Challenge GT Series will have only five days off as the teams head to Toronto, Canada for a single race weekend to run Sunday, July 12.

The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET.

Compuware Corvettes to start third, fifth in GT at Lime Rock

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

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

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

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

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

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

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

Qualified third, 51.490 seconds (103.057 mph)

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

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

Qualified fifth, 51.537 seconds (102.963 mph)

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

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix (all times ET)

• ·         Race: 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6

Lime Rock: Watch It!

Saturday, July 6 (all times ET)

• ·         Race (TV): 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN2)
• ·         Web: 2:45 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN3)

ALMS GT Championship Standings

Driver Standings

1. 1. Dirk Muller – 42
2. 2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 39
3. 3. Dominik Farnbacher/ Marc Goossens – 37
4. 4. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 34
5. 5. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 30   

Team Standings

1. 1. Corvette Racing – 56
2. 2. BMW Team RLL – 52
3. 3. SRT Motorsports – 37
4. 4. Risi Competizione – 28
5. 5. Paul Miller Racing – 26

Manufacturer Standings

1. 1. Chevrolet – 59
2. 2. BMW – 52
3. 3. Ferrari – 43
4. 4. SRT – 40
5. 5. Porsche – 37

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock

Year: 2004

Class: GTS

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C5-R

Notes: Beretta pole, fastest race lap

Year: 2005

Class: GT1

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Beretta pole, fastest race lap

Year: 2006

Class: GT1

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 4th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Beretta fastest race lap

Year: 2007

Class: GT1

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: O’Connell fastest race lap

Year: 2008

Class: GT1

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 1st, 2nd

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap

Year: 2010

Class: GT

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 12th, 5th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

Year: 2011

Class: GT

Drivers: Beretta/Milner, Gavin/Magnussen

Result: 9th, 10th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

Year: 2012

Class: GT

Drivers: Garcia/Magnussen, Gavin/Milner

Result: 2nd, 3rd

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

Pilgrim second, O’Connell third

LAKEVILLE, Conn., (July 5, 2013) -Team Cadillac drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell finished second and third in their CTS-Vs in the first of two races at this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of Lime Rock.  

The Cadillac duo started from the front row for today’s 50-minute race with O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) on pole. From the drop of the green with a rolling start the Georgia based driver sped off into the lead. On lap five, O’Connell was held up in traffic, giving way to the eventual winner Mike Skeen in his Corvette. Following the only caution flag of the race on lap 33, O’Connell was running second with Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) in third. Coming through the last turn of the final lap O’Connell was held up and teammate Pilgrim used his momentum to carrying him by into second at the checkered flag.

“The start was nice and clean,” Pilgrim said. “Mike got me at the beginning.  The CTS-V stayed with me really well the entire race. The guys were coming. It was really dependent on how you negotiated the traffic. Sometimes Randy [Pobst, No. 6 Volvo] was two seconds behind, the next lap he was one back.”

“Johnny got balked coming down the hill on the last lap by a green Mustang on the outside,” he said.  “I had a good run and I knew Ende [Duncan, No. 24 Audi] was right behind me so I had to keep going and I was able to get the position.”

O’Connell knows that traffic can be a gamble on a tight track like Lime Rock.

“I had a good start,” O’Connell said.  “Then we caught up to lap traffic and encountered a guy who was a little unpredictable.  I guessed one-way, which is the way the lapper went and Skeen went the other and ended up getting the position. Skeen ran a good race. He went for it. In these hot conditions, the tires were really working. Everyone was sliding around.”

“After the caution everyone had a chance to cool their tires,” he continued. “I thought Skeen would come back to me. I put a lot a pressure on him at the end going into the last turn and I got choked up a little which allowed Andy to get by me.”

For tomorrow’s second race of the Pirelli World Challenge weekend, O’Connell will again start from pole based upon today’s fastest race laps with Pilgrim right behind in third for the standing start.

The Pirelli World Challenge GT Series will run a double race weekend, July 5 and 6.  The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET. 

O’Connell on Pole, Pilgrim second

LIME ROCK, Conn., (July 4, 2013) -Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim will start from the pole and second respectively for the first of two races at this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of Lime Rock.

The team was greeted for the first practice session with near 90 degree temperatures.     

O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) led both practice sessions in his No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V with teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) at the top of the GT time sheet as well in No. 8 Cadillac.  

In qualifying O’Connell set a pole time of 51.271 seconds on his fifth lap, his fourth of the 2013 season. Pilgrim set his time of 51.357 on lap three. The pair will start their CTS-V Coupes from the front row for the first of two 50-minute races to go off tomorrow at 12:10 p.m.

“It is hot out there today,” O’Connell said. “I have to hand it to Team Cadillac. We were fast right off of the trailer. They have a lot of data from here with all of the years that Corvette and Camaro have run at this track in the past. We had a very reasonable car right from the start.”

“In qualifying I was able to get a clean lap and put one together for the pole.  That makes it a nice fourth of July with two American Cadillac CTS-Vs on the front row here at Lime Rock.” 

With six right hand turns and one left hander managing the tires is key at Lime Park.

“I was using every bit of the road in qualifying and dirt tracking the car around here this afternoon.  I dropped a wheel off at the exit of West Bend coming down the hill.  I was pushing the Cadillac hard. Lime Rock is to road racing what Bristol is to NASCAR. Traffic is going to be difficult. I think whoever keeps a cool head and doesn’t make mistakes will pull this one off.”

Pilgrim likes the team’s start to the weekend so far.

“Practice was good for us today,” Pilgrim said. “We had a lot of clean running, no practice stoppages, so we were able to try a lot of different things on each car to see what works. We made some good changes for qualifying and I had a really good car. The experience of Team Cadillac really comes out at a track like Lime Rock. I don’t have a lot of races here at this track. I think I’ve only raced here about six times in my career.”

“With a 140-degree track temperature managing the tires will be critical in the race tomorrow. We cannot get frustrated.. You can’t over drive the car and the tires. We have an all Cadillac front row, so there is a friendly face starting next to me.”

The Pirelli World Challenge GT Series will run a double race weekend, July 5 and 6.  The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET.

O’Connell has roots in region

DETROIT, (July 2, 2013) – Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim are ready for the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of Lime Rock, July 4-6.

After a month off, Team Cadillac comes into Lime Rock Park tied with Audi for first in the manufacturer standings, seven races into the 14-race schedule. O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is 146 points behind series leader James Sofronas. Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) is 59 points behind his teammate. O’Connell has had a strong first half of the year winning two races, the first at Circuit of the America’s (COTA), the second at Detroit. Pilgrim has also had a stout first half of the season, posting six top-five finishes with two second-place runs at Long Beach and Detroit.

O’Connell is a native of the northwest Connecticut area, born in nearby Poughkeepsie, New York. His father grew up there and later moved to Riverside, Connecticut. The O’Connell family burial plot is in Berry Town, about 20-miles from the track.

“I saw my first car race at Lime Rock Park,” O’Connell said. “I must have been maybe seven years old. I just remember being captivated by all of the action. We sat atop the hill overlooking turns two, three and four.”

The defending GT Champion will run the 1.5-mile, seven turn circuit without the chicane for the first time.

“Lime Rock Park is so short, we will have to deal with a lot of traffic,” he said. “So having a Cadillac CTS-V that is nimble will be critical. Since we are not using the chicane, and I’ve never run the circuit without it, I’ve found in the past that if I like my car going through West Bend, I tend to like it everywhere. I would for sure expect the Audi to be competitive this weekend. When I broke in the second race at COTA I had the opportunity to watch them through the fourth gear carousel portion of the track. Simply put, they were in a different league than every other car out there.”

Pilgrim likes the short layout of Lime Rock Park.

“I have always enjoyed Lime Rock. It’s a very different type of road course,” Pilgrim said. “The downhill right hander onto the front straight is one of my favorite turns. I believe car setup on this track is key, more so than on most road courses. There is no one corner that I focus on for setup of the Cadillac, but getting through the fast downhill right hander onto the front straight is key to a quick lap for sure.”

The Floridian has a history at Lime Rock.

“My best memory at Lime Rock was running about 60 cars in a Firestone Firehawk race there in the late 1980s,” he said. “That series was so popular. We had 60 cars in one class running for six hours. It was traffic insanity!”

The Pirelli World Challenge GT Series will run a double race weekend, July 5 and 6. The races from Lime Rock will be televised on NBC Sports, Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm ET.

Next steps toward title defenses in ALMS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix (all times ET)

• • Qualifying: 4:35 p.m., Friday, July 5
• • Race: 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6

Lime Rock: Watch It!

Friday, July 5-Saturday, July 6 (all times ET)

• • Qualifying: 4:25 p.m., Friday, July 5 (ESPN3)
• • Race (TV): 3 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN2)
• • Web: 2:45 p.m., Saturday, July 6 (ESPN3)

ALMS GT Championship Standings

Driver Standings

1. 1. Dirk Muller – 42
2. 2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 39
3. 3 .Dominik Farnbacher/ Marc Goossens – 37
4. 4. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 34
5. 5. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 30

Team Standings

1. 1. Corvette Racing – 56
2. 2. BMW Team RLL – 52
3. 3. SRT Motorsports – 37
4. 4. Risi Competizione – 28
5. 5. Paul Miller Racing – 26

Manufacturer Standings

1. 1. Chevrolet – 59
2. 2. BMW – 52
3. 3. Ferrari – 43
4. 4. SRT – 40
5. 5. Porsche – 37

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock

Year: 2004

Class: GTS

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C5-R

Notes: Beretta pole, fastest race lap

Year: 2005

Class: GT1

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Beretta pole, fastest race lap

Year: 2006

Class: GT1

Drivers: Fellows/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 4th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Beretta fastest race lap

Year: 2007

Class: GT1

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 2nd, 1st

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: O’Connell fastest race lap

Year: 2008

Class: GT1

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 1st, 2nd

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes: Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap

Year: 2010

Class: GT

Drivers: Magnussen/O’Connell, Beretta/Gavin

Result: 12th, 5th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

Year: 2011

Class: GT

Drivers: Beretta/Milner, Gavin/Magnussen

Result: 9th, 10th

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

Year: 2012

Class: GT

Drivers: Garcia/Magnussen, Gavin/Milner

Result: 2nd, 3rd

Car: Corvette C6.R

Notes:

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“Because it is such a short track, everything has to run really, really smooth. It is easy to lose time and get in a position that conflicts with your strategy. You must run the whole race full-on and 100 percent. Knowing we ran a perfect race at Laguna – and I have to say we almost ran a perfect race at Le Mans – we need a repeat to be successful at Lime Rock. Our crew is running at its best and is pumped in the job they have done. We have to be consistent and not make any mistakes. That is what it takes every race to win in the GT class.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“I enjoy driving at Lime Rock. It’s a very short lap and the penalty for making a mistake can be quite big. Lime Rock is a fun track with interesting corners and is very, very old-school. In the past we have done quite well there but it has been awhile since we have won a race there but maybe that means we are due. It will be a case of us trying to have another race like Laguna Seca where we were almost perfect. With the competition being as equal and difficult as it has been in the first three ALMS races, it will take a perfect race with perfect pit stops and a good-handling race car. We know we have that and need to execute on race day.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

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

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

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

The Victory is the Second Consecutive in 2013 for Barbosa and Fittipaldi in Corvette DP and Fourth Win in Five Races for Camaro GT.R Piloted by Liddell and Edwards

WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 30, 2013) – Action Express Racing driver Joao Barbosa battled his way to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International last year in the difficult and prestigious GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Six Hours of The Glen. Today, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) with his new co-driver, Christian Fittipaldi, Barbosa made a return trip to the Winner’s Circle to occupy the top step on the podium and once again collect the winner’s trophy for the overall win.

The pair combined to lead 30 of the 171 laps completed in the six-hour race that saw bright sunny conditions quickly replaced with heavy rain that was just as quickly replaced with blue skies and warmer temperatures. Fittipaldi held off all challengers in the final stint of the race to bring the Corvette DP to the checkered flag first.

It is the second consecutive win and the third consecutive podium finish for Barbosa and Fittipaldi this season. The victory moved the team from fifth in the DP team standings to third.

Not to be outdone, John Edwards and Robin Liddell powered the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R to the win in the Rolex Series Grand Touring Class (GT), also for the second consecutive year. The pair combined to lead a race-high 67 laps of the 164 run by the leaders in the GT class.

It is the fourth victory in the last five races for Edwards and Liddell, and closed the team to within six points of the leaders in the GT class standings.

“Our Chevrolet teams rose to the occasion today, and dealt with some changing and sometimes difficult circumstances throughout the Six Hours of the Glen,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. “It is always a rewarding experience for everyone associated with the Team Chevy program in the Rolex Series to score a win in both Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring as we did today. Congratulations to the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP team and the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro team on their repeat victories in this prestigious race.”

Equaling its best finish of the season, a runner-up run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the No. 3 8Star Motorsports Corvette DP gave Chevrolet the first and second spots on today’s DP podium. Team owner Enzo Potolicchio started the race, and then Stephane Sarrazin and Michael Valiante shared the driving duties for remainder of the event. Valiante was in the cockpit for the final stint to make a charge for the win in the closing laps.

The two Corvette Daytona DP teams that came into today’s race holding the first and second spots in the standings suffered setbacks early in the race. The No. 10 Velolcity Worldwide Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP had a mechanical issue with the shifter linkage on the opening lap of the race. The team was able to make repairs and the car driven by Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor returned to competition. The team was credited with a 10th place finish and now sits in a tie in the standings for the top spot.

The No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP piloted by Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney came into the race second in the standings, but also had to battle back from a mechanical problem early in the race. Something went awry in the steering and sent it on an off-course excursion. The team made repairs in the paddock and got the “Red Dragon” back in competition, but on the long track in a race that didn’t see a great deal of attrition, the team was relegated to a 14th place in class finishing position. They now sit fourth in the team standings.

In Saturday’s GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R led the way for Team Chevy posting a sixth-place finish.

Next on the schedule for both the Rolex Series and the Continental Tire Challenge will be the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25-26, 2013.

DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES:

NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE, OVERALL AND DP RACE WINNER:

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI: ON HIS THOUGHTS AS THE RACE CAME TO A CLOSE: “I don’t know. I was on the limit all the time.”

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RACE. THAT WAS A FANTASTIC FINAL FEW LAPS. WERE YOU MORE CONCERNED ABOUT MICHAEL VALLENTE CATCHING YOU, OR THOSE LAPPED CARS THAT BOTH OF YOU WERE STARTING TO APPROACH ON THE FINAL LAP?

“I guess both. I knew that the No. 3 car had a very strong piece. They showed it a couple of times during the race. They were definitely stronger than us. But I think we played the game better than they did. And we, as a team, won the race today. Hats off to Joao, who drove an outstanding stint. And man, I’m very happy. Two in a row is a very nice feeling. We led at the three-hour mark and won the race, so it couldn’t have been a better weekend.”

YOU ALMOST HAD A FLAWLESS BECAUSE THERE AT THE END WHEN YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE BOOT, YOU GOT SIDEWAYS. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? AND DID YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE THROWN AWAY THE WIN?

“I was under limit. I was very heavily under limit every single lap that I could do and maybe I ran a little bit over a little bit. But I managed to catch it, I guess. That’s where 42 years of age and 20-some years of 30 years of racing counts a little bit. And I’m happy that that came into the play. That definitely helped me a little bit like experience over there and it was a great week and a great day. We didn’t have the quickest car on the track today. And I just think that the whole group as a team did an excellent job.”

JOAO BARBOSA: TALK ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN YOU AND CHRISTIAN AND THE TEAM: “It is working isn’t it? It’s like they say ‘We are in it to win it’. This was a great points day for us. We led at the three-hour mark. We led at six hours. We won the race overall. It is looking great for us in the points now. I think we made a great click. This Action Express team, man…the chemistry that is going on is unbelievable. The car is running excellent. Christian did a fantastic job. He is a little worn out, but he’ll get over it (SMILES). What can I say, this group of guys has done a tremendous job, and the car drove awesome today.”

HOW SATISFYING IS THIS TO HAVE TWO WINS IN A ROW? LAST YEAR, YOU WERE USUALLY AT TEAM AROUND FOURTH OR FIFTH. NOW, YOU ARE SHOWING UP AND WINNING RACES. “I don’t agree with that. We won the Six Hours last year. So, this team has been doing phenomenal. Obviously the chemistry is working so well and we were able to make the car go fast and these guys are awesome. They did a tremendous job. Every pit stop was great and we were able to bring the car home again in first place. Two wins and a second-place in the last three races and it is looking good. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

NO. 57 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GT.R, GT CLASS WINNER:

JOHN EDWARDS: YOU HAD TO SIT THERE AND WATCH ROBIN WORK SO HARD THAT LAST STINT, HOW HARD IS THAT? “It was really tough, especially with the changing conditions. I’ve always said I prefer to be in the car at the end, because sitting on the pit stand I just get a nervous twitch going on with my leg. That is the worst part of the race for me. When I got out of the car, that was the most nervous part for me. Ultimately the car was good in the dry, and we were hoping it wouldn’t rain because those conditions are really tough, and you might throw it off even if you are as good of a driver as anyone can be.”

ROBIN LIDDELL: THE PRESSURE WAS ON THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH WASN’T IT? “Yes, I kept forcing myself to stay focused. That is a dangerous kind of gap to have, four seconds or so. I was fully expecting some rain, and we obviously saw some dark clouds coming, So I was expecting more rain, or a safety car or something. I was just trying to stay focused on the job at hand. I just want to say thanks to everybody here. The Camaro has been fantastic. John did a great job. I’ve been with this team for six years, and this is probably the best team result I’ve ever seen for us. Everyone contributed in such an important part. It was a proper team effort the whole weekend. I’m really, really happy for the guys. It was brilliant.”

YOU GUYS ARE ON FIRE. TELL US ABOUT YOUR RACE TODAY:

“Well, it was a tough race. Last year, we won this race and we were pretty dominant here, to be fair, last year. The chassis have always been good right here and obviously the guys, we’ve got probably the best crew out there. We’ve all in all got the best team in pit lane, I think. Obviously I think everybody made a massive contribution on the team. John hung on there when it was raining, on slicks. We were just trying to keep him calm and not worry too much about dropping time to the No. 69 because we knew it was going to turn into a mess, which it did. And then obviously we were still on slicks and they’d gone to wet. So confidence in the guys to do that and if we made a mistake, we made a mistake. But ultimately, we didn’t really have a car which we could drive away with. We had a car that was competitive, but not one that we could lead the rest of the pack, as last year. So we had to work a lot harder. But some good calls getting the car in just before that caution got us track position, and then near the end there just stopping a bit out of sequence to get track position in case it went yellow. I was really expecting some rain at the end, or a late caution, but it didn’t come. I just kept my head down and kept reeling off the laps. With a near to two-minute lap, that last 15 minutes goes quite quickly around here.”

NO. 3 8STAR MOTORSPORTS CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE, FINISHED 2ND IN DP:

MICHAEL VALIANTE: ON THE STRONG RUN AT THE END: “It was great to be paired with Stephane (Sarrazin). We hit it off right away. He is a fantastic driver. Really happy to be with the team and him. Everything went to plan. We had a few hiccups, but we were so close at the end. It was a really tough race. Stephane has done a great job all weekend. If anything, the traffic was really tough at the end. Going up the chicane, I lost four seconds because two GT cars decided to race me. I was alongside of them, and that really cost us a lot of time. We can’t complain. The team has done an amazing job. It’s first year with the team. Stephane and my first race together, so for a podium, I am happy. But, I really wanted to win.”