Corvette racing program changing ownership. The article says no changes with the race program. Time will tell.

Pratt & Miller Sold to Oshkosh Corp in $115 Million Deal – Sportscar365

 

Local to me, awesome. Hopefully I'll see them testing their C8.R's at Road America when I'm up there. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean they are moving their operations.

 

Surprising. I worked in their NASCAR/Indycar GM support program in Huntersville between 2012-14.....decent amount of fun on that job and worked with some very skilled people. Glad Oshkosh is keeping the C8.R program intact but hopefully the NASCAR/IndyCar program isn’t affected.

 

Strange marriage given Oshkosh builds GD trucks, military especially, as well as Fire Trucks.
Obviously someone at the top of Oshkosh is a big racer.

 

Mentioned in the article is that everything will still remain in Michigan. That includes staff and facilities. Here I was hoping that some of my friends who work at Oshkosh Corp could come up with some freebee passes for IMSA weekend at RA.

 

PM has a big US military contract as well. They spend a lot of money on that, and came up with one of the latest and greatest personnel carriers. I think for Oshkosh the various racing programs are a add on, and hopefully of value to them in the future. Lot of good people working across C8.R, NASCAR and IRL.

 

Jen Judson
Wed, December 16, 2020, 9:24 AM CSTWASHINGTON — Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-maker Oshkosh Defense announced it has agreed to buy engineering company Pratt Miller, which brings with it artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics expertise.

Oshkosh said in a Dec. 15 news release that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pratt Miller in a cash-free, debt-free purchase price of $115 million.

The New Hudson, Michigan-based Pratt Miller will keep its name, team, facilities and branding, according to the statement.

The engineering company was founded in 1989 and is becoming known for its robotics capabilities. The firm recently won a U.S. Army contract in a partnership with QinetiQ to provide prototypes of the light variant of its Robotic Combat Vehicle for evaluation.

 

With IMSA GT class getting so few factory supported competitors, basically BMW and Porsche, really don't see a long term future for Corvette in that series. Used to be fun to watch when all the competition was there. Kind of boring now.

 

Even says the Pratt and Miller name will remain. I don't see anything negative coming from this but only time will tell.

 

Interesting, at first I thought it was a cash out by Pratt and Miller, but it appears it was a stock based purchase, so Pratt and Miller have a vested interest in continued success, so more likely to stay actively involved.

 

Doug Fehan steps down from Corvette Racing. Big shoes to fill, enjoyed Doug's talk at the Corrals!

Doug Fehan Steps Away After 25 Years With Corvette Racing - Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle (corvetteblogger.com)

 

Yes and this is also mentioned on the Corvette Racing Twitter account. He will be missed

 

I had the pleasure of talking with Doug on a couple of occasions and he was very approachable, genuinely friendly, a real corvette enthusiast, and an all around great guy. He will definitely be missed.

 

I believe Corvette will rename one of the Cadillac prototypes to run it in the IMSA LM series.

 

Spoke to a friend of mine who still works there. No changes to the racing program. Turns out Oshkosh CEO is a from Mercury Racing, so at least at the higher echelon there is real interest in racing.

 

Sports Car 360 is reporting Doug got the AXE...looking like trouble is brewing for the C8R race Team...I would not book my flights to France for the June 2021, 24 Hours of Le Mans Race just yet....

Quote:

The announcement, made Wednesday, sees the departure of Fehan, arguably the face of the factory operation since its formation.

WEATHERTECH CHAMPIONSHIP

Fehan Let Go by Corvette After 25 Years

Doug Fehan let go by GM after 25-year run as Corvette Racing program manager…
Fehan Let Go by Corvette After 25 Years – Sportscar365

• 
• by
  John Dagys
• December 16, 2020

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Longtime Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan has been let go by General Motors after a 25-year-run with the brand.

The announcement, made Wednesday, sees the departure of Fehan, arguably the face of the factory operation since its formation.

While declining comment, Fehan indicated to Sportscar365 that a change in management within GM was one of the guiding factors behind the decision.

Longtime GM Racing director Mark Kent was replaced by Mark Stielow as its new director of motorsports competition and engineering in September.

Fehan led the Pratt & Miller-run squad to 14 team championships, 13 manufacturer and driver titles as well as 113 race wins, including eight class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the program’s 22 seasons to date.

In a statement, Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports said Fehan’s contributions went “far beyond” the team’s success on track.

“He developed strong relationships between Corvette Racing and the Corvette engineering, design, powertrain and marketing teams, and a variety of corporate sponsors, along with the various series and sanctioning bodies in which Corvette Racing competed,” said Campbell.

“Doug’s passion and enthusiasm created an incredible connection with race fans around the world. Any fan who met Doug will never forget him.”

Fehan joined GM racing in 1988 and worked on a number of projects including Chevrolet Beretta Trans-Am, Chevrolet Intrepid GTP and Oldsmobile’s World Sports Car efforts before being named program manager at Corvette Racing in 1996.

His replacement has yet to be announced.

Fehan is the latest to have departed Corvette in the last 12 months, following longtime drivers Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin, along with crew chief Dan Binks, who retired from the team following January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

This article was updated at 4 p.m. ET with additional information