Corvette Racing Wins 24 Hours of Le Mans
Corvette Posts Fifth GT1 Class Victory in Classic
Endurance Race
LE MANS, France (June 18, 2006) - Corvette and Aston
Martin went toe-to-toe in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, trading blows
through a grueling day and night of racing. When the battle finally
ended at 5 p.m. today, Corvette Racing had won the GT1 class
in the world's greatest sports car race for the fifth time in
six years.
The victorious No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver
Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen finished fourth overall
and scored Corvette Racing's 12th podium finish since the team
first came to Le Mans in 2000. It was the trio's third consecutive
class victory at Le Mans and their fourth straight endurance
racing win, a streak that includes last year's 24 Hours of Le
Mans, Petit Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Corvette Racing
extended its perfect finishing record in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
to seven consecutive years and Corvette became the winningest
manufacturer in recent GT history at Le Mans.
This year's 24-hour endurance test reprised the drama of last
year's battle. The No. 63 Corvette C6.R and the No. 009 Aston
Martin DBR9 were in lockstep from the start, separated by less
than a lap in the running order for hour after hour. The turning
point came in the 22nd hour when the green Aston Martin went
to the garage with a mechanical problem. At 2:09 p.m., Jan Magnussen
officially took the lead - a lead that Corvette Racing would
not relinquish. The winning Corvette completed 355 laps, made
25 faultless pit stops, and won by a five-lap margin of victory.
"You have a one-lap cushion, the Aston is in the garage, and
you are five laps ahead of the next car," crew chief Ray Gongla
radioed Magnussen when he took the point. "Do you copy? Can you
hear us?"
"Yes, I can hear you," the Dane replied, "but I just can't
believe it!"
Joining the three Corvette Racing drivers on the victory podium
were Luc Alphand, Patrice Goueslard and Jerome Policand, who
finished third in their independent Corvette C5-R with 346 laps
completed. The No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Ron Fellows,
Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis finished seventh after encountering
drivetrain problems.
Just as last year, Corvette Racing put its rival under pressure
in the closing stages of the race. When a setback during a safety
car period cost the team valuable track position, Gavin, Beretta
and Magnussen resolutely began to chase down the leader, trimming
seconds from the Aston Martin's margin throughout each stint.
"It was an epic battle between two great warriors," said Corvette
Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We've yet to come upon competition
that can provide us the spirit of racing such as the Aston Martin
Prodrive team. It's just sad that only one team could win. We
put on a hell of a show."
The No. 63 Corvette's star-crossed weekend continued when
it pitted at 1:20 p.m. in a cloud of smoke from the transmission.
The crews from both cars went to work, removing, rebuilding and
reinstalling the overheated gearbox. One hour and nine minutes
later, Johnny O'Connell rejoined the fray.
"The rules don't allow you to replace the complete transmission,
but you can rebuild it," explained team manager Gary Pratt. "We
had a gearbox issue in Sebring, but we didn't expect it here,
and it might have been the result of one problem creating another
problem.
"What those guys did was unbelievable," said Pratt. "Teamwork
is what it's all about. Whichever car wins, the whole team wins."
CORVETTE RACING QUOTES:
Olivier Beretta: "The key to our success was to never give
up. Once again Le Mans proved to be race that isn't won until
the checkered flag is out. We had a difficult moment during the
night when Ollie hit an LMP car and we subsequently got some
vibrations. Then we had a refueling problem and all of a sudden
we were almost a lap down. We then could sit back and give up,
or push and see if the race could come back to us. We decided
to push and a couple of hours from the end we started biting
big chunks out of their lead. Then they hit problems and the
race fell back our way. This third consecutive GT win is the
combined work of a very dedicated crew of mechanics, top-class
engineers and visionary decision makers. I can't wait to come
back for more in 2007!"
Oliver Gavin: "As always it was a fantastic race, super hard
all the way against the Aston Martins. And once again everybody
dug deep. This race is a testament to everybody involved who
has worked so hard. It's been a truly remarkable result to win
three in a row against a super professional team like Prodrive.
There were moments when you thought, this is going to be tough,
when you felt the race falling away from you, but we just hung
in there until it came back to us."
Jan Magnussen: "It was a very tough race, all 24 hours of
it. We pushed all the way, and after we hit problems we didn't
sit back. We didn't want the race to run away from us. By daylight
we were almost a lap down but we just kept pushing and pushing
until the Astons failed, and eventually they did. We never got
any presents, we earned this win!"
Johnny O'Connell: "This is the hardest race in the world,
and you run two cars in case something happens to one of them.
Today gives me more motivation for the rest of this season and
to come back to Le Mans next year. I'm so proud of everyone on
the No. 63 Corvette C6.R, and everyone at Corvette Racing. The
effort they put in is unreal. The guys in the 64 car are continuing
their amazing run of good results, and if Ron and I are going
to beat them, we're going to have to do everything right. This
is a very special time in Corvette history - five Le Mans wins
in six years is an incredible record against very stiff competition."
Max Papis: "Today the No. 63 car showed the team spirit of
Corvette Racing. We fought hard, it wasn't our day, but it was
the No. 64's day and a Corvette day. When you fight this hard,
when the win comes it's going to be sweeter. With Olivier, Jan
and Oliver winning, I feel I have a little part in it because
we all contribute to the effort. Hats off to them."
24 Hours of Le Mans GT1 Top Finishers:
Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. (64) Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 355
2. (007) Enge/Turner/Piccini, Aston Martin DBR9, 350
3. (72) Policand/Goueslard/Alphand, Corvette C5-R, 346
4. (62) Piquet Jr./Garcia/Brabham, Aston Martin DBR9, 343
5. (009) Sarrazin/Lamy/Ortelli, Aston Martin DBR9, 342
6. (66) Mowlem/Borcheller/Fittipaldi, Saleen S7R, 337
7. (63) Fellows/O'Connell/Papis, Corvette C6.R, 327