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FOR RELEASE: June 11, 2002

CONTACT(S):
Wally Reese, GM Racing Communications
wareese@earthlink.net
303 979-1133

Serge Vanbockryck, GM Racing Communications
GM.Racing@eleven.be
(011) 32 2 663 23 93

Corvette at Le Mans

LE MANS, June 11, 2002 – Corvette Racing will start this year’s 70th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours as a clear favorite for victory in the production car based GTS-class. Since October 2000, America’s legendary performance icon has scored a victory in every major endurance race in the world, including an overall win in the Daytona 24 Hours and a 1-2 in class in Le Mans last year. Beginning as the underdog with its first attempt in 2000, the team has become the favorite this year, a position emphasized given its winning percentage of 100 percent in the 2002 American Le Mans Series.

Since that rain-soaked 24-hour race to victory in 2001, the Pratt & Miller and GM Racing engineers have continuously fine-tuned the Millennium Yellow coupes, resulting in the 2001 ALMS Teams and Manufacturers titles. During May’s Open Test, the little details proved their worth as both cars lapped the 13.9-kilometer circuit a massive five seconds quicker than they did last year.

“The cars are visually similar to last year’s configuration,” says Corvette Program Manager Doug Fehan. “With the exception of the rear-view mirror, the extensive fine-tuning we’ve done since last year may not be visually apparent. We have done extensive work on the airflow under the hood, making small but significant changes that have yielded a bit of extra horsepower. Smaller rear-view mirrors plus a number of other aerodynamic tweaks have given us a slicker car at high speed.”

In 2000, the objective was to come, see and learn. Last year the objective was to come, see and win. This year the objective is clearly to win again.

“Although it will be tough to duplicate last year’s Le Mans finish, that is our goal,” Fehan said. “We go to Le Mans with the momentum of winning the last race of 2001 and two race wins in two starts in 2002, so that’s positive. But there are no secrets. A solid crew from Pratt & Miller Engineering that have been together since the start of this C5-R program has meticulously prepared the Corvettes. They also perform great pit stops. We have six solid drivers that don’t make mistakes and don’t go off the road. Goodyear works closely with us to provide great tires for both dry and wet conditions. The way our Goodyear rain tires performed in the heavy rains during last year’s Le Mans greatly contributed to our success and they have even improved over the winter.”

That improvement was demonstrated six weeks ago at the Open Test when team and drivers concentrated on working on the race set-up, rather than putting on a set of ultra-soft qualifying tires and going for a time. “All six drivers were capable of running laps well under four minutes in race trim, which is five seconds faster than we were capable of doing last year,” Fehan said. “May’s performance exceeded our wildest expectations, so I’m satisfied with all the good work done by everybody.”

The cars will be the exact same chassis used last year, with the 2001 Daytona and Le Mans C5-R to be driven by Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell, with Briton Oliver Gavin replacing Scott Pruett. The other car will have the same drivers’ line-up for the third straight year with British-born Andy Pilgrim, American Kelly Collins and Frenchman Franck Fréon sharing the duties.

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 said. “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 as well. It won’t be a walk in the park just because we won it last year. But the team behind Corvette Racing is a hard working and very dedicated group, so we will be as prepared as we can be.”

Or, in other words: “There are no secrets, just great preparation.” 
 

CORVETTE RACING DRIVER BIOGRAPHIES

 No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R

RON FELLOWS (CDN)

Born: Sept. 28, 1959

Le Mans Participations: 2

Le Mans Best: 7th (2001 – Corvette)

Career Highlights:

  • SCCA TransAm Championship 1988 (Mercury)

  • SCCA TransAm Championship 1989 (Ford) 1 win

  • SCCA TransAm Championship 1990-1994 (Ford) 10 wins

  • SCCA TransAm Vice-Champion 1993-1994 (Ford)

  • SCCA TransAm Championship 1995-1996 (Chevrolet) 9 wins

  • SCCA TransAm Vice-Champion 1995 (Chevrolet)

  • PSCR World Sports Car Championship 1997 (Ferrari) 1 win

  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 1997 (Chevrolet) 1 win

  • PSCR World Sports Car Championship 1998 (Ferrari, Porsche)

  • NASCAR Busch Grand National 1998 (Chevrolet) 1 win

  • American Le Mans Series 1999 (Corvette)

  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 1999 (Chevrolet) 1 win

  • American Le Mans Series 2000 (Corvette) 4 wins GTS

  • Winner Overall and GTS 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Corvette) 5 wins GTS

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)

  • Winner GTS 12 Hours of Sebring 2002 (Corvette)

Ron Fellows in Le Mans:

Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers             Result

2001     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing              O’Connell-Pruett             7th (1st GTS)
2000     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing              Kneifel-Bell                   11th (4th GTS)

 

JOHNNY O’CONNELL (USA)

Born: July 24, 1962

Le Mans Participations: 5

Le Mans Best: 5th (1994 – Nissan, 2000 – Panoz)

Career Highlights:

  • Formula Atlantic (West) Championship 1987, 5 wins

  • Formula Atlantic (West) Champion 1988, 1 win

  • American Racing Series 1989 (Ganassi) 1 win

  • IMSA GTO Championship 1991 (Nissan)

  • IMSA GTS Championship 1992-1993 (Nissan) 2 wins

  • Winner GTS Sebring 12 Hours 1993 (Nissan)

  • Vice-Champion IMSA GTS Championship 1994 (Nissan) 2 wins

  • Winner Overall and GTS Sebring 12 Hours 1994 (Nissan)

  • Winner GT-1 Sebring 12 Hours 1995 (Nissan)

  • Indy Racing League 1996 (Reynard)

  • PSCR World Sports Car Championship 1997 (Hawk, Panoz)

  • PSCR World Sports Car Championship 1998 (R&S, Panoz)

  • American Le Mans Series 1999 (Panoz)

  • American Le Mans Series 2000 (Panoz)

  • Winner Overall and GTS 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)

  • Winner GTS 12 Hours of Sebring 2002 (Corvette)

 Johnny O’Connell in Le Mans:

 Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers             Result

2001     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing             Fellows-Pruett              7th (1st GTS)
2000     Panoz LMP1 Roadster    Panoz Motorsports        Raphanel-Katoh            5th
1999     Panoz LMP1 Roadster    Panoz Motorsports        Magnussen-Angelelli    11th            
1998     Panoz GTR-1                 Motorola DAMS             Bernard-Tinseau          DNF
1994     Nissan 300 ZX                Cunningham                  Morton-Millen                5th


OLIVER GAVIN (GB)

Born: Sept. 29, 1972

Le Mans Participations: 1

Le Mans Best: 18th (2001 – Saleen)

Career Highlights:

  • British Formula First Champion 1991, 11 wins

  • British Formula Vauxhall Vice-Champion 1992 (Village) 4 wins

  • British Formula 3 Vice-Champion 1993 (Dallara-Vauxhall) 5 wins

  • International F3000 Championship 1994 (Omegaland, Nordic)

  • British Formula 3 Champion 1995 (Dallara-Vauxhall) 6 wins

  • International Touring Car Championship 1996 (Opel)

  • International F3000 Championship 1997 (Salisbury)

  • Test driver Formula 1 1998 (Benetton)

  • International F3000 Championship 1999 (Edenbridge)

  • GrandAm Championship 2000 (Lola)

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Saleen) 1 win GTS

  • Winner GTS 12 Hours of Sebring 2001 (Saleen)

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)

  • Winner GTS 12 Hours Of Sebring 2002 (Corvette)

 Oliver Gavin in Le Mans:

 Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers             Result

2001     Saleen S7R                  Team Saleen              Borcheller-Konrad            18th (3rd GTS)


 

No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R

ANDY PILGRIM (USA)

Born: Aug. 18, 1956

Le Mans Participations: 4

Le Mans Best: 8th (2001 – Corvette)

Career Highlights:  

  • Won 3 North American Championships, 1995, 1997, 1998

  • 47 wins and over 60 races in Corvettes

  • SCCA Grand Sport Challenge Vice-Champion 1994 (Pontiac) 1 wins

  • IMSA Supercar Series 1994 (Lotus) 1 win

  • IMSA Grand Sport Endurance Champion 1995, 6 wins

  • Winner GTS-2 Class 12 Hours of Sebring 1996 (Porsche)

  • PSCR GT1 Champion 1997 (Porsche) 4 wins

  • PSCR GT1 Championship 1998 (Porsche)

  • PSCR GT2 Championship 1998 (Porsche) 2 wins

  • American Le Mans Series 1999 (Corvette)

  • GrandAm Championship 2000 (BMW)

  • American Le Mans Series 2000 (Corvette) 2 wins GTS

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Corvette) 2 wins GTS

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)

 

Andy Pilgrim in Le Mans:

Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers             Result
2001     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing            Collins-Freon               8th (2nd GTS)
2000     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing            Collins-Freon               10th
1997     Porsche 911 GT2            Roock Racing              Ahrle-Eichmann           10th
 1996     Porsche 911 GT2            Roock Racing              Ortelli-Bagnall              17th
 

KELLY COLLINS (USA)

Born: April 21, 1965

Le Mans Participations: 2

Le Mans Best: 8th (2001 – Corvette)

Career Highlights:  

  • Pro Mazda Series 1987, 6 wins

  • Barber Saab Series 1988

  • IMSA Sport Championship 1993-1995 (Honda) 8 wins

  • PSCR GT Championship 1997-1998 (Porsche)

  • Winner GT-3 class Rolex 24 at Daytona 1999 (Porsche)

  • Winner GT class 12 Hours at Sebring 1999 (Porsche)

  • American Le Mans Series 1999 (Porsche)

  • American Le Mans Series 2000 (Corvette) 1 win GTS

  • Winner GTS Petit Le Mans 2000 and 2001 (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Corvette) 2 wins GTS

  • Second place GTS Rolex 24 at Daytona 2001 (Corvette)

  • Second place GTS 12 Hours of Sebring 2001 (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)          

 Kelly Collins in Le Mans:

Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers             Result
2001     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing              Pilgrim-Freon          8th (2nd GTS)
2000     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing              Pilgrim-Freon        10th

 


FRANCK FRÉON (F)

Born: March 16, 1964

Le Mans Participations: 8

Le Mans Best: 7th (1995 – Kudzu-Mazda)

Career Highlights:  

  • French Renault 5 Turbo Championship 1986

  • French Renault 5 Turbo Championship 1987, 1 win

  • French Formula 3 Championship 1988 (Dallara-Alfa)

  • French Formula 3 Championship 1989 (Dallara-Alfa)

  • International F3000 Championship 1990 (Reynard)

  • Indy Lights Championship 1991-1993 (Lola) 4 wins

  • Indy Lights Vice-Champion 1992-1993

  • IndyCar Championship 1994-1995 (Lola, Reynard)

  • Japanese Touring Car Championship 1996 (Mazda)

  • PSCR World Sports Car Championship 1997-1998 (Kudzu)

  • International SportsRacing Series 1998 (Courage)

  • American Le Mans Series 2000 (Corvette) 1 win GTS

  • American Le Mans Series 2001 (Corvette) 1 win GTS

  • Winner GTS Petit Le Mans 2000 and 2001 (Corvette)

  • Winner Overall and GTS Rolex 24 at Daytona 2001 (Corvette)

  • American Le Mans Series 2002 (Corvette)

 Franck Freon in Le Mans:

Year     Car                               Team                           Co-drivers                     Result
2001     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing            Pilgrim-Collins                8th (2nd GTS)
2000     Corvette C5-R                 Corvette Racing            Pilgrim-Collins              10th
1999     R&S-Ford MkIII               Autoexe                       Terada-Donovan           DNF          
1998     Courage-Porsche C50     Courage Competition     Terada-Thevenin           15th
1997     Kudzu-Mazda DG3         Downing Atlanta            Terada-Downing           17th
1996     Kudzu-Mazda DG3         Downing Atlanta            Terada-Downing           25th
1995     Kudzu-Mazda DG3         Mazdaspeed                 Terada-Downing             7th
1994     Mazda RX-7                   Mazdaspeed                 Terada-De Thoisy         15th