69

FROM DAILYSPORTSCAR.COM


Corvette Racing – The Future
A Chat With Doug Fehan


After a rather eventful race for Corvette Racing, this seemed to be as good
a time as any to catch up with Doug Fehan, head of Corvette Racing and get
the scoop on all of the rumours surrounding the team and the future.



Let's get this out first. According to Doug, nothing has been decided.
Doug has submitted his proposals to GM and now must wait. "I'm comfortable
that we have done our very best to lay out a plan that will maximize the
return on the investment for GM. I can sleep well at night, knowing that we
have done the best that we can do. Every program in GM is being examined
for return on the investment – it's not just ours."
Doug, at the final race of the season last year, commented about the
popularity of the team and how the Corvette corrals continued to grow year
by year. Continuing on that theme, he stated that "even in a down economy,
trinket sales – shirts, hats, models, etc. were up 187% this year." That
goes with the ever present crowd surrounding the Corvette compound at each
and every event during the season.
"Every race that we do is somewhat like the events held at a showroom, where
management brings out the hotdogs and maybe some show cars to attract a
crowd. We just do it on a much larger and more successful scale."
He also points at the current image of the Corvette in Europe. "We never
could have changed the image of the Corvette in Europe to the extent that we
have without the racing program. Never. This car is the showcase for GM
and the technology throughout the product line. It's just not about
Corvette – it's about Chevrolet and GM."


Ever the optimist, Doug is taking this period of uncertainty as a blessing
in disguise. With all of the unknowns concerning the future regulations,
this is a good time to do some homework, to prepare for the future. "We
need to be patient. We don't know how the balance is going to work out for
the future regulations. As an example, the ACO has known for some time that
they will need to address the balance in the prototype class between the
diesel-powered cars and the rest. How will that work out? How will the
future GT class regulations work out? By having some patience, we can wait
this out, see what the future looks like and not waste allocated money."
While the future GT class regulations have not yet been announced, it
appears as if a two level approach will continue. The current ACO
regulations will end at the end of this season, and then a joint effort in
regulations between the ACO and the FIA will take over. And these appear to
be based upon a proposal that will have a base car as the GT2 class car, and
allow upgrades to the basic package to allow it to compete in GT1. "This is
the indication that I'm hearing. An example of this would be the GT2 –
GT3 – GT4 Porsche. They share the basic platform, but by changing
components in the car, it can be run in the different classes. It is not
quite that simple, but it's a usable analogy. Pardon the double negative,
but nothing about this is not appealing to us. It makes sense."
But these future regulations appear to make the Corvette GT1 as we know it
to be obsolete. Doug would prefer to view it as non-conformable to the
FIA/ACO regulations, but feels that there will still be a place to run the
cars, especially over here in North America for at least 2009.
As for the recent past, Doug understands what happened at Mid Ohio. "I
didn't see the red flag either. I understand what happened, but that does
not make it acceptable. It was wrong. They were racing hard, like they
always do and in the heat of the battle, failed to see the flag. It was
wrong and shouldn't have happened, but it did. There was no thought of
there not being any other competition in this race. It was simply the
drivers going at it like they always do. If there was any competition in
the class, they likely would have won. Plain and simple. The drivers did
not behave any differently because it was only us in the class – they were
going after each other like they always do. When two teams like ours are so
closely matched, it's up to seizing any opportunity and making the best of
it." Maybe this wasn't the best time, but it did make for good TV.


What could be even more intense is when Doug and Ollie Gavin square off at
Road America on bikes. "Yeah, this one is where experience and treachery
will be my ally. I'm competitive and I'll take it to Ollie."


It is that intensity that keeps Doug going. It's the racer's mentality.
They don't want to stop. We've seen it with Ron Fellows and now in football
(not soccer) with Brett Favre. When it comes down to it, walking away is a
very tough thing to do. Just don't expect to see Doug walk away soon.
"They'll have to carry me away from this sport. Why retire? I get paid for
harassing Ollie and the rest of the gang. Life's good." Even through the
phone, Doug's expression is coming through clearly.
Here's to more battles for Corvette Racing in the future!
Gary Horrocks

shakedown067

Great read. Thanks for sharing!

davidfarmer

I think it would be great if they'd build a Modular Racing chassis (via P&M or Riley) that could be adapted across different classes/series. Vipers do it, Mustangs do it, Porsches have done if for ever.......

With only a little technical support, the fans could BE the racers and GM could still have a super marketing campaign for a fraction of the cost.

John Shiels

no clue why GM never did what Chrysler did with the comp coupe.