Second win of 2013 for No. 4 Compuware Corvette; Garcia/Magnussen place fourth

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 21, 2013) – Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner scored their second victory in the American Le Mans Series on Sunday with a hard-earned effort in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Milner took the checkered flag in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R for the fifth round of the ALMS as the duo became the first in the GT class to win multiple races in 2013.

The victory played out in thrilling style before a live audience on ESPN2. Milner drove a pressure-packed final stint to win by 0.267 seconds. It moved Gavin and Milner into second place in the GT championship lead as they seek to win back-to-back titles. Corvette Racing retained its lead in the team standings, as did Chevrolet in the manufacturers’ race.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen placed fourth in class after a stellar effort. The No. 3 Corvette started from the rear of the grid after a massive crash by Magnussen in Saturday’s qualifying. They stand third in the unofficial driver standings.

“What a fantastic weekend for everyone at Corvette Racing,” said Mark Kent, Director of Racing – Chevrolet. “Congratulations to Oliver, Tommy and everyone on the No. 4 crew for a flawless performance. Likewise, I cannot minimize the effort by the No. 3 team to rebound from Saturday’s massive crash in qualifying. Once again, Corvette Racing never gave up.”

Gavin won for the 40th time in the series – third-most in its history. He made the most of an overnight adjustment to the No. 4 car and picked up two spots on the opening lap to move into third place. He settled in for the duration of his stint and pitted from the lead as cars in front of him pitted earlier. The No. 4 crew gave Gavin a precious two-second advantage during the first stop, which saw Milner move to the front shortly after the driver change.

The young American drove a strong double-stint to the end and got added help from the pit crew on a final stop that gave him another second over his nearest competition.

Garcia made up four positions in class in the opening 24 laps despite losing time attempting to overtake a slower GT car for the better part of 15 laps. Once around, he ran as high as third during his stint before handing off to Magnussen. The No. 3 crew short-filled on fuel during its first stop in an attempt to gain position while hoping for a caution period at the same time.

The No. 3 car did come away with the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge trophy for the GT class. The award goes to the car that exhibits clean, fast and efficient performance levels in the ALMS.

Next up for Corvette Racing is the Orion Energy Systems on Sunday, Aug. 11 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

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

“(The start) was very difficult. You’re on own from the back of the field. The car is very good. I passed a lot of cars right away and then I got stuck behind the No. 17. He was going very slow. He was defending for no reason and I don’t know what was going on. Running behind him was like losing all aero completely. We lost about 10 seconds. But we definitely had a competitive car. We would have liked a yellow but it seems like we need one we never get it!”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“Maybe we could have gotten a podium. On the last restart, I got bogged down a little in the last corner and the Viper got a run on me into Turn 1 and squeezed his way by me. After that it was a matter of getting by the BMW. We were able to get some points on them in terms of the manufacturer and team championship. We would have liked some more points. The car was very good in the race but everyone is so evenly matched.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“The change we made overnight certainly seemed to have the car right in the window again. It was very busy at the start. I didn’t think I was on the right side of the track when it went green. Our lane wasn’t going very quickly and it looked like the BMW and a couple other cars were going to get by. Then all of a sudden it freed up and I was able to go by one of the BMWs at Turn 2. Coming off Turn 5 I was able to get around the other one. Then it was a case of following the Vipers around.

“The guys did a fantastic job in the pits before I handed over the car to Tommy. He drove brilliantly and withstood a massive amount of pressure from the Viper. He showed once again that at the end of the race when there is big pressure on, he can get the job done. It was a fantastic effort.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“I knew after our great pit stop that it was a matter of doing qualifying laps. We came out just ahead of the Viper and I was able to get around him. Then the BMW was coming out on the next time around and I got around him too. I tried to focus forward and focus on my own race. After the caution period, I knew the last 30 minutes was going to be tough. I ran into some traffic on the last lap with a GTC car that held me up big-time and allowed Dominik (Farnbacher) to get right on my bumper. It was a big battle. I had to do everything I thought I could without getting a penalty to keep him behind. Our car wasn’t as quick as theirs going into Turn 8, so I told myself I was going to either spin at Turn 8 or I’m going to throw it in, make it stick and keep the lead. It held and here we are in P1. It was a fantastic effort by the team. It’s good for Oliver and I. It’s been a couple of bad races in a row so it’s good to get back on the podium again.”

Orion Energy Systems 245 (all times CT)

• • GT Qualifying: 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 10
• • Race: 2 p.m., Sunday Aug. 11

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park: Watch It!

Saturday, Aug. 10-Sunday, Aug. 11 (all times ET)

• • Qualifying: 10:45 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 10 (ESPN3)
• • Race (TV): Live – 3 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 11 (ABC)

Hard crash for Magnussen but No. 3 Compuware Corvette will be ready to race

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO (July 20, 2013) – Corvette Racing is a nine-time winner at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in American Le Mans Series competition. But the track formerly known as Mosport proved Saturday it can be unforgiving to even the best in racing.

Jan Magnussen set the second-fastest lap in GT qualifying for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R before a significant crash with less than five minutes left in the session. Upon its return to the team’s paddock, the Corvette crew went straight to work to dismantle and repair the No. 3 entry, which has Magnussen and Antonio Garcia second in the ALMS GT championship. Sunday’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 1 p.m. ET.

The Dane’s best time was a 1:15.601 (117.094 mph) that he set on his fifth lap. With pole position in his sights, Magnussen was on a flyer before a small bump in the middle of the third corner caused the Corvette to unsettle and veer slightly wide at the exit. The left-rear tire went off the surface just enough to send Magnussen into a spin and hard into the outside tire barrier.

The car will start Sunday’s race from the rear of the grid and is expected to make the morning warmup at 9:10 a.m.

Tommy Milner qualified the No. 4 Compuware Corvette sixth in class at 1:16.083 (116.352 mph). Despite the position, Milner was only 0.621 seconds off pole position. The car struggled to find balance in the second practice session and qualifying but Milner believed the fix would be an easy adjustment for Sunday’s race. He and teammate Oliver Gavin – defending ALMS GT champions – will go for their second ALMS victory of the season.

“Tommy and Jan both had solid qualifying efforts,” said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager. “Jan’s crash was unfortunate. He was on a good lap, but we were reminded how quickly this track can come up and bite anyone. The entire Corvette Racing team is an experienced and resilient group and will work as long as it takes to get the car repaired and ready for Sunday. It’s that ‘never give up’ spirit that we all exude.”

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

Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix (all times ET)

• • Warmup: 9:10 a.m. ET, Sunday, July 21
• • Race: Noon ET, Sunday, July 21

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park: Watch It!

Sunday, July 21 (all times ET)

• • Race (TV): Live – 1 p.m., Sunday, July 21 (ESPN2)
• • Web: Live – 11:45 a.m., Sunday, July 21 (ESPN3)

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“One of the things I love about this place is that there is a real consequence to making mistakes or pushing too hard. We were just a tenth back from pole and this was an attempt to get it. I still think (the pole time) was in the car but I just bounced in the middle of Turn 3 over a small bump and that put me a little bit off line at the exit. A wheel off into the grass and that was it. I was off into the tire wall. I feel sorry for the team. For sure you try to avoid these things but sometimes they happen. When you hit the tire wall at an angle, it tends to rip things off the car. It will be a bit of work for the guys but the car was awesome in qualifying and I believe the pole time was in it. That’s why I went for it. The car will be perfect for the race.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“In the previous practice we struggled with the balance of the car and that carried over into qualifying. We’re not way off by any means. The GT field is so close that you have to have a great car, and we have that. It’s a bummer. This was my first qualifying run in awhile and had the issue with balance. We had a bit too much understeer and need to dial some of that out of the car. But we have a direction to go and we’re not lost by any means. We will make some small changes here and there and be ready for tomorrow. We should be in good shape for the race.”

ALMS GT Championship Standings

Driver Standings

1. 1. Dirk Muller – 62
2. 2. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 46
3. 3. John Edwards – 46
4. 4. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 45
5. 5. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 44

Team Standings

• 1. Corvette Racing – 72
• 2. BMW Team RLL – 72
• 3. SRT Motorsports – 45
• 4. Paul Miller Racing – 30
• 5. Risi Competizione – 29

Manufacturer Standings

1. 1. Chevrolet – 75
2. 2. BMW – 72
3. 3. Ferrari – 51
4. 4. SRT – 50
5. 5. Porsche – 50

Year Class Drivers Result Car Notes

2000 GTS Fellows/Pilgrim 2nd Corvette C5-R Fellows pole, fastest race lap

2001 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim 3rd Corvette C5-R

2002 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim 2nd Corvette C5-R Pilgrim fastest race lap

2003 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Gavin 7th Corvette C5-R Gavin pole

2004 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 2nd Corvette C5-R

Beretta/Gavin 1st Corvette C5-R Gavin pole, fastest race lap

2005 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell 2nd Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 1st Corvette C6.R

2006 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell 4th Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R

2007 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R Gavin pole, fastest race lap

Fellows/Pilgrim 3rd Corvette C6.R

2008 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R O’Connell pole

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R Beretta fastest race lap

2009 GT2 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 3rd Corvette C6.R

2010 GT Beretta/O’Connell 5th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen 4th Corvette C6.R Magnussen fastest race lap

2011 GT Beretta/Milner 6th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen 1st Corvette C6.R

2012 GT Garcia/Magnussen 2nd Corvette C6.R Magnussen pole

Gavin/Milner 10th Corvette C6.R

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has been good to Compuware Corvettes

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO (July 16, 2013) – It’s time for Corvette Racing to head north of the border for its annual visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The American Le Mans Series’ lone Canadian event is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix – a race Corvette Racing has won nine times since 2001.

The 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course is one of the fastest in the ALMS and a favorite of all four Corvette Racing drivers. The layout features a variety of high-speed corners and daunting elevation changes that audiences can see live on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21. Qualifying for the GT class is set for 3:50 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 20 and will be available on ESPN3.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen – second in the GT drivers’ standings – drive the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Defending ALMS GT champions Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner pilot the No. 4 Corvette. They are fourth in the class championship.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (known to long-time fans as Mosport) sees a number of new looks. The facility – co-owned by former Corvette Racing star Ron Fellows – saw improvements to the entryway, paddock and sightlines in 2012. In the last 12 months, the track underwent more dramatic renovations with the additions of a pitlane extension of 300 feet, a state-of-the-art event center, new asphalt at every corner and paved runoff areas at turns 1 and 2 to improve safety.

The character of the track hasn’t changed much since its first race in 1961. Through the years, CTMP has played host to Can-Am, Formula 5000, USAC stock cars, IndyCar, Trans-Am, Formula Atlantic, and of course the American Le Mans Series and IMSA. Most notably, the circuit was the site of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix eight times between 1967-77.

“There are not many race venues in North America, or the world for that matter, with a history like the track once known as Mosport,” Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan said with a smile. “Historically, it has tested drivers and teams with a combination of challenging high-speed corners, extreme terrain change and insanely quick lap times. We have enjoyed some memorable successes here and the support from the great Canadian crowd has always been inspirational. I know all our guys are excited to see all the improvements that have been implemented at the facility, and I am confident our inaugural trip to the new-look Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be a big step forward in our effort to repeat our 2012 championship.”

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

Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix (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)

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“Even in a road car, it is difficult to understand how fast you go around the track. In my first practice there last year, it took me six or seven laps to not brake into Turn 1! In turns 2 and 3, you definitely need to pick your braking point and roll in. But for the first turn, it’s not how deep you brake but whether you need to lift to make it through in fifth or sixth gear. That was the corner that took me the most time to get right.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“For sure Corvette Racing has had great success at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. We are looking to go and build on what we have done in the last two ALMS races – a win at Laguna and second-place at Lime Rock. If we can get a win at Mosport, it would really help our run for the GT championship. It’s a much more high-speed track than Lime Rock but it’s also a track where you can attack a lot. Lime Rock wasn’t one of those; you had to be more precise and smooth. But at Mosport you can go hard at it all the time. It’s one of my favorite tracks and we for sure are excited to go back there.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“The track itself will be similar but the landmarks and cues you’d use to guide your way around the track – the stuff you pick up in your peripheral vision that all drivers learn – has changed because the runoff and places that were grass have gone to tarmac. There is a new pitlane with a different entry. All of that part of the track is different and will take a little bit of relearning. It will be challenging but interesting at the same time. I am looking forward to going there and seeing what’s been done. Ron is a big proponent of safety, and he’s worked at it very hard. You’re going at such a high speed and only have so much road to work with. Any slip up there can lead you into having a big moment. It will be once again a great place to go and I’m looking forward to going back there.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R

“It’s fantastic. It’s my favorite track we go to. It’s fun, fast, flowing and has a good rhythm to it. It’s really challenging in our GT car. I’ve had success there and been on the podium a number of times but a win has eluded me. Typically I don’t like tracks where I don’t do well, but this one I like no matter what. The new runoff areas won’t change how we drive the track at all. Certainly now you can be a little more ambitious going into turns 1 and 2 but that won’t make us any faster. In past years, we still pushed the limits and it wasn’t a place where we needed the extra runoff to go quicker. Lap times I don’t think will change very much but should help guys who get in a bad situation then you have some room to spare.”

ALMS GT Championship Standings

Driver Standings

1. 1. Dirk Muller – 62
2. 2. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 46
3. 3. John Edwards – 46
4. 4. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 45
5. 5. Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin – 44

Team Standings

1. 1. Corvette Racing – 72
2. 2. BMW Team RLL – 72
3. 3. SRT Motorsports – 45
4. 4. Paul Miller Racing – 30
5. 5. Risi Competizione – 29

Manufacturer Standings

1. 1. Chevrolet – 75
2. 2. BMW – 72
3. 3. Ferrari – 51
4. 4. SRT – 50
5. 5. Porsche – 50

Year Class Drivers Result Car Notes

2000 GTS Fellows/Pilgrim 2nd Corvette C5-R Fellows pole, fastest race lap

2001 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim 3rd Corvette C5-R

2002 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Pilgrim 2nd Corvette C5-R Pilgrim fastest race lap

2003 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 1st Corvette C5-R

Collins/Gavin 7th Corvette C5-R Gavin pole

2004 GTS Fellows/O’Connell 2nd Corvette C5-R

Beretta/Gavin 1st Corvette C5-R Gavin pole, fastest race lap

2005 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell 2nd Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 1st Corvette C6.R

2006 GT1 Fellows/O’Connell 4th Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R

2007 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R Gavin pole, fastest race lap

Fellows/Pilgrim 3rd Corvette C6.R

2008 GT1 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R O’Connell pole

Beretta/Gavin 2nd Corvette C6.R Beretta fastest race lap

2009 GT2 Magnussen/O’Connell 1st Corvette C6.R

Beretta/Gavin 3rd Corvette C6.R

2010 GT Beretta/O’Connell 5th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen 4th Corvette C6.R Magnussen fastest race lap

2011 GT Beretta/Milner 6th Corvette C6.R

Gavin/Magnussen 1st Corvette C6.R

2012 GT Garcia/Magnussen 2nd Corvette C6.R Magnussen pole

Gavin/Milner 10th Corvette C6.R

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.