Corvette Racing Completes Trouble-Free Test at
Le Mans
Corvette C6.Rs Third and Fourth Fastest in Eight-Hour
Test Session
LE MANS, France (June 5, 2006) - It was only a test, but
Corvette Racing's twin
Corvette C6.R race cars passed with flying colors as the two
Corvettes
had a day of trouble-free testing on the Circuit des 24 Heures
du Mans.
Today's eight-hour session was the only opportunity for teams
to test on
the 8.5-mile course before the start of official practice and
qualifying
on June 14.
The No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin,
Olivier
Beretta and Jan Magnussen ran a fast lap of 3:53.029, placing
it third
among the 12 GT1 entries. The No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R
of Johnny
O'Connell, Ron Fellows and Max Papis completed the 13.6-kilometer
circuit in 3:53.174, placing it fourth on the GT1 speed chart.
The No.
63 Corvette ran a total of 91 laps and its sister car completed
83 laps.
Neither car had any significant issues as the team evaluated
tires,
shock absorbers and aerodynamic settings. The independent Corvette
C5-R
of Policand/Goueslard/Alphand was fifth fastest at 3:54.113.
"I couldn't have asked for the test to be any better," said
Corvette
Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We had perfect weather and
enjoyed a
virtually trouble-free day. The two Corvette C6.Rs completed
a total of
174 laps, the most among the two-car GT1 teams, and we have a
huge
amount of data to analyze.
"Lap times were very good, the dramatic improvement over last
year that
we were looking for," Fehan continued. "They were a close match
to what
the computer simulations suggested, further validating our software.
We
hit all of the goals we intended to accomplish."
Corvette Racing is aiming for a fifth class victory in six
years in the
classic 24-hour endurance race.
"In all of the years I've been coming to Le Mans with Corvette
Racing,
this is the best we've ever done in the open test," said Johnny
O'Connell, a three-time class winner at Le Mans. "We've had amazing
success since 2001, winning four times, but we've always struggled
in
pre-qualifying. This time we found some things and started moving
in the
right direction. Right now we have two cars that are probably
the best
we've ever had on a test day. We're feeling very positive."
Oliver Gavin shared O'Connell's optimism: "It went very well," he
commented. "We ran through a series of changes, and every time
I got in
the car it was better. The tires were working well and engine
performance was strong today. I think we found a good tire for
the race;
Jan and Olivier both worked hard on that. We're looking really
good for
the race in terms of the speed of the car and its driveability."
"I am very happy with how the day went," said Olivier Beretta. "We
did a
test of the front tires and as always Michelin has brought good
stuff. I
am very happy with the car, the engineers have done their homework,
and
we came here with a good package. I am very comfortable with
the
handling of the car. The whole day went according to schedule
without
any problems."
Ron Fellows was also pleased with the continuous improvement
of the
Corvette race cars.
"There's no question that we're farther along on the learning
curve this
year," said the Canadian. "If you look at the lap times, that's
certainly the case. We found the cars to be very well balanced
at
Sebring, and they're much the same here. We certainly have a
better C6.R
than we had last year.
Max Papis agreed: "We focused a lot on the race pace and found
a great
improvement in the handling of the car compared to last year.
I'm very
pleased about the race setup. We were very consistent and right
where we
wanted to be."
Jan Magnussen was delighted to get back in a Corvette C6.R
after
previous victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Petit Le Mans,
and the
Sebring 12-hour endurance race.
"This was my first time in the car since Sebring so it was good
to get
the feeling again," said Magnussen. "The car has been improved
quite a
bit since the last time I drove it.
"Today we accomplished everything we planned to do, so all we
need to do
next week in qualifying is improve on the details," he explained. "As
usual we didn't use any sticky qualifying tires today. I'll fly
back to
Denmark as I have a race for the Danish Touring Car Championship
next
weekend and then I'll come straight back here, hoping we can
repeat last
year's result."
Today's session was a prelude to two days of qualifying on
June 14-15
and the 24-hour race on June 17-18.
"Keep in mind that everything we do and every minute we spend
is to
accomplish one goal - to get the very best race car and not necessarily
to set the fastest lap time," Fehan advised. "We're very close
to that
now, and with two more days I think we're going to get it better.
I'm
really pleased, and I know we're competitive."
The 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 5 p.m. local time on Saturday,
June 17
and finishes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 18. The race will be broadcast
on
SPEED Channel in North America and in Europe on MotorsTV. Live
radio
coverage will be available at
www.radiolemans.com.
24 Hours of Le Mans GT1 Test Times:
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time
1. (007) Enge/Turner/Piccini, Aston Martin DBR9, 3:51.408
2. (009) Sarrazin/Lamy/Ortelli, Aston Martin DBR9, 3:52.664
3. (64) Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 3:53.029
4. (63) Fellows/O'Connell/Papis, Corvette C6.R, 3:53.174
5. (72) Policand/Goueslard/Alphand, Corvette C5-R, 3:54.113
6. (69) Babini/Gollin/Pescatori, Aston Martin DBR9, 3:54.507
7. (67) Pergl/Kox/Vasiliev, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 3:55.316
8. (66) Mowlem/Borcheller/Fittipaldi, Saleen S7R, 3:56.695
9. (50) Gardel/Bornhauser/Blanchemain, Ferrari 550 Maranello,
3:58.563
10. (62) Piquet Jr./Garcia/Brabham, Aston Martin DBR9, 3:58.935
11. (53) Apicella/Hinoi/Yamanishi, Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT,
3:59.108
12. (61) Sugden/Vann/Smith, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 4:04.706
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker,
has been
the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908,
GM today
employs about 327,000 people around the world. With global headquarters
in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries.
In
2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under
the
following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo,
Holden,
HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM operates
one of the
world's leading finance companies, GMAC Financial Services, which
offers
automotive, residential and commercial financing and insurance.
GM's
OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security
and
information services. More information on GM can be found at
www.gm.com.