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Corvette Racing race report

Corvette Racing Wins GT1 in 24 Hours of Le Mans Chevrolet Team Scores Sixth Victory in Legendary Endurance Race LE MANS, France, June 14, 2009 -- Corvette Racing brought down the curtain on the GT1 era with a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:46 PM

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Corvette Racing Wins GT1 in 24 Hours of Le Mans

Chevrolet Team Scores Sixth Victory in Legendary Endurance Race

LE MANS, France, June 14, 2009 -- Corvette Racing brought down the curtain on the GT1 era with a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia scored Corvette Racing's sixth class victory in the world's biggest sports car race with the No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The winning Corvette completed 342 laps, racing to a six-lap margin of victory over the No. 73 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6.R of Yann Clairay, Julien Jousse and Xavier Maassen. The No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Marcel Fassler retired from the lead in the 22nd hour with an apparent gearbox problem.

Today's win was Corvette Racing's 16th podium finish at Le Mans since 2000. It was the fourth Le Mans class win for O'Connell and Magnussen, and the second consecutive Le Mans GT1 victory for Garcia. O'Connell became the first American driver to win four class titles in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"When you look at the Americans who have won here multiple times, they're all important figures in motorsports history," O'Connell said. "To achieve my fourth win with Corvette Racing, driving a sports car that's an American icon, it's hard to put that into words. There is nothing more difficult and more rewarding than winning here, and sharing it with two awesome drivers like Jan and Antonio."

The two Corvettes waged a fierce battle throughout 22 of the 24 hours, never separated by more than one lap. The pole-winning No. 63 Corvette C6.R led from the start for 18 hours and 52 minutes. Beretta then put the No. 64 Corvette C6.R in front, passing Garcia on a restart following a safety car period. Garcia regained the lead at 19:23 when Beretta pitted; the No. 64 was back at the front following a pit stop for O'Connell to replace Garcia. The 21st hour saw an intense duel between O'Connell and Fassler with the cars dicing around the entire 8.47-mile circuit.

"It was a great race, but a shame that the No. 64 Corvette was not there at the finish," said Garcia. "We raced really, really hard for 22 hours. We were racing fair, and we were all going 100 percent. The full stint I did fighting with Olly after the safety car came in was great."

At 21:36, Fassler radioed the crew that he was experiencing shifting problems. The gearbox problem intensified, and the car was stranded near the pit lane entrance when it lost drive to the rear wheels. In contrast, the No. 63 Corvette had a trouble-free run throughout the grueling 24-hour race, making 32 pit stops and never going into the garage for repairs. O'Connell and Garcia drove the closing stints in the race when Magnussen became ill.

"It was a good fight," said Fassler. "Sure it was difficult to race your teammate hard, but when we went out of the chicane he was really fair and he left me space. I enjoyed leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I came very close to reaching one of the goals I want to achieve in my life. I was only two hours away, but suddenly I smelled some gearbox oil. Then something broke quickly before I could get back to the pits. I was very disappointed for the whole team and my teammates. All of them did a really good job. There were no mistakes, and they deserved a victory as well. In the end, it's important for Corvette Racing that they have a Le Mans win with the No. 63 Corvette, and I have to congratulate them because it was a tough fight."

This race marked the end of the GT1 era for Corvette Racing that began in 1999. Since then, Corvette Racing has become America's premier production sports car team, winning 77 races and eight consecutive American Le Mans Series championships.

"When you look at all aspects of the close of the GT1 category as we know it today, it is an unequivocal testament to the commitment of a corporation that recognizes the value of motorsports from a marketing and technological perspective," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "It's also representative of all the people who have been here since the beginning, who dedicated themselves to taking Corvette forward. At the end of the day, today's victory is emblematic of what American teamwork and American spirit is about."

Corvette Racing will make the move to the GT2 category in its next event, the Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on August 6-8. The two-hour, 45-minute race is scheduled to start at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 8. The race will be televised same-day tape-delayed on NBC at 4 p.m. ET.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES:

Jan Magnussen, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Four Le Mans wins feels absolutely great. My role in this one was for only half the race. I really have to thank Johnny and Antonio for working so hard during the last half of the race. Also a special mention to my crew chief Dan Binks. Standing on the victory podium at Le Mans is just amazing, and I hope that we can carry on."

Johnny O'Connell, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "Winning at Le Mans is hard because it's all about pushing as hard as you can while being perfect with your technique and taking care of the car. I think the three of us did that, even when we were wiped out and tired. The guys in the No. 64 Corvette might have had a little more mid-corner grip than us, so we had to push every minute. When you do that, sometimes you make mistakes, but the No. 63 finished the race as pretty as it started it.

Antonio Garcia, No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "I'll tell you tomorrow when I wake up what it means to win Le Mans twice. This is my third 24-hour race win a row -- I won Le Mans last year and Daytona 24 this year. I cannot ask for anything else. Corvette Racing gave me a car and a crew that worked perfectly, and I really appreciate it. During the night and this morning, I was up to my best. That's what a proper team needs to be -- everyone giving 100 percent."

Oliver Gavin, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "It didn't seem to matter what we did today, it was something just ready to trip us up, whether it was punctures or safety cars or this gearbox problem. I think that Olivier, Marcel and myself had driven well throughout the race, and it was going to be extremely close at the finish. It was going to come down two cars racing at the end of the race, which is quite unusual here at Le Mans. I really thought we had a great shot at it today, after we kept clawing back and finally pulled away, but then the final card played by Lady Luck was all bad luck. It's desperately disappointing."

Olivier Beretta, No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "The car was good, then I had a puncture and my car was starting to be difficult, so they called me in and changed the tire. On the restart, I made the pass on the No. 63 Corvette before the Ford chicane. There was a lot of confusion and I just put the throttle flat on the floor.

"It seemed like we were racing against the pace car all day. We'd lose two minutes, catch back up, and then lose two minutes again. The team did a very good job, we never gave up, and what happened today is just part of racing. We are professionals and have to accept it -- but to be honest, you have to be disappointed when you push hard and don't win."

Doug Louth, Corvette Racing Engineering Director: "It was easy to stay awake this morning because there was a lot happening. It couldn't have been any closer between the two Corvettes -- if they had both run to the finish, it would have come down to the wire. There were a lot of possible scenarios with pit stops and tires. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but Corvette C6.Rs finished first and second."

Dan Binks, Crew Chief, Corvette C6.R No. 63: "Winning Le Mans is so unbelievable that I can't even talk about it. All of the people here worked their butts off, and we're just the guys who show up at the track. There are dozens of guys back in the shop working on this stuff."

-credit: gm

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