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FOR RELEASE: May 1, 2002 CONTACT(S):
Corvette Racing Prepares to Defend Le Mans GTS Title Test Day Participation Vital to Race Success
LE MANS - Defending GTS Champions, Corvette Racing, will arrive in Le Mans on a high: since October 2000 they have won every major endurance race in the world (Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, Petit Le Mans), and won the ALMS Teams' and Manufacturers' titles. Difficult to do better, yet the team is keen to repeat their 2001 performance on the Sarthe racetrack. Earlier this year, America's legendary sportscar added the missing jewel to its crown by winning the Sebring 12 Hours in dominant style. The next outing will be the Le Mans test day on May 5, prelude to the last race for the current cars. "The current cars have been well used by now," Program Manager Doug Fehan explains. "We haven't stopped developing them since the day they were built and even for this year quite a number of small changes were made to make sure we can challenge for the win each time we race. After the test the two cars will stay in France for the race, while two new ones are being built for the Sears Point ALMS race two weeks after the test. The car that won Daytona and Le Mans last year and Sebring this year will be retired to the museum, the other one will be sold." Having won everything there is to win doesn't mean Corvette Racing will take it easy in Le Mans. "Le Mans is the one race you should never underestimate," Fehan says. "That race gets tougher every time you run it. Just look at last year: we had a serious accident in practice and then we had the wettest Le Mans in history. Just keeping the cars on the track in those conditions was a major achievement and not exactly something you practice." "To have won that particular edition sure made the victory extra sweet. Plus the competition will have improved as well. I understand some of the Vipers are serious candidates for a win and the Saleens will have improved since Sebring as well. It won't be a walk in the park because we won it last year. But the team behind Corvette Racing are a hard working and very dedicated group, so we will be prepared as we can be." Part of the preparation will be looking for the best possible set-up for the world's most famous street circuit. "That's what we will concentrate on on May 5," Fehan says. "We won't be looking for a spectacular time, although we're not going to sandbag either. We'll concentrate on setting up the car just right to have the best possible base to work from in practice in June." "You can test all you want, but no racetrack compares to the Le Mans track. And since you only have that one day per year to test in Le Mans, it is of vital importance to work in a strict and methodical way to get the most out of these eight hours." The on-going development process of the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R has resulted in quite a few changes on the cars when compared to 2001. Over the winter the team was able to spend quite some time in GM's wind tunnel, giving the engineers the possibility to work on improving the aero balance and high speed, cornering stability. And in case it should rain again like it did last year, the team can always count on Ron Fellows: "Racing in the rain is something that I have always been relatively good at and probably because I enjoy it. As a kid I watched Ronnie Peterson practicing in the rain at Mosport in the six-wheel Tyrrell F1 car. He was amazing to watch, how he searched for grip, corner to corner. It was a valuable lesson, one I have never forgotten." |