Corvette Racing Sebring Results
03-20-2011, 10:54 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Corvette Racing Sebring Results
Corvette Racing Finishes Third and Fourth in Season-Opening Sebring Race
Corvettes Overcome Incidents and Accidents in 12-Hour Endurance Test
2011-03-20
S EBRING, Fla., March 19, 2011 – Corvette Racing raced around the clock to finish third and fourth in the GT class in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the season-opening round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series. The No. 03 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Tommy Milner, Olivier Beretta, and Antonio Garcia completed 312 laps and finished third, 49.294 seconds behind the class-winning BMW. The No. 04 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook was fourth across the finish line with 311 laps.
The Sebring 12-hour was a test of determination for the Chevrolet team. The No 3 Corvette C6.R started ninth on the grid and finished on the podium; the No. 4 Corvette C6.R overcame a three-lap deficit after an accident at the two-hour mark.
"Today's result was absolutely a team effort," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "In endurance racing you have to work as a team every minute, and Corvette Racing did that. We have more work to do, but this team never gives up."
The No. 04 Corvette C6.R made a fast start as Oliver Gavin started second on the GT grid and passed the pole-winning Ferrari 430GT on the first lap.
"The Ferrari went wide and I got by him," Gavin said. "Once the Ferrari's tires came in, he started to catch me – any amount of dust on the track and our performance started to suffer. Then with new Michelins after the first pit stop, we were back in the hunt and could race anybody."
Gavin handed off to Jan Magnussen at 1:48 under a full-course caution, but the Dane encountered misfortune as soon as racing resumed. Running third at the restart, contact in Turn 17 with Patrick Long's Porsche caused both cars to spin. The following Ferrari F458 of Johannes van Overbeek then spun, colliding with the Corvette and damaging its right rear suspension. The Ferrari subsequently retired, while Magnussen manhandled the Corvette to the pits for repairs. Six minutes later, the Corvette crew had him back on track, albeit two laps down to the GT leader.
"I got a better run going onto the straight, and Long moved to the right to block me," Magnussen said. "No big deal, I went around him on the outside. I think he was bouncing over the bumps, and bounced into the side of my car. I can't be upset with him, but I was upset at the situation."
Long was subsequently penalized for avoidable contact, and the Corvette was penalized for crewmembers working on the car while the pits were closed, losing yet another lap.
Meanwhile the No. 03 Corvette methodically moved up from its ninth starting spot. Olivier Beretta handed off to Tommy Milner, who showed his stuff in his first stint as a Corvette Racing driver. The 25-year-old raced former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella hard, and took the yellow Corvette from seventh to third in GT.
"Most of my teammates have driven Formula 1 cars, and it makes the race that much more fun when you have the best drivers in the world," said Milner. "I was able to settle into a rhythm, find the balance, and push from there. Maybe I was a little too racy for my first stint, but I wanted to settle in and get the nerves out."
Richard Westbrook also showed his mettle in his first start with Corvette Racing in the No. 04 Corvette C6.R. "Everyone at Corvette Racing wants to do so well – it's Chevrolet's 100th anniversary, and we really want to put in a great performance," Westbrook said. "Unfortunately Jan had contact in the second stint, but we kept pushing – there was nothing else we could do."
The race settled down in the middle stages as the six Corvette drivers cycled through their rotations. The No. 03 Corvette maintained its pace with the frontrunners on the lead lap, while savvy pit stop strategy and speed brought the No. 04 Corvette to within a lap of the leaders.
Shortly after seven hours, Milner pitted the 03 Corvette for a new windshield after the tearoffs had blown off, leaving a layer of sticky adhesive. After falling back to sixth, he charged back through the GT field to third at the end of his stint.
"That was probably the hardest I've had to work in a race car to see out of the windshield," Milner reported. "The crew changed the entire window in nothing flat, and that was great because the car was really, really good. When the sun went down, it definitely picked up grip."
As the sun set at Sebring, the race pace quickened. Antonio Garcia turned in a strong performance to pull the No. 03 Corvette as high as third on the cooling track.
"The car was getting better and better throughout the race," said the Spaniard. "I was racing with a Porsche in the first half of my stint and worked the tires hard getting by him, but at the end I ran decent lap times with worn tires. We were in the fight, running as close as we could to the front, and we had to be able to fight for a good position at the finish."
After 10 hours of racing, Beretta had the No. 03 Corvette in second, and Gavin was back on the lead lap in the No. 04 Corvette when the class leader pitted.
"The traffic was very bad sometimes," said Beretta. "If you were in a good spot you could go quick, if not you just tried to survive, not make a mistake, and use your brain."
Gavin drove a double stint in the late hours before handing the No. 04 Corvette off to Magnussen for the final run to the checkered flag.
"Today was a real uphill battle after the accident took us out of contention for the victory," Gavin said. "After we changed tire compounds I thought we'd have a shot at the podium, but it was perhaps a bit too early. This was one of the wildest 12 hours I've ever raced. I'm proud to be part of the Chevy team, and proud to bring the car back to within a lap of the leader. Jan and Richard drove brilliantly today, with a bit more luck we might have won."
"We didn't have the ultimate speed to match the BMWs and Ferraris today, but we did have execution and we did have strategy," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "When you combine those in an endurance race, it's going to show, and that's what this team did. This is a solid foundation for the season, and a result we can be proud of."
Corvette Racing’s next event is the American Le Mans at Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 16.
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring GT Results (Top 10):
Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. Priaulx/Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 312
2. Farfus/Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 312
3. Beretta/Garcia/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 312
4. Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 311
5. Fisichella/Bruni/Kaffer, Ferrari F458 Italia, 311
6. Bergmeister/Long/Leib, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 310
7. Law/Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 306
8. Robertson/Robertson/Said, Doran Ford GT, 294
9. Ortelli/Makowiecki/Deletraz, Farrari F458 Italia, 292
10. Brown/Cosmo/Bell, Ferrari F458 Italia, 268
About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free" solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Corvettes Overcome Incidents and Accidents in 12-Hour Endurance Test
2011-03-20
S EBRING, Fla., March 19, 2011 – Corvette Racing raced around the clock to finish third and fourth in the GT class in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the season-opening round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series. The No. 03 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Tommy Milner, Olivier Beretta, and Antonio Garcia completed 312 laps and finished third, 49.294 seconds behind the class-winning BMW. The No. 04 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook was fourth across the finish line with 311 laps.
The Sebring 12-hour was a test of determination for the Chevrolet team. The No 3 Corvette C6.R started ninth on the grid and finished on the podium; the No. 4 Corvette C6.R overcame a three-lap deficit after an accident at the two-hour mark.
"Today's result was absolutely a team effort," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "In endurance racing you have to work as a team every minute, and Corvette Racing did that. We have more work to do, but this team never gives up."
The No. 04 Corvette C6.R made a fast start as Oliver Gavin started second on the GT grid and passed the pole-winning Ferrari 430GT on the first lap.
"The Ferrari went wide and I got by him," Gavin said. "Once the Ferrari's tires came in, he started to catch me – any amount of dust on the track and our performance started to suffer. Then with new Michelins after the first pit stop, we were back in the hunt and could race anybody."
Gavin handed off to Jan Magnussen at 1:48 under a full-course caution, but the Dane encountered misfortune as soon as racing resumed. Running third at the restart, contact in Turn 17 with Patrick Long's Porsche caused both cars to spin. The following Ferrari F458 of Johannes van Overbeek then spun, colliding with the Corvette and damaging its right rear suspension. The Ferrari subsequently retired, while Magnussen manhandled the Corvette to the pits for repairs. Six minutes later, the Corvette crew had him back on track, albeit two laps down to the GT leader.
"I got a better run going onto the straight, and Long moved to the right to block me," Magnussen said. "No big deal, I went around him on the outside. I think he was bouncing over the bumps, and bounced into the side of my car. I can't be upset with him, but I was upset at the situation."
Long was subsequently penalized for avoidable contact, and the Corvette was penalized for crewmembers working on the car while the pits were closed, losing yet another lap.
Meanwhile the No. 03 Corvette methodically moved up from its ninth starting spot. Olivier Beretta handed off to Tommy Milner, who showed his stuff in his first stint as a Corvette Racing driver. The 25-year-old raced former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella hard, and took the yellow Corvette from seventh to third in GT.
"Most of my teammates have driven Formula 1 cars, and it makes the race that much more fun when you have the best drivers in the world," said Milner. "I was able to settle into a rhythm, find the balance, and push from there. Maybe I was a little too racy for my first stint, but I wanted to settle in and get the nerves out."
Richard Westbrook also showed his mettle in his first start with Corvette Racing in the No. 04 Corvette C6.R. "Everyone at Corvette Racing wants to do so well – it's Chevrolet's 100th anniversary, and we really want to put in a great performance," Westbrook said. "Unfortunately Jan had contact in the second stint, but we kept pushing – there was nothing else we could do."
The race settled down in the middle stages as the six Corvette drivers cycled through their rotations. The No. 03 Corvette maintained its pace with the frontrunners on the lead lap, while savvy pit stop strategy and speed brought the No. 04 Corvette to within a lap of the leaders.
Shortly after seven hours, Milner pitted the 03 Corvette for a new windshield after the tearoffs had blown off, leaving a layer of sticky adhesive. After falling back to sixth, he charged back through the GT field to third at the end of his stint.
"That was probably the hardest I've had to work in a race car to see out of the windshield," Milner reported. "The crew changed the entire window in nothing flat, and that was great because the car was really, really good. When the sun went down, it definitely picked up grip."
As the sun set at Sebring, the race pace quickened. Antonio Garcia turned in a strong performance to pull the No. 03 Corvette as high as third on the cooling track.
"The car was getting better and better throughout the race," said the Spaniard. "I was racing with a Porsche in the first half of my stint and worked the tires hard getting by him, but at the end I ran decent lap times with worn tires. We were in the fight, running as close as we could to the front, and we had to be able to fight for a good position at the finish."
After 10 hours of racing, Beretta had the No. 03 Corvette in second, and Gavin was back on the lead lap in the No. 04 Corvette when the class leader pitted.
"The traffic was very bad sometimes," said Beretta. "If you were in a good spot you could go quick, if not you just tried to survive, not make a mistake, and use your brain."
Gavin drove a double stint in the late hours before handing the No. 04 Corvette off to Magnussen for the final run to the checkered flag.
"Today was a real uphill battle after the accident took us out of contention for the victory," Gavin said. "After we changed tire compounds I thought we'd have a shot at the podium, but it was perhaps a bit too early. This was one of the wildest 12 hours I've ever raced. I'm proud to be part of the Chevy team, and proud to bring the car back to within a lap of the leader. Jan and Richard drove brilliantly today, with a bit more luck we might have won."
"We didn't have the ultimate speed to match the BMWs and Ferraris today, but we did have execution and we did have strategy," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "When you combine those in an endurance race, it's going to show, and that's what this team did. This is a solid foundation for the season, and a result we can be proud of."
Corvette Racing’s next event is the American Le Mans at Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 16.
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring GT Results (Top 10):
Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. Priaulx/Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 312
2. Farfus/Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 312
3. Beretta/Garcia/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 312
4. Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 311
5. Fisichella/Bruni/Kaffer, Ferrari F458 Italia, 311
6. Bergmeister/Long/Leib, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 310
7. Law/Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 306
8. Robertson/Robertson/Said, Doran Ford GT, 294
9. Ortelli/Makowiecki/Deletraz, Farrari F458 Italia, 292
10. Brown/Cosmo/Bell, Ferrari F458 Italia, 268
About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free" solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
03-20-2011, 11:25 AM
#3
Le Mans Master
I watched it on ESPN3 and it worked pretty well. I plugged my lpatop into the TV and watched it on the big screen periodically during the day.
03-20-2011, 11:30 AM
#4
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
We went to the race but I signed up on espn3 so we could watch it on the laptop. however I failed to click on the magic button on the page to allow me to watch it on remote status. Therefore most had no coverage. We need to send an email to Bob Dickenson, ALMS media and complain that race coverage is practically non-existant.
03-20-2011, 11:38 AM
#6
Team Owner
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We went to the race but I signed up on espn3 so we could watch it on the laptop. however I failed to click on the magic button on the page to allow me to watch it on remote status. Therefore most had no coverage. We need to send an email to Bob Dickenson, ALMS media and complain that race coverage is practically non-existant.
have an email addy for Bob ?ALMS will loose many fans without main stream TV coverage.
03-20-2011, 11:44 AM
#7
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
I don't mind espn3 providing we could have watched it on alms.com like they promised. But now, only outside US can watch the race on alms.com
Here is his email:
Bob Dickinson, Director of Media and Communications
E-mail: radickinson@americanlemans.com
03-20-2011, 03:01 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
03-20-2011, 03:30 PM
#10
Team Owner
thankskey paragraph
And the implications don't stop with on-air coverage, but will extend into sponsorship, manufacturer involvement, and team ownership. The idea of sponsorship for race cars is visibility, promotion, and the experience. Two of the three are down the drain with the new ALMS strategy. There's no practical visibility without an on-air presence.
Sad paragraph
No. The job has been botched. A major sporting event has disappeared from the American mediascape, and it was a conscious decision to make it so.
03-20-2011, 03:33 PM
#11
Team Owner
03-20-2011, 03:38 PM
#12
Team Owner
talk about a self inflicted would!
Would it cost more to do an advanced and progressive show? Certainly, but what's the problem with spending more money on your own product when the Series is simultaneously trying to vacuum clean the pockets of every team that races in ALMS, with one silly overcharge after another.
Squeeze those Rocks
ALMS wants more media presence but they also charge teams for filming their own team and sending that video to their own site (it's called a "location fee"). This has the net effect of reducing incentive for teams to open their own channels of communication to fans, a not-very-smart-move for a Series that has massive problems in garnering media coverage. As Edward De Bono once noted, you can't dig a new hole by digging the same hole deeper and that's the situation that ALMS finds itself in.
Squeeze those Rocks
ALMS wants more media presence but they also charge teams for filming their own team and sending that video to their own site (it's called a "location fee"). This has the net effect of reducing incentive for teams to open their own channels of communication to fans, a not-very-smart-move for a Series that has massive problems in garnering media coverage. As Edward De Bono once noted, you can't dig a new hole by digging the same hole deeper and that's the situation that ALMS finds itself in.
03-21-2011, 12:41 PM
#13
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Sep 2003
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Good race all in all, too bad the #04 car got knicked by the Ferrari.
Personally I thought that Jan sqeezed the 45 car more than he needed to, but in the same breath the 45 car should've given up the spot. Racing incident. The 04 car almost got it's lap back around the 7-8th hour and you could see that the BMW's were going like hell to make sure that didn't happen!
I do have to wonder a little bit about the strait line speed of the BMW, that thing left the Vette and everyone else for dead on the straits. He must have pulled 4 car lengths on the Vette down the back strait!
Personally I thought that Jan sqeezed the 45 car more than he needed to, but in the same breath the 45 car should've given up the spot. Racing incident. The 04 car almost got it's lap back around the 7-8th hour and you could see that the BMW's were going like hell to make sure that didn't happen!
I do have to wonder a little bit about the strait line speed of the BMW, that thing left the Vette and everyone else for dead on the straits. He must have pulled 4 car lengths on the Vette down the back strait!
03-21-2011, 12:44 PM
#14
Team Owner
Great weekend for racing...the crowd was significantly bigger than last year. Weather was perfect.
03-21-2011, 01:19 PM
#17
Team Owner
Does NASCAR ever announce attendance or is it available some where?
03-21-2011, 01:42 PM
#18
Drifting
Bristol used to be a very hard ticket to get. I couldn't believe the number of empty seats there. Of course, the coverage was still 100x better than the ALMS coverage.
I'll admit that I don't watch too many ALMS races on TV. I'm trying to watch more, but the coverage is so bad it's hard to get into it. My wife will barely watch it, but even she didn't like the coverage. We were switching between the two races. We left the ALMS race and there were almost 7 hours left. We switch to NASCAR for a few minutes and then come back to ALMS. There's now only 1:30 left!!!!
I also can't stand the fact that they rarely know what's going on when there is an accident and they feel the need to throw in a bunch of mini documentaries in the middle of the race.
Until they make the coverage better, I predict the fringe fans won't become die hards.
Ken
I'll admit that I don't watch too many ALMS races on TV. I'm trying to watch more, but the coverage is so bad it's hard to get into it. My wife will barely watch it, but even she didn't like the coverage. We were switching between the two races. We left the ALMS race and there were almost 7 hours left. We switch to NASCAR for a few minutes and then come back to ALMS. There's now only 1:30 left!!!!
I also can't stand the fact that they rarely know what's going on when there is an accident and they feel the need to throw in a bunch of mini documentaries in the middle of the race.
Until they make the coverage better, I predict the fringe fans won't become die hards.
Ken
03-21-2011, 01:56 PM
#19
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Here is some info to re-watching the Sebring-ABC rerun and footage from ESPN3:
1. ABC recap will be re-shown on ESPN2 early tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM CST and 1:30 AM PST. Please check your TV guide to confirm: http://areyouwatchingthis.com/tv/stations/espn2
2. To watch online from the ESPN3 feed: (6 parts)
http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2/b/281883799
http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2/b/281920201
Enjoy!!
1. ABC recap will be re-shown on ESPN2 early tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM CST and 1:30 AM PST. Please check your TV guide to confirm: http://areyouwatchingthis.com/tv/stations/espn2
2. To watch online from the ESPN3 feed: (6 parts)
http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2/b/281883799
http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2/b/281920201
Enjoy!!
03-21-2011, 06:18 PM
#20
Melting Slicks
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St. Jude Donor '12
I think it goes deeper than that.
There is no brand identification. The Impala's are not what you buy off the lot on Monday, who wants a current Impala anyway. I think NASCAR thought everyone is stupid and wouldn't realize its just stickers.
The drivers are boring for the most part.
1 driver dominating the sport is not good for a sport built around parity.
There is no brand identification. The Impala's are not what you buy off the lot on Monday, who wants a current Impala anyway. I think NASCAR thought everyone is stupid and wouldn't realize its just stickers.
The drivers are boring for the most part.
1 driver dominating the sport is not good for a sport built around parity.