This was my sixth year at the Sebring race. It's always a great time in the Corvette Corral and they always do a great job. This year, though, Johnny O'Connell came to the Corral tent and spoke about the changes that have taken place in the driver lineup over the last few years. First, Johnny was moved to the Cadillac Racing Team and replaced with Tommy Milner. This year, Olivier Beretta was released from the team after 9+ years on the team and 6 LeMans wins. I couldn't figure that one out. Olivier drove the Ferrari that almost won the race. So much for being "over the hill". I don't know what thinking went into that one.

My feeling about the race follows. The Corvette team is behind the curve about being competitive with the other cars in the GT class. The BMW and Ferrari had incidents which took them off the track during the race and the Corvette ran incident free. In spite of this, the Corvette ran behind both cars at the end (The Ferrari actually ran second and was moved to third because of "Avoidable contact" with the BMW in the final laps). The Corvettes were being "stalked" during the race and could have been overtaken at any time by either car.
"It's time to get your act together, Corvette." I always feel encouraged by Doug Fehan (Corvette Racing manager) when he speaks about Corvette's chances, but the team and car are always failing at crucial moments. The Corvette pit stops are supposed to be the model for all the GT teams, but that was the weak point during the race. Forgive my slightly disjointed rant but I had to get it off my chest. The fans are getting tired of listening to the BS.

 

One thing I don't like about ALMS is that they apply certain restrictions to some cars and not all. They should let the Vettes open up the taps a bit.

 

I watched the race on ESPN3 by having it run through my son's laptop on to the flatscreen. Although the picture was good, the results were still a bit disappointing. I realize the 'Vettes may not always be expected to dominate, but it seems the restrictions they have are still a bit much considering the freedom BMW has been granted for variances from factory configurations. An interview with Derek Bell on Wind Tunnel just completed was interesting as he explained what he sees as a future problem with sportscar racing; it's too fragmented. If a world championship series prevails, that would be where the mfgrs. will choose to participate, but if the races will be held mainly in Europe/Mideast there will not be a lot of reason for Corvette to be an entry based on those countries not being large potential markets. The Grand Am (NASCAR owned) series may be what we get if the ALMS goes away. This is speculation at this point, but if the world championship becomes "the series to be in", the ALMS entries from mfgrs. will drop and the series will self-destruct.

 

lavla, thanks for the report, while not what we wanted to hear the insight is never the less informative.

 

Is this the series where the Vettes have restrictors in the intake? Later! Frank

 

I disagree with the previous posts. all racing has to keep apples to apples ( horsepower, width of suspension, etc) or there is no valdity. BMW had variances last year that were contested by all of the other manufactuers last year and have been addressed this year and Corvette will now be highly competitive. Read all you can and become educated.

 

If that is the case they might as well race the same car then because no two cars are exactly the same. Where a Vette might shine on one track, the BMW might be better on another one. You just can't say take 150hp from team x just because team y will not be overpowered. Team y might be better in the curves or in transition. No two cars are exactly alike.

Yes, the cars should be within certain specs such as Formula One but each team should have the chance to "research".

If they desire more competitive (fair) racing then World Challenge is a great series.

 

Well, when you finish 2nd and 3rd in a 12 hr race against the kind of competition that is out there these days, it speaks really well for the cars. As a present and potential future Corvette owner, that is what I care about the most.

Pit stops, ALMS rules, etc. are a significant part of the reason they didn't win it. I would feel differently if they were further back or even out of the running.

 

Yes. I asked Doug Fehan about this and he said by running a smaller enging they were allowed a larger restrictor which gives them more torque.

 

Cold tires, if he would have kept up with the BMW he would have slid off the track.

 

2nd and 3rd place is GREAT! Its not 1st place, but in a 12 hour race, with no accidents, and no reliability or technical issues ...that says a lot! Even though we didn't score 1st ... we still got decent points for the series!!!

Can somebody explain to me why the 3rd place Ferarri did not count as 3rd place? I'm a little confused as to why some stats say Vette is at 2 and 4 ... and officially Vette scored Points for places 2 and 3 ..

Someone said before it was a "factory" effort ...what does that mean?

 

The reason is that the Ferrari is in the WEC (World Endurance Championship). Therefore, they won't get any ALMS points because they won't be competing in the rest of the ALMS events. They'll be in Europe competing in the WEC. Sebring is a common event for, both, the ALMS and WEC.

 

Thank you for making this crystal clear!

 

I love endurance racing!! I honestly can NOT get enough of it. I am not happy about Corvette not finishing first but its not easy as some think. Second, I FKING hate the fact that Speed Channel did and does not carry anything but nascar! My .02

I sure miss Speed Vision!!

Shahram