We are going. Haven't missed one since 1999!

Here is a good Oliver Gavin audio interview: http://fb.me/17aXdMRWX

Special Note: There will be an exciting auction held in the Corvette Corral Tent on Friday afternoon, 10/19/12, after seminars & drivers autograph session.

This Registered auction is for Vicki & George's son, Bart, waiting for a heart transplant.
For more information and to check out some of the auction items please follow the facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/278050 ... otif_t=plan_mall_activity

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2012 15th Annual Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda

Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA, USA
October 17 - 20, 2012


ESPN3 Qualifying Stream 2:25 PM EDT Oct 19th
ESPN3 Race Stream 11:15 AM EDT Oct 20th
ABC TV Broadcast 1:00 PM EDT Oct 21st


LIVE TIMING:

http://scoring.alms.com/

http://livescoring.us/scoring.php

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.alms.com/camera/live-audio-broadcast

WATCH LIVE CORVETTE ONBOARD CAMERA:
http://www.alms.com/camera/live-audio-broadcast

Agenda:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... s%20Supp%20Regs%209-1.pdf

Facility Map:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2011/events/petit/2011-Petit-Map.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
Not listed yet

Tickets:
1-800-849-RACE
Make sure you order the Corvette Corral parking corral ticket if there are any left.
http://www.roadatlanta.com/ev_petit.lasso

Corvette Corral:
Not listed yet
http://www.alms.com/car-corral

Corvette Racing Sweeps ALMS GT Championships with VIR 240 Victory



Gavin and Milner Win Drivers Championship with Fourth Victory; Chevrolet Clinches GT Manufacturer Championship, Corvette Racing Takes Team Title



ALTON, Va., Sept. 15, 2012 – Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won the American Le Mans Series GT Drivers Championship with a victory today in the VIR 240 at Virginia International Raceway. Their fourth victory in nine races clinched the GT Manufacturer Championship for Chevrolet and wrapped up the GT Team Championship for Corvette Racing.



"This is the kind of day you hope for – a perfect race, a great race car, the right pit calls, and no drama," said Milner. "I got my start in professional sports car racing at VIR, so to get my first championship here in my home state of Virginia is very special. I can't say enough for Oliver and the Corvette Racing crew; they've been best friends from the day that I arrived. Just a great day!"



Gavin avoided trouble in a chaotic start and took the lead at 42 minutes into the four-hour race. A well-timed pit stop at the one-hour mark put the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R in control with Milner taking the two middle stints. Gavin then drove the final hour and crossed the finish line with a 19.5-second margin of victory over the second-place No. 45 Porsche.



"There is no better way to crown 60 years of Corvette production than by winning the ALMS GT Manufacturer Championship," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "This achievement is the result of a tremendous effort by the entire Chevrolet team. Start with a high-performance platform from the Corvette production group, add power, durability and efficiency developed by GM Powertrain, perfect the package with the engineering expertise of Corvette Racing, put exceptional drivers behind the wheel, and then go head-to-head with world-class competition in the most intense road racing series on the planet. Corvette Racing's championship season reflects Chevrolet's commitment to winning on the race track and in the showroom."



"Winning the Drivers Championship in a category as fiercely competitive as the ALMS GT class requires speed, stamina, strategy, and teamwork," said Mark Kent, director of Chevy Racing. "Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner have those qualities, and now they have the 2012 GT Drivers Championship. Both are excellent racers and outstanding representatives for Corvette and Chevrolet. We congratulate Oliver and Tommy on their well-deserved championship, and we are confident that there are many more titles in their future."



Gavin scored his 38th career ALMS victory today in his milestone 100th start. He joined Corvette Racing in 2002 as an endurance racing specialist, and became a full-season driver in 2003. Gavin won three consecutive ALMS GT1 championships in 2005-07, and twice finished second in the GT1 championship. Following Corvette Racing's move to the GT class in 2009, Gavin was runner-up in last year's GT title race.



"Tommy made it so easy for me," Gavin said. "We had a decent lead and I just wanted to make sure I kept that in case there were any problems at the end. From the championship standpoint I knew we were really strong and just needed to make no mistakes and get to the finish."



Getting to the finish wasn't easy. Just as the race started, chaos erupted in the first corner when the No. 20 LMP1 spun. With the track blocked, there was a chain reaction pileup. Gavin made it through, but Jan Magnussen was in the middle of the melee in the sister No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.



"I was on the inside, and fortunately all of the craziness was happening to the left of me," Gavin said. "I followed the No. 01 Ferrari into Turn 1, then there was a wall of smoke and I could see Johannes was really cutting to the inside. I had to go even farther to the inside, and then an LMPC car spun right in front of me. I thought I was going to nail it, but it just seemed to evaporate. I got through on the grass, and was nearly T-boned by Bergmeister as he was trying to avoid the wrecks. It was like the seas parted and I went through."



The No. 3 Corvette's race essentially ended in the first corner, with the car sustaining damage to its hood and left-front fender. Magnussen pitted and the Corvette crew taped the damaged panels, but he had to return to the pits on the next lap for a complete new nose assembly. The Dane rejoined the race four laps down to the leaders. Despite running some of the fastest laps of the race, the deficit was too great to make up.



"There was a bit of stop-and-go and it was looking like it was going to be a messy start," Magnussen said. "Then we got going and as we went into Turn 1, the inside lane stopped a bit and it was clear for me on the outside. I don't know what happened up in front, but they started spinning and I had nowhere to go. I tried to stop, but hit an LMPC car and had a lot of damage to the nose. I couldn't go to the inside because the other Corvette was there. I can't believe it."



Gavin emerged in second, and was shadowing van Overbeek's race-leading No. 01 Ferrari. At the 42-minute mark, Gavin made his move for the lead.



"I passed him in Turn 1 and made it stick in Turn 2," Gavin recalled. "He got a bad run off Turn 11 and then a GTC car slowed him in 14 and 15. The GTC driver didn't see him and pushed Johannes wide so I got a run on him. My car was better under braking, and I thought I could make it through if he didn't put me in the grass."



As the stint continued, Gavin's tires began to lose grip and he was passed by the No. 01 and No. 02 Ferraris. He pitted from third at 1:01, and while Tommy Milner was getting into the No. 4 Corvette, the race's second full-course caution began. That fortuitous timing put the Gavin/Milner Corvette in the GT lead when racing resumed after the pit stop cycle.



Milner ran a relatively uneventful double stint, maintaining a steady four-second lead over the second-place No. 56 BMW. Milner pitted at 2:12 into the race for tires and fuel and stopped again with one hour to go, turning the No. 4 Corvette over to Gavin for the run to the finish. Almost simultaneously the No. 56 BMW of championship rival Dirk Mueller pitted with a broken toe link, falling from second to eighth.



"When the car is that good and so comfortable, when you're by yourself and out in clean air, it's a lot of fun," Milner said. "That was a good two stints. A great pit stop and a bit of good luck got us in before the yellow and put us ahead, but nobody could catch us."



Magnussen ran to 2:19 before handing off the No. 3 Corvette C6.R to Antonio Garcia. The Spaniard drove to the checkered flag, gaining spots with quick laps and attrition among his rivals to finish eighth. Magnussen and Garcia are second in the driver standings going into the season finale at Road Atlanta.



Today's victory was Corvette Racing's 85th win in 140 races. Chevrolet and Corvette Racing have won nine ALMS manufacturer and team championships since 2001. The team made the transition to the production-based GT category in 2009, and has scored eight wins in the super-competitive class.



"I think today was emblematic of all the things that make Corvette Racing a champion," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Preparation, strategy, and execution."



Corvette Racing's next event is the 10-hour/1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 20.



American Le Mans Series VIR 240 GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 126

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 126

3. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 126

4. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 126

5. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 125

6. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 124

7. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 123

8. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 122

9. 56 D. Mueller/Summerton, BMW E92 M3, 120

10. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 98

From the Fans: Who is Your Choice?
Send in your nominations, SUCH AS CORVETTE RACING! through the VIR weekend!

The 2012 ALMS season has been a remarkable one. Now we need your help letting us know who has been the most important figure this season. That person or group will receive the annual ‘From the Fans’ award, presented at the season-ending banquet the night after Petit Le Mans.

From now through Sunday, nominate your choice of the person or group, SUCH AS CORVETTE RACING!! that has made the biggest impact on ALMS and sports car racing during 2012 by emailing fans@americanlemans.com. The top five nominees will move on to the voting round with the winner announced Oct. 21 at the annual Night of Champions banquet at Petit Le Mans.

Voting also will start soon for the 2012 ALMS Most Popular Driver away. Stay tuned for the first round of selections…
http://www.alms.com/articles/fans-who-your-choice

Corvettes Qualify Third and Fourth for ALMS VIR 240



Gavin and Magnussen Claim Second Row in Fast and Furious Qualifying at VIR



ALTON, Va., Sept. 14, 2012 – Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen locked up the second row in GT qualifying for Saturday's VIR 240 at Virginia International Raceway. Gavin qualified the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R third in the 11-car GT field at 1:46.409 (110.630 mph). Magnussen qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R fourth at 1:46.497 (110.538 mph) in the American Le Mans Series' first visit to the Virginia track. Johannes van Overbeek claimed the GT pole in the No. 01 Ferrari with a fast lap at 1:45.988 (111.069 mph).



The top four cars were separated by .509 seconds when the 15-minute qualifying session ended. Times plummeted nearly a second from the best laps turned in practice as the GT teams turned up the wick on the 3.27-mile circuit.



"Qualifying was fast and furious," Gavin said. "I don’t feel that I strung together the best lap. I might have got down to a low 1:46, but I kept missing bits, which frustrates me. Van Overbeek must have just nailed it on his pole lap."



Gavin set the pace in his second and third qualifying laps, but fell to third when van Overbeek and BMW driver Dirk Mueller posted quicker times on their fifth and fourth laps respectively.



"You want to get the time in the first lap because that's when the tires feel at their best, but the pressures aren't quite there and the car isn't settled," the Englishman explained. "Then the speed builds, but the more you run the car, the more it slides. Perhaps that's something we need to work on for the race."



Gavin and co-driver Tommy Milner will start the VIR 240 with a 28-point lead in the GT driver championship and could clinch the title with a top-two finish. "We're in a good spot, we're where we need to be to fight," Gavin noted. "The car's balance is good, and I think we can race everyone just as we have all season long. It's going to be a long, hard four-hour race, and there's not going to be much between anybody."



Magnussen also improved his lap times when it counted. "I improved, but others improved more," he quipped. "The No. 02 Ferrari spun in front of me, so I lost just a bit of time there. I got through the corner clean, but I couldn't see if he was coming back on the track, so I hesitated just a moment. Other than that it was a great lap, maybe it could have been a P2, but who knows? Qualifying here is excellent fun!"



"I had a small radio problem and couldn't communicate with the pits, so I didn't know where I was," Magnussen reported. "I'm quite happy with the balance of the car and I'm quite happy with the lap times. Obviously the Ferrari's pole lap was a bit of a shock, but the Corvettes and BMWs are right there, as usual. It should be an interesting race."



The four-hour American Le Mans Series VIR 240, the ninth round of the 10-race 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 15. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 2:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will televise the race at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 16.



American Le Mans Series VIR 240 GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:45.988

2. 56 D. Mueller/Summerton, BMW E92 M3, 1:46.359

3. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:46.409

4. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:46.497

5. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:46.583

6. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:46.601

7. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 1:46.680

8. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:48.014

9. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:48.319

10. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 1:48.940

Corvette Racing at VIR: Very Important Race



With Championships on the Line, Corvette Team Ventures into Uncharted Territory at Virginia International Raceway



ALTON, Va., Sept. 10, 2012 – According to the state slogan, Virginia is for lovers, but Virginia International Raceway is for racers. The manicured circuit in the rolling Virginia countryside will host Saturday's American Le Mans VIR 240, the ninth round of the 10-race 2012 American Le Mans Series.



The penultimate event on this year's ALMS calendar is indeed a VIR – "Very Important Race" – for Corvette Racing. The Chevy team leads the driver, team, and manufacturer championships in the GT class, and can clinch the titles at VIR. The series' first appearance at VIR is a venture into unexplored territory, however. Corvette Racing was in France preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the ALMS open test held at VIR in June. While all four Corvette Racing drivers have experience at VIR, none has raced a Corvette C6.R on the 3.27-mile Virginia road course.



"Antonio and I both know the circuit," said Jan Magnussen, second in the GT standings with co-driver Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. "It's a fantastic place, a motorsports country club – the scenery is fantastic, the track has a lot of elevation changes, long sweeping corners, and some really tight and tricky bits.



"While we were busy at Le Mans, several teams got a chance to test there, so we are a little behind," Magnussen explained. "Usually Corvette Racing picks these things up quickly, so I don't think that is a huge disadvantage. The competition is extremely close in this series, so we will need a few good practice sessions before qualifying to be able to fight with everyone else."



Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner will arrive at VIR with a 28-point lead in the GT standings over their teammates and a 30-point margin over their closest BMW rival. A lead of 24 points at the conclusion of the VIR 240 would clinch the GT championship for the Anglo-American pairing in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.



"We really are coming to the point in the season where the pressure is on for everybody," said Gavin, who is scheduled to make his milestone 100th career ALMS start on Saturday. "There are championships on the line for drivers, manufacturers, and teams. Everyone is watching everything they do, whether it's a setup change, tire selection, a pit stop, or race strategy. You're wondering how that is going to have a knock-on effect for your end result.



"In reality, championships are never won or lost in these final races," Gavin observed. "A point earned or lost in an early round can make all the difference. There have been races that haven't gone to plan for us, but that has happened with everybody. The teams and drivers in GT are super competitive, and everyone is taking points off each other. No one can predict who is going to come out on top.



"Last year I raced a Camaro in a Grand-Am race at VIR in the rain," Gavin recalled. "I remember it being quite a challenge. It's a fast and flowing track, but it's quite narrow and unforgiving. It's got a unique character that is great fun, and I think it's going to be fantastic in the Corvette C6.R."



Tommy Milner also knows his way around VIR. "I raced there 2004 and 2005," said the longtime Virginia resident. "I've qualified on the pole and I've won there, so I have good memories of the track. The Esses are going to be awesome in these cars, almost flat out and very, very fast. The track is rather narrow, so it will be tough to pass, and if you are ahead, you can make it difficult for people to get around you."



Antonio Garcia is looking forward to this stop on the ALMS tour in his first season as a full-season driver for Corvette Racing – he's driven Daytona Prototypes at VIR for years. Garcia is fresh from a victory in a Corvette DP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday.



"I know the track quite well, but I don't know the Corvette at that track so I will need to adjust, just as the team will adjust the car setup to perform," the Spaniard said. "I am looking forward to going to a track that I already know. The section going toward the Oak Tree corner is fast and flowing, with a series of corners that get your full attention. The circuit will produce really good racing."



While the Corvette C6.R has not raced at VIR, the Corvette crew does have data from bygone days. "We tested at VIR when we were developing the C6.R many years ago," revealed team manager Gary Pratt. "We may be behind on the first day, but by the second day we should be right there. With all of the tools we have now, we won't be at a big disadvantage by not testing there."



The four-hour American Le Mans Series VIR 240, the ninth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 15. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 2:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will televise the race at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 16.

If you missed this morning's conference here is a replay:

http://www.alms.com/video/future-unveiled

Somemore info-read both the 09/04/12 and 09/05/12 comments:

http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/

Scott Atherton: ALMS GT? "Current GT content of ALMS has been agreed to be part of the new series. Going forward, that's the plan."

2012 American Le Mans Series at VIR

Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Virginia, USA
Sept 13 - 15, 2012

ESPN3 Qualifying 2:25 pm CDT Sept 14th

ESPN3 Race Stream 1:15 pm CDT Sept 15th

ESPN2 Broadcast 4:00 pm CDT Sept 16th



LIVE TIMING:

http://scoring.alms.com/

http://livescoring.us/scoring.php

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

http://radiolemans.0157.org/nplayer.php

WATCH LIVE CORVETTE ONBOARD CAMERA:
http://www.alms.com/camera/live-audio-broadcast

Agenda:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... ace/VIR%20Supp%20Regs.pdf

Track Map:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... ce/VIR%20Track%20Maps.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
Not listed yet

Tickets:
http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/per ... age=en&cobrand=virnow2012

Corvette Corral:
Not listed yet
http://www.alms.com/car-corral

Leo Parente and ShakeDown present a special 2-part show - First, taking you
to the Baltimore GrandPrix to get a look as tro how a street course effects the racing experience. Second, we talk with Speed.com's John Dagys, the journalist that broke the story of the impending merger between American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am to create a unified North American sports car racing enterprise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7eE7OGDVAU&feature=youtu.be

Oliver Gavin's take on Baltimore as well as on the "merger":

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/201 ... hting-for-a-championship/

Peter De Lorenzo: NEW perspective on the Grand-Am/ALMS mash-up: http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/

Corvettes Finish Second and Sixth in Baltimore ALMS



Gavin and Milner Score Big in GT Championship with Runner-up Finish, Magnussen and Garcia Fight Back from Last to Sixth



BALTIMORE, Sept. 1, 2012 – Corvette Racing encountered heavy holiday traffic on the streets of Baltimore today, finishing second and sixth in the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner labored long and hard on the Labor Day weekend to bring the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R across the finish line second, 2.2 seconds behind the winning No. 17 Porsche of Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler. That result increased their lead in the GT driver championship as their closest rivals finished down the order. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen battled back after a tire puncture on the first lap dropped the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R to last place. With their sixth-place finish, Garcia and Magnussen retained second place in the GT driver standings.



The top eight GT cars finished on the same lap, completing 67 tours around the 2.0-mile temporary street course in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in the two-hour race. The GT-winning Porsche finished fourth overall, and the Gavin/Milner Corvette was fifth overall. The first four finishers in the closely contested GT category represented four different manufacturers: Porsche, Chevrolet, Ferrari, and BMW.



"I just kept thinking about the bigger picture in the closing laps," Gavin said. "I caught Bryan pretty quickly, but he was driving well and not making mistakes. We had a number of cautions, and he was better than us on the restarts. Once we got into those caution periods, I realized that we needed to think about the championship points. Of course we want to win, but we didn't want to risk throwing it away. We've extended our lead in the standings with two more races to go. We're certainly not taking anything for granted."



Milner started the No. 4 Corvette C6.R on the GT pole, and Garcia started third in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. The first lap saw a traffic jam as several prototypes tangled and blocked the first turn; Milner and Garcia made it through, but the No. 3 suffered a slow puncture and had to pit on the third lap, falling to 12th in the GT class. Milner led for the first 10 laps before he was blocked by a prototype and passed by the No. 55 BMW and the No. 17 Porsche. The BMW was penalized for avoidable contact, but the No. 01 Ferrari got by Milner before a pit stop and driver change at 48 minutes into the race. Gavin took over and was second after the pit stop cycle, a position he held to the checkered flag.



"The start was a mess, as I expected," Milner said. "We were lucky – the No. 3 Corvette had a puncture and we had some light contact. I was in the right place at the right time and was able to squeeze through without much damage. The car was tough to drive, though, and I was really working hard.



"We always want to win a race, but today second place feels like a victory," he added. "We got good points in the driver championship and gained ground for Chevrolet in the manufacturer points. These races are so tough – starting on pole and being fast all weekend, you'd like to win, but it didn't work out that way today. We made the most with what we had, and that's what counts now."



After Garcia pitted early, he moved up to sixth before handing off to Magnussen at the 46-minute mark. Magnussen emerged in seventh, and passed the No. 48 Porsche for sixth, a position he held to the checkered flag.



"Nobody touched me in the first turn, I just followed Tommy around and got a puncture," Garcia said. "I saw out of the corner of my eye that somebody misjudged where he was going. I could make up two or three seconds, but when you are 20 or 25 seconds behind, you need some help with yellow flags."



Magnussen agreed with his teammate: "The car was fast, we were catching the guys in front, but when you get put back like that in the beginning of a race, you have to be very lucky with strategy," he said. "I just kept pushing as hard as I could, the car was fantastic, but the luck didn't go our way."



Gavin and Milner now unofficially lead the GT driver championship by 28 points over teammates Magnussen and Milner (124-96). BMW driver Dirk Mueller is third with 94 points, and Joey Hand fourth with 91. Chevrolet leads the GT manufacturer championship by 19 points over BMW (145-126) with two races remaining, followed by Porsche (123) and Ferrari (110).



"Our sole strategic mission today was to finish ahead of the BMW," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Ordinarily we might take a slightly different perspective, but at a street race like this, with such closely matched cars, you have to have realistic goals. Our objective was to finish ahead of the BMW today, and we accomplished that. I'm proud of this team for its performance under pressure."



Corvette Racing's next event is the American Le Mans Series VIR 240 at Virginia International Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 15.



Baltimore Sports Car Challenge GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 67

2. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 67

3. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 67

4. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 67

5. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 67

6. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 67

7. 44 Long/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 67

8. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 67

9. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 66

10. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 66

and use Grand-Am's media so that everyone can watch not just the ESPN3 subscribers. Grand-Am makes it so nice to watch and listen online.

Congratulations! you are the first to notice.

The GM advertising misspelled the word but did not catch it until the jpeg was already sent out.

SPEED.com has confirmed through multiple sources involved with the negotiations that the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series will announce an agreement that will see the two series race under a single banner, likely beginning in 2014.

Full details on the merger are still unclear, and offers extended to both series for comment were declined, but it’s believed GRAND-AM will serve as the sanctioning body for the new-look championship, which could feature a mix of existing classes from both the ALMS and Rolex Series.

The announcement is expected to come on Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Speaking with ALMS President and CEO Scott Atherton in the Baltimore paddock, the longtime head of the series denied such an agreement being in place, while a GRAND-AM Road Racing spokesman declined comment.

SPEED.com's sources, including a number of manufacturers, representatives and participants, have revealed that both sides are coming together. News of this developing story first emerged two weeks ago, building to a head this weekend in Baltimore.

Founded by pharmaceutical giant and entrepreneur Don Panoz in 1999, the ALMS brought the cars and technical regulations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to North America, becoming the first full-season championship to embrace the rules set forth by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.

Initially a mirror-image to the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic, the series has diversified in recent years by opening its class structure to more affordable machinery, including the addition of Prototype and GT Challenge categories.

Its marquee event, the 12 Hours of Sebring, maintained its international presence, while the Petit Le Mans, the 1,000-mile/10-hour Road Atlanta enduro formed by Panoz in 1998, grew to become a mainstay on the global scene as well.

The ALMS has traditionally strived on manufacturer support, namely from Audi, Chevrolet, Porsche, BMW and Ferrari over its 14-year history and has seen recent growth in its production-based GT category, which currently sees six automakers represented.

However, its prototype categories have struggled to reach acceptable numbers following Audi’s withdrawal from P1 competition in 2009 and the end of Porsche and Acura’s factory programs. As a result, both P1 and the recently relaunched cost-capped P2 categories have almost exclusively featured customer entries.

Having signed a new one-year licensing contract with the ACO late last year, it’s understood the ALMS had renewed its agreement with the Le Mans organizers for one additional year in June.

Established one year after the ALMS in 1999, GRAND-AM grew out of the roots laid by the U.S. Road Racing Championship (USRRC) and featured the Rolex 24 at Daytona as its premier race and annual season kickoff.

While having a strong influence from the onset, GRAND-AM was acquired by NASCAR Holdings in 2008 and has operated under the leadership of executive vice president Jim France through its 13-year history.

The series has typically embraced privateers through its two categories, although receiving support from manufacturers such as Chevrolet, Ford and BMW in the premier Daytona Prototype ranks. No fewer than a half-dozen automakers are represented in GT, with a third category, GX, is scheduled to be added next year for experimental machinery.

Despite having been rival series since the onset, there has been a significant crossover between manufacturers, with Chevrolet supporting programs in both DP and ALMS GT, along with Ferrari, Mazda, Porsche and other marques and drivers that participate in both championships.

Like the ALMS, GRAND-AM’s prototype component has seen a recent drop-off of entries, but has typically strived, notably with the introduction of new GT3-based cars adapted to Rolex Series’ GT category.

SPEED.com will have more on this developing story as it breaks.

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/articl ... and-am-finalizing-merger/

Corvette Racing Wins GT Pole for Baltimore Street Race



Gavin Captures 20th Career ALMS Pole on Challenging Street Circuit, Magnussen Third in GT Qualifying



BALTIMORE, Aug. 31, 2012 – As Oliver Gavin prepared to make his qualifying run for Saturday's Baltimore Sports Car Challenge in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R, he asked engineer Chuck Houghton how many laps he had. Houghton replied, "However many it takes for you to put the car on the pole."



Gavin needed only four laps to post the quickest qualifying time in the GT class for the eighth round of the American Le Mans Series. He turned a time of 1:29.945 (81.650 mph) on his fourth time around the 2-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit to claim his 20th career pole in the American Le Mans Series. Teammate Jan Magnussen was third quickest at 1:30.413 (81.227 mph) in his ninth and final lap in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Gavin won the pole on the streets of downtown Baltimore by a .382-second margin over the No. 55 BMW of Bill Auberlen that qualified second in the 13-strong GT field.



"It's always fun to qualify on a street circuit, something a driver really relishes with new tires on a course that getting better and better with every lap," Gavin said after setting the track qualifying record on the reconfigured course. "I'm delighted to be on the pole."



The No. 4 Corvette C6.R set the pace in both practice sessions today. Gavin's co-driver Tommy Milner did the initial setup during the one-hour morning practice, but Gavin's track time in the final 30-minute afternoon session was cut short by red flags and contact with a prototype that damaged his car's right-side bodywork and exhaust system. The No. 4 Corvette crew repaired the car in the pit lane, and Gavin was ready to charge when the green flag flew for 15 minutes of GT qualifying.



"The car was very good, and I have to thank Tommy for his excellent work this morning, and thank Chuck for coming up with a setup that was quick right off the truck," Gavin said. "We made a few tweaks here and there, and then it was about finding the rhythm. That's always the way it is on a street circuit, you just keep working away while you have the tire grip. I managed to nail it on the fourth lap. Then I was looking to go that little bit more, but I was starting to really hang it out and didn't want to risk ending up in the wall."



Magnussen made an all-out run for the pole on his final lap, but came up .468 seconds short. "We missed on the setup just a little bit, and it was hard for me to find the lap time," Magnussen said. "For sure I didn't get the best out of my tires when they were at their peak. After that I felt pretty secure, but it wasn't possible for me to improve my lap time. We need to work on the race setup now. It's a shame I didn't nail it on the lap when I needed to, but that's how it is."



Gavin and Milner will start tomorrow's race leading the GT championship by 18 points over Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. With 20 points on the line in the two-hour race, Gavin is mindful of the championship race.



"It's going to be a real dogfight, and I'm sure that the car is going to come back with some scars on it," he said. "We're going to have to take some risks with traffic, maybe rub a wall here and there. We have to be smart as well, and as always you need some luck on a street course. We're starting in the right spot, hopefully out ahead of the crowd where all the action can sometimes happen."



The two-hour Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT, the eighth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 1. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 4:15 p.m. ET. ABC will televise the race at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 2.



Baltimore Sports Car Challenge GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:29.945

2. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 1:30.327

3. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:30.413

4. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:30.665

5. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:30.838

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:31.262

7. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:31.412

8. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:32.108

9. 92 Goossens/Kendall, SRT Viper GTSR, 1:33.526

10. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 1:33.701

Grand Prix of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Aug 31 - Sept 2, 2012

Live Qualifying: ESPN3 Friday, August 31, 2012 - 4:00pm CDT

Live Streaming: ESPN3 Saturday, September 1, 2012 - 3:15pm CDT

ABC TV Broadcast 11 AM CDT Sept 2nd

Encore Presentation: ESPN2 Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 3:00am CDT

LIVE TIMING:

http://scoring.alms.com/

http://livescoring.us/scoring.php

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

WATCH LIVE CORVETTE ONBOARD CAMERA:
http://www.alms.com/camera/live-audio-broadcast

Agenda:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... ltimore%20Supp%20Regs.pdf

Facility Map:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... _BALTIMORE_GRAND_PRIX.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... timore%20Entry%20List.pdf

Tickets:
http://www.raceonbaltimore.com/tickets-and-schedule/

Corvette Corral:
http://www.alms.com/sites/default/fil ... Corral-Baltimore-2012.pdf

Corvettes Fourth and Sixth in Wild Finish at Road America



Magnussen and Garcia Denied Podium Finish on Final Lap, Gavin and Milner Suffer Setback on Final Pit Stop



ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 18, 2012 – The Road America Road Race Showcase was going Corvette Racing's way for the first three hours, but the final 60 minutes saw a reversal of fortune for the Chevrolet team. After running at the front from the start of the four-hour race, the Corvettes were shuffled down the finishing order in the closing minutes.



Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished fourth in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R after their pit stop strategy was undone by an ill-timed yellow flag. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia were sixth in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R after Magnussen was hit from behind in the final corner while running third. The victory went to the No. 55 BMW driven by Bill Auberlen and Joerg Mueller by 2.631 seconds over the No. 45 Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.



"We saw one of the most interesting final hours of racing in this team's history," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We had what we thought was a very successful pit strategy planned, but coming out of the last yellow, the BMWs were first and second and the No. 3 Corvette was third. The BMWs went from being out of contention to running at the front with yellow flags and pit stops. It was unfortunate for us and fortunate for them. We've won races that way, and this was one that we didn't win."



Magnussen was running fourth when racing resumed with 20 minutes on the clock after the race's fourth full-course caution period. He passed the No. 01 Ferrari of Johannes van Overbeek in Canada Corner on the restart, and set out in pursuit of the race-leading BMWs. He made his move in Turn 1, but Joerg Bergmeister slipped through in a cloud of tire smoke to take second. Just as the checkered flag flew, contact with the No. 01 Ferrari in the final corner spun Magnussen off the track.



"I passed the No. 56 BMW in Turn 1 with a move similar to Laguna Seca where I towed up behind a prototype," Magnussen said. "He went to the inside and I followed. Suddenly the prototype stopped, I flat-spotted my tires and lost a lot of speed. Joerg got by, so I was still in third and I was going to try to salvage a podium finish, which would have been good for Chevrolet in the manufacturer championship. Then in the last corner, Van Overbeek drove into the back of my car. I'm very disappointed, and I'll leave it at that."



Magnussen's incident with the No. 01 Ferrari is under review by race officials.



Gavin drove the first stint in the No. 4 Corvette, Milner the second, and then Gavin double-stinted to the finish. The Englishman moved to second at 2:21 into the race, and held that position for nearly an hour until the third pit stop under caution. Gavin lost positions due to a balky door latch, but there was a bigger problem: The BMWs and Ferrari had pitted just before the yellow, gaining track position. Gavin was seventh after the pit stop cycle, and had to battle his way forward.



"During the last stop we had a problem with the door and lost positions," Gavin said. "All of a sudden we were caught in a mess with traffic and issues everywhere. To top it off, the No.56 BMW was forced wide in Turn 5, I tried to get a run on him, and we banged doors coming through Turns 6 and 7. Going down the hill into Turn 8, he was defending and it seemed to me that he braked early. I caught his right-rear corner and turned him around. I certainly didn't intend that to happen."



Gavin started the No. 4 Corvette third on the GT grid and Garcia started fifth in the No. 3 Corvette. Gavin held his position through the opening laps, then passed the pole-winning No. 44 Porsche on the fourth lap to take second behind the No. 45 Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister. Garcia was boxed in at the start and slipped to seventh, but moved up a spot on the seventh lap.



"At the start, we were bottled up behind some LMPC cars, and I managed to hold my position in the mad scramble," Gavin said. "Antonio was alongside me, and tried very hard to avoid hitting us, which cost him some positions. I was a bit quicker than Holzer, and I got past him in Turn 5. I thought perhaps I could challenge Joerg, but as the stint went on, I ceded the position back to Holzer because there was no sense in taking risks that early in four-hour race."



Garcia was one of the first to pit at 43 minutes into the race, and when the first full-course caution began shortly afterward, he moved up to second in the order as the leaders pitted. When racing resumed, Garcia grabbed the lead on the restart. Gavin pitted under the yellow flag and handed off to Milner, who emerged in fifth after the pit stop sequence.



"On the start, I took the wrong line again, like Mid-Ohio, and lost several positions," Garcia said. "It's difficult for a driver to give up a position, but I avoided contact with the No. 4 car, which was important. I started to put pressure on the No. 01 Ferrari and No. 17 Porsche, but after 10 or 15 laps the tires started to lose grip and we pitted early. The BMW followed us in, and I was anxious at the start of the second stint about the setup. The car was really good on the new tires and I passed for the lead after the caution. Then there was a point when there was oil in the Kink, so I decided to be cautious and let the BMW pass. The car stayed very consistent and we could run to our strategy."



Milner drove the second stint in the No. 4 Corvette, then handed it back to Gavin. "Today the car wasn't very comfortable for me," he reported. "We made some changes along the way and I think the last change was better for the car. Oliver was more comfortable so we decided that it was best for the championship to keep Olly in the car as long as possible. I did my time in the car and then turned it over to him. It got a little hairy at the end. It wasn't our best race, so now we just have to move on."



With 58 minutes to go, the third full-course caution tightened the field. Both Corvettes pitted under yellow, with Magnussen and Gavin staying in. The two BMWs and the No. 01 Ferrari pitted just before the yellow, gaining track position. When racing resumed, the No. 3 Corvette was fifth and the No. 4 Corvette seventh. Minutes later, the fourth caution set up the shootout for the checkered flag.



Gavin and Milner now lead the GT driver championship by 17 points in the unofficial standings over teammates Magnussen and Milner (105-88). BMW drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller are third with 81 points, and Sharp/van Overbeek fourth with 80. Chevrolet leads the GT manufacturer championship by 10 points over BMW (126-116) with three races remaining, followed by Porsche (103) and Ferrari (100).



For the fourth time in 2012, the No. 3 Corvette C6.R won the Michelin Green X Challenge in the GT class with the best score for clean, fast, and efficient performance.



Corvette Racing's next event is the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT on Saturday, Sept. 1.



Road America Road Race Showcase GT Provisional Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 97

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 97

3. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 97

4. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 97

5. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 97

6. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 97

7. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 97

8. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 96

9. 91 Wittmer/Farnbacher, SRT Viper GTSR, 96

10. 56 D. Mueller/Summerton, BMW E92 M3, 95

Corvettes Qualify Third and Fifth in Record-Smashing Qualifying Session



Gavin and Garcia Among Seven Drivers Under GT Qualifying Record at Road America



ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 17, 2012 – Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia qualified third and fifth respectively for Saturday's Road America Road Race Showcase as the record book took a beating. The seven quickest cars in the GT category eclipsed the previous qualifying record on the 4.0-mile circuit.



The Corvettes were frontrunners in today's practice sessions, and continued their pace in the 15-minute GT qualifying session. Gavin turned his best time at 2:04.871 (116.703 mph) in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R on the second of his four flying laps, and Garcia was close behind at 2:04.921 (116.588 mph) in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Marco Holzer won the pole in the No. 44 Porsche at 2:04.415 (117.131 mph), bettering the GT record set in 2011 at 2:05.447 by 1.032 seconds, followed by Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 Porsche.



"It was an unbelievable qualifying session," said Gavin. "Going into qualifying, I didn’t think that the No. 44 and No. 45 Porsches had shown their hands, and I suspected they would be the cars to beat. We'd made some changes on our setup before qualifying, searching for that last bit of speed. My car was just a bit too loose; usually I like it that way, but this time it was a little too much and I couldn't attack the corners.



"A lot is going to happen tomorrow in a four-hour race, so now we'll focus on sorting the car for the long run," Gavin continued. "The car's pace has been good, and our quick laps in qualifying reflects on how hard Corvette Racing has been working and how well we've developed the car."



Garcia also posted his quickest time on his second lap in his first qualifying run in the Corvette C6.R at Road America.



"We saw in the final practice that the times were going to be fast, and we proved that in qualifying," Garcia said. "Today was the first time I enjoyed this track on low fuel and new tires. I wasn't expecting my second lap to be my best lap; on the next lap I had a little mistake in Turn 3 that hurt the speed on the back straight. We could have been P3 with a lap time just a tenth of a second quicker.



"We've been focusing on consistency and tire conservation," he noted. "The Porsches are strong, as they have been in the last three races, so we will continue to work on our Corvette to beat them."



The four-hour Road America Road Race Showcase, the seventh round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 18. The race can be viewed live on ESPN3.com starting at 3:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will televise the race at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 19.



Road America Road Race Showcase GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:04.415

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:04.428

3. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 2:04.871

4. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 2:04.913

5. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 2:04.921

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 2:04.994

7. 56 D. Mueller/Summerton, BMW E92 M3, 2:05.098

8. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:06.640

9. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 2:07.177

10. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:07.182

For all of you who will be attending the Road America ALMS race there will be an exciting auction put on by our very own Dan Binks, #3 C6R crew chief. He and his family support Camp Anokijig and proceeds from the auction will go to support this family oriented camp.

Check out the exciting auction items listed below. This is one auction you don't want to miss!

Camp Anokijig

Road America Auction

August 17 at 5:00 pm

Corvette Coral

after Driver's meet & greet



Here is a list of items to be auctioned:



Le mans door from 73 this year
Le mans front fender 73 this year
Le mans rear fascia 73 this year
Le mans rear deck lid 73 this year
Long Beach rear fascia 3 this year
Mosport right rocker
Several head light covers
Left front brake rotor from Mid Ohio
Several wheels GT1 and GT2
A painting from a graffiti artist of Jake
Tommy Milner 2011 and 2012 Le mans helmet gloves and shoes as a lot currant bid is $3500
And more!!


For those not attending the race you can go to the Camp Anokijig web link, (see below) and make a tax deductible donation:
https://www.anokijig.com/pledge.html

The Binks family wishes to extend their thanks for all who will be attending and Dan added his own comment below:

This is a very special place for my family and I would like to say thank you for all the Corvette fans that have helped Camp Anokijig in the past and the future.


Thanks
Dan Binks

The auction items are fantastic so make sure you are at the Corvette Corral, August 17 at 5:00 PM.

Corvette corral agenda:
http://www.alms.com/sites/default/fil ... ral%20Schedule%202012.pdf

2012 Road Race Showcase

Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA
August 16 - August 18, 2012

ESPN3 Qualifying 3:40 pm CDT Aug 17th

ESPN2 Broadcast 1:00 pm CDT Aug 19th

ESPN3 Race Stream 2:15 pm CDT Aug 18th


LIVE TIMING:

http://scoring.alms.com/

http://livescoring.us/scoring.php

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

Agenda:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... %20Supp%20Regs%207-24.pdf

Facility Map:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events/road/FanMap2012.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... merica%20Entry%20List.pdf

Tickets:
800.365.7223
https://www.roadamerica.com/store/products.aspx?catid=10

Corvette Corral:
http://www.alms.com/car-corral

Two more articles on the race:

IN THE COCKPIT- Oliver Gavin, Mid-Ohio

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/articl ... t-oliver-gavin-mid-ohio1/

Gavin & Milner back to GT title lead | The Alley: Trackside

http://www.michelinalley.com/?p=10955

Corvette Racing Wins GT in Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge


Gavin and Milner Score Third Win of Season, Take GT Championship Lead



LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 4, 2012 – In Olympic terms, Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won the gold today in the GT class at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series. Instead of medals, Gavin and Milner were awarded silver trophies and the maximum championship points as they notched their third win of the season in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.



The pair reclaimed the lead in the driver standings with a .283-second victory over the No. 45 Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long, and extended Chevrolet's lead in the GT manufacturer championship. The win was the eighth for Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio, but the first in the GT class after a string of three consecutive runner-up finishes that began in 2009.



The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia was running third with 20 minutes remaining when contact with a GTC Porsche punctured the left-front tire and damaged the suspension. The Corvette crew repaired the car and returned Magnussen to battle, but the 12 minutes lost in the pits dropped the No. 3 Corvette to 13th at the finish.



Gavin made the decisive pass for the victory immediately after the final round of pit stops with one hour remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute race. Gavin caught Magnussen on his out-lap and then passed race leader Bergmeister with a daring outside move to notch his third ALMS win at Mid-Ohio and the 37th of his career.



"I had one lap on my new tires, and I caught Jan going into Turn 2," Gavin said. "My crew chief radioed that Joerg was on cold tires and told me to go for it! Last year I passed him around the outside into Turn 4, and I did the same again. I thought I could pull it off, and I'm so pleased that I did."



Bergmeister responded by putting intense pressure on the Corvette as the pair raced nose-to-tail in the closing laps.



"At the end of the race, there wasn't much between us and I got caught up in some traffic," Gavin reported. "It was tough, and those last few laps were really hard. I'm thrilled with the result and what it means for the championship. This is exactly what we needed after a couple of difficult races."



Milner started sixth on the GT grid, but rocketed to third on the first lap. He held that position until the first pit stop at the 30-minute mark as the team got both Corvettes in just seconds before a full-course yellow closed the pits. That strategy vaulted the Corvettes to second and third when racing resumed.



"I had a great start," said Milner, who scored his third career ALMS victory today. "I'd like to say that I planned it, but it was more about being in the right spot at the right time. I gained three spots and then the Corvette crew did a great job with the first pit stop. That was a brilliant call that put me ahead of the BMW. I ran down the No. 45 Porsche, but just couldn't get close enough to pull off a pass. I tried on the restart on Turn 2 and got alongside him, but couldn't make it stick.



"The pit stop and Oliver's out-lap made the difference," Milner explained. "The stop was flawless and that got us ahead of the No. 3 Corvette, and then the No. 45 Porsche. It was a perfect day from the crew – the right calls and flawless execution."



Crew chief Brian Hoye agreed: "Pit stops did make a difference," he said. "We've been practicing over and over, week after week. We knew it was going to come down to a pit stop in one of these races, and the hard work paid off today."



Garcia started fifth but was bottled up at the start as the field raced two-wide around the narrow 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit. He was seventh after the first lap, but worked his way back to fifth two laps later. Garcia also benefited from quick pit work on his first stop, emerging in third after the pit stop cycle.



"We were packed up at the start, two and three wide, and at that point you are stuck in one line," Garcia said. "An LMP spun in front of us and I lost positions. I made up as many spots as I could, but the Ferrari was very fast and aggressive. A great pit call by the Corvette team gave us the opportunity to run up front again and make a charge on the Porsche. I had a very quick car, and every time they opened a gap in traffic, I could make up time. We got caught in some traffic on my in-lap for the second stop; it was a good call by the No. 4 car to get a clean run into the pits a lap earlier."



Magnussen was in hot pursuit of the Porsche for second place when he was caught out by a GTC driver in Turn 6. "He opened the door and then slammed it shut," Magnussen said. "I came up to the GTC car and he opened the door for Joerg to go through. I was a car length behind and was going through on the same gap, and just as I made the move, he shut the door. I was committed and I hit him. We're racing for positions and running for a championship. We all have to race, and I feel bad for all the guys. I had a great car and great pit stops."



Today's victory gave Gavin and Milner a 12-point lead in the unofficial standings over BMW drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller (93-81). Magnussen and Garcia are one point back (80). Chevrolet increased its lead in the GT manufacturer championship to 20 over BMW (114-94) with four races remaining.



Corvette Racing's next event is the Road America Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Saturday, August 18.



Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 115

2. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 115

3. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 114

4. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 114

5. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 114

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 113

7. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 113

8. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 112

9. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 112

10. 91 Wittmer/Farnbacher, SRT Viper GTSR, 111

World Challenge is now live online. Watch Andy Pilgrim, Johnny O'Connell & Jordan Taylor in 3 Cadillacs.

http://www.world-challengetv.com/2012/#/races/546

Corvettes Qualify Fifth and Sixth for ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge



Garcia and Milner Qualify within Half-Second of Pole in Hotly Contested GT Class



LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 3, 2012 – The heat was on at Mid-Ohio today during GT qualifying for Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series. As the ambient temperature topped 94 degrees and the track temperature climbed to 110 degrees, Antonio Garcia qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R fifth in the hotly contested class at 1:19.536 (102.213 mph). Tommy Milner was right behind his teammate, qualifying the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R sixth at 1:19.727 (101.958 mph).



Garcia was .238 seconds off GT pacesetter Joerg Mueller's 1:19.298 (102.510 mph) lap in the No. 55 BMW, and Milner was .429 seconds back. The eight fastest qualifiers ran quicker than last year's pole-winning time on the 2.25-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.



"I had a really good balance in qualifying, and if I'd put together a perfect lap my time would have improved," Garcia said. "There are four guys ahead of me who put it together better than I did.



"There was a lot of pressure in qualifying, and everyone was pushing very hard," he explained. "Because of all the different series running on the track, we seemed to struggle a little to make our tires work . That is something we will need to take into account tomorrow because the track will certainly change, and I hope it will develop in our favor. We know how our qualifying performance is; now we need to know how our race performance is."



Garcia turned his quickest time on his fifth flying lap, and Milner posted his best lap on his sixth circuit.



"I'm not disappointed with sixth, but I'm not super stoked," Milner said. "We made some big changes in the car in the last practice session, working on the race setup. Then at the end we tried to help the car for qualifying.



"Every session we're out there we learn a lot about this race track," he noted. "It's definitely a challenge when we have different series running and different rubber going down. This track especially can change from morning to afternoon and from day to day. When we go out for warm-up tomorrow morning, there will be a lot of IndyCar rubber on the track and we'll see how the car feels."



The two-hour, 45-minute Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge will start at will start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4, and will be broadcast on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.



Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 55 Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 1:19.298

2. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:19.329

3. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:19.445

4. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:19.471

5. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.536

6. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:19.727

7. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:19.754

8. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:20.209

9. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:21.222

10. Goossens/Kendall, SRT Viper GTSR, 1:22.158

2012 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, USA
August 2 - 4, 2012


ESPN3 Qualifying Stream 1:20 PM CDT Aug 3rd

ABC TV Broadcast 1:00 PM CDT Aug 4th

ESPN3 Race Stream 11:45 PM CDT Aug 4th






LIVE TIMING:

http://scoring.alms.com/

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

Watch live onboard from the Corvettes http://www.alms.com/camera/live-audio-broadcast

http://www.alms.com/camera/2 & http://www.alms.com/camera/3

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

Agenda:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... %20Ohio%20Supp%20Regs.pdf

Facility Map:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... ohio/Mid%20Ohio%20Map.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... 20Ohio%20Entry%20List.pdf

Tickets:
http://www.midohio.com/Store/Tickets/ ... llenge-The-Honda-Indy-200

Corvette Corral:
http://www.alms.com/sites/default/fil ... les/Corvette%20Corral.pdf

Corvette Racing at Mid-Ohio: Midterm Report and a Rivalry Renewed


A Look Back and a Look Ahead at the Midpoint of 2012 ALMS Season



LEXINGTON, Ohio, July 31, 2012 – With five races completed and five to go, Corvette Racing will be halfway home at its home track. Saturday's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course signals the start of the second half of the 2012 American Le Mans Series. At the season's midpoint, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet stand atop the driver, team, and manufacturer championship standings. The fierce competition that has been the hallmark of the GT category is about to become more intense with the return of one of Corvette's longstanding rivals to ALMS competition.



In the first five races, Corvette Racing scored back-to-back wins with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R in Long Beach and Laguna Seca. Third-place finishes in Sebring and Lime Rock put the pair in the championship lead after the first four rounds. Then a setback in Mosport, combined with the No. 3 Compuware Corvette's fourth runner-up finish in five starts, saw Corvette aces Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen take the lead in the championship chase by seven points over their teammates.



"When you look at Corvette Racing's record for the first half of the season, the results demonstrate the experience and knowledge the team has gained since the debut of the GT-spec Corvette C6.R at Mid-Ohio in 2009," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "With the level of competition we face at every ALMS event, to have two victories, eight podium finishes, a one-two finish, and a pole is a very successful first half by any measure.



"Everyone on the team fully understands that it's not going to get any easier for the rest of the year," Fehan continued. "We're working continuously to improve every aspect of our performance. There is still a great deal of development to be done with the wide-body Corvette C6.R that we introduced this year. I expect that Corvette fans are going to see a great show for the rest of the season."



When Corvette Racing first entered international endurance racing in 1999, its chief competitor was Viper. That rivalry will be renewed at Mid-Ohio with Chrysler's return to ALMS competition.



"History has come full circle, and now it's once again Corvette versus Viper in ALMS – this time with world-class competitors such as Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, and Lotus in the mix," Fehan noted. "Chrysler's return makes a huge statement about the strength of the American Le Mans Series."



Corvette Racing has recorded three straight runner-up finishes in the GT class at Mid-Ohio – Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell in 2009, Gavin and Olivier Beretta in 2010, and Gavin/Magnussen in 2011. Last year's race ended with a red flag when a monsoon inundated the track; among the drivers who spun off in the deluge was Milner, who was running second when the torrential rain arrived.



"I've raced at Mid-Ohio since 2004, in open-wheel cars and GTs, so there's not much I don't know about the track," Milner said. "It's a place where you can make passes happen, and it usually produces an exciting race. The Corvettes were certainly competitive there last year, and with the improvements that have been made, I expect them to be even better this year."



"Mid-Ohio has been a good track for us in terms of pace and speed the last couple of years," Gavin explained. "Last year if the rain had turned up 45 minutes later, we likely would have won. Mid-Ohio is Corvette Racing's home race with lots of friends and family. The circuit seems to suit our car, and with the steps forward taken for this season, we hope to be as competitive as we've been the last couple of years. Every team is making steps every race, so nobody at Corvette Racing is taking anything for granted."



Garcia has raced previously at Mid-Ohio in the Grand-Am series, so Corvette Racing's new full-season driver will be up to speed quickly on the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course.



"Mid-Ohio is one of the tracks I know, so I will just need to reconfigure my mind a little from a Daytona Prototype to a Corvette C6.R," Garcia laughed. "This will take a few laps at most – first some driver tuning, and then some car tuning!



"Mid-Ohio is like two different circuits," the Spaniard said. "The first part has long straights and fast corners, then the second half is very tight with a narrow racing line. It is definitely a track where you have to deal with traffic. From what I've learned so far this season, Mid-Ohio will suit the Corvette C6.R."



The two-hour, 45-minute Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the sixth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series, will start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4, and will be broadcast on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.

Patrick Long, Flying Lizards, explains Saturday's Mosport results:

Hi everyone – we’ve received lots of questions on the Mosport results. As you know, we won the race, but the No. 45 did not pass post-race technical inspection and we did not receive any points for the race win towards the championship. Many of you have asked: What is an engine stall test? Why didn’t you pass? What does that mean? Here are some answers for you: After each qualifying session and race, IMSA (the regulating body of the American Le Mans Series) executes a series of checks on the top finishing cars to ensure that all participants meet the specified technical guidelines for their class. The stall test is one of these. The purpose of this test is to check that no more air can get to the engine than the rules allow. Performing this test is pretty simple. While the car is idling, the air intakes are physically blocked. Blocking the air intakes should eliminate all air into the engine, causing it to stall. If the engine does not stall, it means that some additional air is getting to the engine, and it is possible that extra air could create more power. There are many ways that extra air could get to the engine: cracks in the manifold, leaks in various seals, etc. To our surprise, the No. 45 did not stall during this test after the race and was disqualified. You can imagine all the mechanics and engine people pulling their hair out trying to figure out what had gone wrong. We could not see anything wrong, and so protested the disqualification. We investigated the issue more thoroughly when the car was returned to us, and found that the air cleaner had been improperly fitted. This caused the device to flex during the race and the seal to eventually fail. This is very likely what caused us to fail the stall test. While we are not certain that this caused us any advantage, rules are rules, and we support the Steward’s ruling. A very disappointing end to a great race. Now on to Mid-Ohio!

#45 failed the "Stall test" When the engine intake is plugged the engine must "stall" in a spec amount of time (1 second or so). If it does not stall then the team may have a air leak around the required restriction in the intake and more power and all air must go through the restrictor.

Corvette Racing Second in ALMS Grand Prix of Mosport



Magnussen and Garcia Take GT Championship Lead with Runner-up Finish



BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada, July 22, 2012 – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen scored their fourth podium finish in five American Le Mans Series races in today's Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. Their No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R started on the GT pole after setting a qualifying record Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Garcia led the opening 47 minutes in his first race at Mosport, and Magnussen was in contention for the victory on the final lap.



The No. 45 Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long finished first on the track, but was subsequently excluded from the results for a technical infraction following a post-race inspection. The No. 01 Ferrari of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek was declared the winner, and the No. 3 Corvette, third across the stripe, was promoted to second. Garcia and Magnussen's runner-up finish vaulted them into the lead in the GT driver standings ahead of teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, who finished 10th after the Corvette crew changed a malfunctioning transmission in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.



The closing laps of the two-hour, 45-minute race featured a Porsche-Corvette-Ferrari freight train as the three cars raced nose-to-tail. Magnussen kept the pressure on the class-leading Porsche for nearly an hour. Van Overbeek joined the fray as the frontrunners encountered traffic, and pulled off a pass on Magnussen coming out of Moss Corner on the last lap.



"I'm sure we had a better car than Joerg, but he was fast in some crucial places that made it impossible to pass," Magnussen said. "I knew I was risking my position, but I had to have a go at Joerg. We got together a little, I lost momentum, and Van Overbeek just went up the inside – it was a fair pass, he saw a gap and went for it."



Garcia drove a strong opening stint in his debut at the fast Canadian circuit. He started from the GT pole, and led the first 30 laps. After pitting under the second of three full-course cautions, the Spaniard emerged ninth in the GT category. He methodically drove back through the field to P2 before handing off to Magnussen at 1:44 into the race.



"My first race at Mosport had a bit of everything," Garcia said. "At the start of the race, Tommy and I had a really clear run, and we could make a safe gap to the BMW and Porsche. When the yellow flags came, things started to turn for us, with the No. 4 Corvette having a problem and then the restarts. I was held up behind a prototype coming into the pits, and the run into our pit box was partially blocked so we lost some spots. I was behind cars that hadn't pitted so traffic was difficult, but step-by-step I was able to gain positions. I think our tires were better, and I could pass cars and close the gap to the Porsche."



The race's first full-course caution came 15 minutes after the start when the No. 4 Corvette stopped on the back straight with no drive to the rear wheels. The car was towed to the paddock, where the team performed a 20-minute gearbox change. Milner returned to the race 20 laps down to the leaders.



"I was coming out of Turn 5, putting the power down and suddenly lost drive going from second to third gear," Milner reported.



Oliver Gavin took over the No. 4 Corvette at the 1:47 mark and drove to the finish. "It's never nice to have days like this, but you know that at some point in the season you're going to have a bad weekend – and I hope this was it," Gavin said. "We're still not sure what happened with the transmission, but the guys did a fantastic job of replacing it and getting us back in the race. This race had so much promise after qualifying; now we've just got to pick ourselves up, move on, and get ready for Mid-Ohio."



For the third race in a row, the No. 3 Corvette C6.R won the Michelin Green X Challenge in the GT class with the best score for clean, fast, and efficient performance. "Our third straight Michelin Green X Challenge win is a testament to the hard work that GM Powertrain has done with the calibrations for cellulosic E85 ethanol," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "It's very important for Corvette, Chevrolet, and General Motors to represent the fact that have the environment in mind even when we are racing. This win again demonstrates the dedication of GM and its engineers."



Garcia and Magnussen unofficially lead the GT driver championship at the midpoint of the season with 80 points, seven points ahead of Gavin and Milner (73) and BMW drivers Hand and Mueller (73). Chevrolet is atop the GT manufacturer standings with 94 points over BMW (81), Ferrari (75), and Porsche (69).



Corvette Racing's next event is the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Saturday, August 4.



Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 112

2. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 112

3. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 111

4. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 111

5. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 110

6. 44 Neiman/Lally, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 110

7. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 110

8. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 110

9. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 109

10. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 91

Corvette Racing Qualifies One-Two for ALMS Grand Prix of Mosport



Magnussen Wins Pole with Record-Shattering Run, Gavin Second with Sub-Record Time



BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada, July 21, 2012 – Corvette Racing blew away the GT track records at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park today en route to qualifying first and second for Sunday's Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. Jan Magnussen qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R on the GT pole with a time of 1:15.478 (117.285 mph), eclipsing the record set in 2008 by 1.385 seconds. Oliver Gavin also obliterated the previous mark, taking the second spot in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R with a blistering 1:15.782 lap (116.814 mph).



Magnussen's pole was his first in ALMS competition since October 2009, and the first for Corvette Racing since August 2010. The Dane was understandably elated after his record-setting run on the fast 2.5-mile Canadian circuit.



"I didn't think a GT car could go that quickly here!" he exclaimed. "It was a fantastic lap, and a great job by the team to give me this car to qualify. There is so much time to be gained when you get into the flow of this track. I actually surprised myself – on one of my laps, I didn't look at the time and went four tenths faster!



"We've been working around the race setup all this time – this really is our race setup with less fuel," Magnussen explained. "The car was so smooth and easy to drive. It felt like my mid-corner speed was up everywhere and I hit every mark. It felt super strong in Turn 5 where the car goes light over a crest. I nailed it just right by landing in the right position to get a good exit out of 5. I am so proud of Corvette Racing today!"



Gavin enjoyed a .229-second advantage over the third qualifier, the No. 55 BMW. "It was a great qualifying session for Corvette Racing and a fantastic lap by Jan – he absolutely nailed it," Gavin said. "The entire team has been working very hard, and it's great that we got a one-two in qualifying.



"I think a call I made with the setup toward the end of practice bit me in qualifying," he revealed. "I'm a little disappointed in myself for making that call. The Corvette C6.R really is spectacular here; the way it drives and feels, it's a joy to drive. The team has done an excellent job over the last few races, and I hope it continues tomorrow."



After three runner-up finishes in the last four ALMS races, Magnussen and co-driver Antonio Garcia are gunning for their first victory in Sunday's two-hour, 45-minute race.



"Starting on pole is the best you can wish for going into the race," Magnussen said. "Hopefully Antonio can go out there and control the pace. He picked up this track very quickly and is right on the pace. The competition is so fierce there is no room for mistakes."



"This is our first pole of the season, and I think it's appropriate that it came at Mosport," noted Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Mosport has been very good to Corvette Racing in the past, and this track always seems to come through for Corvette. The other element today is a great tire developed by Michelin. Combine that with the work of this crew and the skill of our drivers, and this is the result – a definitive one-two for Corvette."



The two-hour, 45-minute Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport will start at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 22, and will be broadcast same day on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available starting at 11:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3.



Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport GT Qualifying (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 1:15.478

2. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:15.782

3. 55 Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 1:16.011

4. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1:16.189

5. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:16.212

6. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:16.398

7. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 52.1:16.963

8. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:17.060

9. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 1:18.650

10. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:20.601

Corvette Racing at Mosport: Aiming for a Repeat Performance



Momentum Matters as Chevrolet Team Drives for Repeat Victory in ALMS Grand Prix of Mosport



BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada, July 17, 2012 – By any other name, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – the track formerly known as Mosport – would still be as fast. With its roots firmly anchored in the '60s and its character unchanged for more than 50 years, the 2.5-mile circuit in the Canadian countryside near Toronto is decidedly Old School. With daunting high-speed corners and soaring straights, it is not a track for the timid – which is why Corvette Racing's drivers relish their return to the historic 10-turn circuit for Sunday's Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.



If a track can suit a race car, then Mosport was custom tailored for the Compuware Corvettes. The Chevy team has scored nine victories there since 2001, including its maiden win in the GT category in 2009 and a breakout victory last season that propelled Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen to a runner-up finish in the GT championship.



Along with its new name, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will see a pair of new wide-body Corvette C6.Rs and a revised Corvette Racing driver lineup for this year's Grand Prix. Magnussen has returned to the No. 3 Compuware Corvette that carried him to victory at Mosport with Johnny O'Connell in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He's now teamed with Antonio Garcia, a pairing that finished second in the preceding round at Lime Rock Park and currently stands second in the GT drivers championship.



They'll face stiff intramural competition from teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Gavin and Milner are atop the driver standings on the strength of two wins and four straight podium finishes in the four rounds of the American Le Mans Series contested this season.



"For sheer speed, Mosport is one of my favorite tracks," Magnussen declared. "It's such a fantastic feeling when you do a fast lap, because you know there is a big, big penalty for making a mistake."



Garcia will make his Mosport debut alongside his experienced teammate in his first year as a full-season driver with Corvette Racing. What advice does the Dane have for his Spanish co-pilot? "Just remember it's not your car, so give it all you've got!" Magnussen quipped.



Garcia is taking a measured approach to Mosport. "I've been watching videos and in-car cameras, and leading up to the race I will talk more precisely with Jan to learn what to do – and especially what not to do!" he said. "They tell me that it is a fast and somewhat dangerous race track. I'm used to those kinds of circuits, so I'm looking forward to it."



With three career wins at the Canadian course, Gavin knows Mosport's nuances. "Every driver looks forward to going there," said the Englishman. "The characteristics of the Corvette C6.R car seem to suit that layout, and I'm anxious to see how much of a step forward we've made from last year. I've had some great races there, including a fantastic win with Jan last year. Mosport always seems to bring out the best in Corvette Racing."



The two-hour, 45-minute Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport will start at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 22, and will be broadcast same day on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available starting at 11:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3.

Corvette Racing Finishes Second and Third in ALMS Northeast Grand Prix



Magnussen and Garcia Runners-Up in GT at Lime Rock Park, Gavin and Milner Extend Championship Lead



LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 7, 2012 – Corvette Racing came out of the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix with its best result at Lime Rock Park since 2008 as the twin Compuware Corvette C6.Rs finished second and third in the hard-fought GT class.



When the race ended under caution, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia were second in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were third in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R at the conclusion of the two-hour, 45-minute race, scoring their fourth consecutive podium finish in the series and extending their lead in the GT championship.



The Northeast Grand Prix had more fireworks than a Fourth of July celebration. The race began under a threat of thunderstorms, and finished under the day's fourth yellow flag when the No. 02 Ferrari went into the tire barrier in the final turn with nine minutes remaining on the race clock. Joerg Bergmeister was leading the GT class when the running order was frozen, claiming Porsche's first ALMS victory of the year. Before the final caution, Magnussen was stalking Bergmeister, with Gavin in close pursuit.



"At the end I was looking for that one opportunity to try a do-or-die pass, but it never came," said Magnussen, who made his milestone 100th career ALMS start today. "I needed a little traffic to get in Joerg's way to be able to pass him. The only issue we had was that when I got close, I'd lose some aero downforce on the front end so I didn't have the grip to do a normal pass. After our previous results at Lime Rock, second is a fantastic result for the team."



Gavin had a front-row seat for the final shootout that never came. "It was really a case of being smart, being careful, and waiting to see if Joerg and Jan got together," Gavin reported. "Jan was driving smart and thinking about the championship. There was a lot of banging and crashing today, but fortunately for us at Corvette Racing it was all minimal.



"After Tommy had some contact with an LMPC car, our car was just a little too pushy," Gavin explained. "As soon as I got in the car, I realized it was going to be tough to win today because it's so difficult to pass here. It's great to come away with third place on the podium and good points in the championship."



Milner started the No. 4 Corvette C6.R on the GT pole after the No. 44 Porsche was disqualified for a technical infraction and the pole-winning No. 55 BMW had to start from pit lane due to a mechanical problem before the reconnaissance lap. Milner and Garcia pitted at the 20-minute mark for fuel under the race's first caution, and then ran long green-flag stints before pitting for tires, fuel, and driver changes after more than 90 minutes of racing.



"I felt confident at the start of the race, and I was ready to go," Milner said. "Then I had a bad restart after the first caution period. On this track, you have to pick a lane and hope that it works out. When my lane didn't go, I lost three or four spots. That's frustrating, but you just keep your head down and keep going. I got stuck behind a BMW for at least 15 laps, and when an LMPC spun in the chicane ahead of me, I locked up and touched him just a little bit. I think I flat-spotted the left-front tire and was just holding on after that."



Garcia started fourth on the revised GT grid, and used some opportunistic passes and savvy strategy to move up to second before handing off to Magnussen.



"At the start, the LMPC cars were having a hard time getting their tires up to temperature, so I just kept pushing like I was fighting for their positions, and that let me keep up with the leaders," Garcia said. "I was aggressive on the restart, and that gave us the opportunity to pass both the Ferrari and Tommy. I was right beyond Pat Long's (class-leading) Porsche, because at this track you need to be close in order not to lose momentum in traffic. Maybe I used up the left-front tire running so close to him, especially on the fast corners. That caused me a hard time when I needed to extend to extend my stint until the pit window opened."



The No. 3 Corvette C6.R won the Michelin Green X Challenge with the best score for clean, fast, and efficient performance. Gavin and Milner unofficially increased their tally in the GT driver championship to 72 points, ahead of Garcia and Magnussen at 64 and BMW drivers Hand and Mueller at 60. Chevrolet is atop the GT manufacturer standings with a 10-point lead over BMW and a 19-point margin over Porsche.



"The drivers made smart decisions today, the engineers came up with great setups, and the crew did a perfect job on the pit stops," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. "It's always good to go home with two cars in one piece after Lime Rock, and extending the manufacturers and the drivers points at the same time couldn't be better. Obviously a win would have been great, but we'll gladly take this result and get ready for Mosport."



Corvette Racing's next event is the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on Sunday, July 22.



American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix GT Results (Top 10)

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 160

2. 3 Magnussen/Garcia, Corvette C6.R, 160

3. 4 Gavin/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 160

4. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 458 Italia, 160

5. 56 D. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 159

6. 3. 55 J. Mueller/Auberlen, BMW E92 M3, 159

7. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 158

8. 48 Miller/Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 157

9. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 157

10. 23 Sweedler/Bell, Lotus Evora, 156

2012 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix

Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, CT , USA
July 6 - July 7, 2012


ESPN3 Qualifying Stream 2:05 PM CDT July 6th

ESPN2 TV Broadcast 3:00 PM CDT July 7th

ESPN3 Race Stream 1:45 PM CDT July 7th




U.S. residents: http://espn.go.com/espn3/index

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/source/espn3/

non-U.S. residents: http://americanlemans.com/index.php
http://www.alms.com/alms-tv

Justin TV link: (??)
http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2

http://www.twitch.tv/rampageturke2#/w/2313202304


LIVE TIMING:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2003/lt/ltc.html

http://scoring.alms.com/

Live Timing for mobile device:
http://scoring.alms.com/mobile.html

PIT NOTES:
http://twitter.com/almsnotes

https://twitter.com/corvetteracing

RADIO ALMS
http://www.americanlemans.com/

Track Layout:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2011/events ... 0Track%20Layout%20Map.pdf

Spotters Guide:
http://www.andyblackmoredesign.com/

Entry List:
http://www.imsaracing.net/2012/events ... 20Park%20Entry%20List.pdf

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock: Back to Business at the Bullring



American Le Mans Series Returns to Series' Shortest Track for Rough-and-Tumble Fourth Round



LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 2, 2012 – With the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the rearview mirror, Corvette Racing is now driving for the American Le Mans Series GT championship. The series' fourth round, the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, will be contested on Saturday, July 7, in the tight confines of Lime Rock Park. This 1.5-mile circuit in the Connecticut countryside is road racing's equivalent of a short-track bullring – albeit with more ups and downs than the stock market.



With the exception of the Esses and a pair of chicanes, all of the corners at Lime Rock Park are right-hand turns – a layout that affects both setups and attitudes. Several of Corvette Racing's key team members began their racing careers on bullrings, and they bring that hard-edged experience to Lime Rock.



Long before team manager Gary Pratt was winning titles in Le Mans, he was racing late-model stock cars on short-tracks in Michigan and Ohio. Lessons learned there still apply today.



"Lime Rock is basically a clockwise oval track, so we try to maximize right-side weight because there are so few left-hand corners," Pratt explained. "The racing on short-track ovals is usually rough-and-tumble, and that's the way it is at Lime Rock."



Lime Rock Park has not been kind to Corvette Racing recently. Hard contact took out the No. 3 Corvette C6.R in 2010, and last year both Corvettes were caught up in a chain-reaction accident early in the race that relegated them to ninth and 10th at the checkered flag.



"We need to be faster at Lime Rock so we can qualify up front and not have to contend with traffic at the beginning of the race," Pratt said. "When you're at the back of the line and somebody makes a mistake, it's just a domino effect. I'm optimistic that with the wider track, higher downforce, and other improvements that we've made in the Corvettes, we can qualify higher and not get stuck in traffic.



"If we do encounter traffic, we need to be smart on the radio and tell our drivers to leave some room to avoid accidents. The time to start racing hard is after the final pit stops. Until then it's risky to run nose-to-tail in a pack of cars."



Dan Binks, crew chief for the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, earned his racing stripes running in NASCAR circles with the likes of Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch. "You always look forward to races at short tracks like Martinsville and South Boston because the gloves are off," said Binks. "You race as hard as you can, and hopefully you're around for the green-white-checker at the end."



"At Le Mans you conserve a little, do the best job you can without taking too many chances – Lime Rock is the total opposite," Binks added with a laugh. "You have to get as much as you can in that kind of racing, and hopefully you're on the giving side instead of the receiving side. Two years in a row, we've been on the receiving end, so I'm hoping that our cars are fast enough this year that we'll be ahead of the pushing and shoving."



Going into the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, Corvette drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner lead the GT drivers standings in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R by seven points on the strength of back-to-back wins in Long Beach and Laguna Seca. Teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen (who will make his milestone 100th ALMS start at Lime Rock) are third in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, 11 points back. Chevrolet leads the manufacturer championship over BMW, Ferrari, and Porsche, and Corvette Racing is first in the team standings. When the dust finally settles at Lime Rock, Corvette Racing is aiming to remain on top.



The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix will start at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 7, and will be broadcast same day on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available starting at 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

Le Mans: Larbre Competition score successive GTE-Am victories for Corvette


In 2011 the French Larbre Competition team brought two cars to Le Mans, a Porsche and Corvette. They competed in the Grand Touring Endurance (GTE) Am (Amateur) category. When the checkered flag fell the Corvette finished at the top step of the podium. It was a great day for brand because a factory Corvette also won the GTE Pro category. It was a one-two for Corvette and it was a nice celebration for the 100th Anniversary of Chevrolet.

The historic 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrated the 80th running of their classic race this year. Larbre Competition brought two ex-Pratt & Miller Corvettes to compete at the French classic. Their goal was clear: repeat their 2011 GTE-Am class victory for Corvette. The starting field was deep in both Pro and Am classes and competition was fierce among the leading manufacturers. In the Pro class, the #74 Corvette was at the top of the field for the first half of the race. During the night, there was drama for the nr74, when a crew member forgot to attach the left rear wheel nut securely. The wheel quickly fell off and Richard Westbrook slowly drove around the 8 mile circuit on three wheels. This caused major damage and the car lost a total of 120 laps for extensive repairs. The second factory car running third in class pitted shortly after the problem with their team car with a major mechanical problem. The #73 Corvette lost 10 laps during its pit stop. Both factory cars now had a big mountain to climb to repeat their 2011 win. “To win you must keep the car out of the pits" said Corvette Program Manager Doug Fehan. It was shortly after that, when the wheel nut incident happened to the #74 Corvette.

Fortunately for Corvette, Larbre Competition followed Doug’s advice and minimized their pit stops to stay out of trouble. Larbre had a hard fought battle with Anthony Pons in the #67 IMSA Matmut Porsche RSR throughout the race. The race came down to the final few minutes, as Pedro Lamy in the #50 Larbre Corvette turned in a series of blazing laps to catch the #67 Porsche. With less than 20 minutes remaining in the race the #50 Corvette was roughly 12 seconds behind the class leading Porsche. "I overtook him on the track and the team told me that I was passing the Porsche for the lead." said Pedro Lamy.

The race was not over yet for Larbre as there was late drama near the end for the nr50. The team had to pull Pedro Lamy into the pits at the last moment to put Julien Canal into the car after missing a driver swap due to a pitlane speeding incident earlier in the race. Within minutes of the checkered flag the Porsche had a left rear tyre go flat, which secured the victory for the French squad.

Larbre team owner Jack Leconte reckoned the #67 Imsa Porsche team would have protested the result, as Canal would have been 13 seconds shy of completing the minimum required track time for each driver. "We swapped because we worked out that the driving time was compromised," he said. "We thought Canal had done 13s too little and Porsche were going to protest. We had a pitlane speeding issue during the safety car and I was talking and doing other things during the pitstops. We knew that so we were lucky that they had a puncture, otherwise I don't know what would have happened."

"It is a nice feeling," said Pedro Lamy. "It was an intense struggle over the 24 hours of racing. It seemed more a sprint race, where we had to push as hard as we could. It was a tough race, but this win is very special. I am very pleased with this victory and I want to thank all the great support that Larbre Competition have given me over every moment of my career. This victory is not mine alone, is all of ours."

The sister nr70 of Pascal Gibon, Christophe Bourret, and Jean-Philippe Belloc brought their C6R home to 5th place in class.

Quote gathered by Tom Mallett

http://www.corvettemotorsport.com/new ... ictories-for-corvette-517

Corvette Racing Finishes Fifth and Sixth in 24 Hours of Le Mans



Corvettes Overcome Adversity to Take Checkered Flag in GTE Pro



LE MANS, France, June 17, 2012 – Corvette Racing finished the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 12th time in 13 attempts as both the No. 73 and No. 74 Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars were running at the finish of the world's most demanding sports car race.



The No. 73 Corvette C6.R driven by Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, and Jordan Taylor completed 326 laps and finished fifth in the GTE Pro category. The No. 74 Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Richard Westbrook completed 215 laps and was sixth across the finish line, but was not classified because the car did not complete the minimum race distance. The No. 51 AF Corsa Ferrari won the GTE Pro class by a three-lap margin with 336 laps completed.



The No. 73 Corvette crew was relentless as the drivers and mechanics clawed their way back into contention after losing time to a steering rack replacement and electrical problems. With four hours to go, the crew replaced the alternator and then made a series of battery replacements to cope with a problem in the charging system. Le Mans rookie Jordan Taylor did a triple stint at dawn, followed by doubles by Jan Magnussen and a triple by Antonio Garcia. Magnussen drove the car to the checkered flag.



The No. 74 Corvette suffered extensive damage in a crash in the Porsche Curves in the 18th hour. Tommy Milner nursed the battered car back to the garage, where the Corvette crew virtually rebuilt the back half of the chassis. After a 2 hours and 12 minute pit stop, Oliver Gavin had the No. 74 back on track. With no possibility of advancement in the final standings, the star-crossed car was held in its garage until the final 40 minutes of the race. Gavin drove the car to the finish in his 12th appearance at Le Mans.



Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager: "Sometimes in motorsports, the greatest battles that are waged are not against a competitor, but rather against the challenges that one faces. Today was one of those days for both the No. 73 and No. 74 Corvettes. When we got to the 12-hour mark, it became clear that it would be difficult to leave Le Mans with a victory. At that point we engaged the enemy head on, which was adversity. I think by any measure, anyone who watched this event saw us emerge victorious against that enemy as we brought both cars home once again to a finish in one of the most brutal, hard-fought battles in our Le Mans history. I think we can all be proud of the passion, the dedication, and that never-say-die attitude of Corvette Racing. Hopefully, our fans enjoyed every minute of it."



Antonio Garcia, No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "All I could do was push, push, push, but in the end it’s not down to us whether we finish on the podium or not. It’s a shame, of course, because the car was really good throughout the race, except for the problems with the steering rack and the alternator. Some years ago you could maybe still hope to make up a five-lap deficit over 12 hours, but nowadays the competition is so tough that the slightest problem puts you out of contention. We’ll have to come back next year for some suitable revenge."



Jan Magnussen, No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "The car was fantastic, very fast and very consistent. My double stint in the morning was the best double I had in the entire race. It’s a shame we lost some time by changing the alternator. Other than that I’m feeling fine when I’m in the car as the adrenaline takes over and I then don’t suffer from my cold and fever."



Jordan Taylor, No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R: "It was great to race at Le Mans, every stint I've done has been better and better. It was a relief to get through those stints safely, without any mistakes and keeping the car on the track. That's the name of the game here. We didn't make any mistakes, although we did have mechanical problems. It was just beginning to get light when I started, and it was really cool to go through the Porsche Curves at sunrise and then down the Esses at Dunlop, to remember the footage and photos from the old days and to think that I was in the same position as those cars. I'm glad I got to do that kind of stint and feel the history while I was driving."



Doug Louth, Engineering Director: "We had the drivers, cars, and team to compete for a win this weekend. It was a pleasant surprise to find our lead increasing at night as the cool conditions are the most challenging for us. It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to leverage our warm weather performance on Sunday afternoon – we expected to gain performance as the temperature increased and for our competitors to drop off. What we ended up with is a fresh reminder of the scope of the undertaking that is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There are so many details, checklists, and tasks that go into running the perfect 24-hour race. We missed a few of these today and had some bad luck along the way, but we have our 13th Le Mans 24 behind us, and we’re already looking to 2013."



24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro Results:

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander, Ferrari 458 Italia, 336

2. 59 Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher, Ferrari 458 Italia, 333

3. 97 Mucke/Turner/Fernandez, Aston Martin Vantage V8, 332

4. 71 Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci, Ferrari 458 Italia, 326

5. 73 Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor, Corvette C6.R, 326

6. 74 Gavin/Milner/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 215

7. 66 Cocker/Walker/Wills, Ferrari 458 Italia, 204

8. 77 Lietz/Lieb/Henzler, Porsche 911 RSR, 184

9. 80 Bergmeister/Long/Holzer, Porsche 911 RSR 114

Episode 4: The Car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YByCck ... SgAA&index=1&feature=plcp

Corvette Racing Qualifies Third and Fifth in GTE Pro for 24 Hours of Le Mans



Team Focuses on Final Preparations in Four Hours of Qualifying



LE MANS, France, June 14, 2012 – When the clock struck midnight at Le Mans, the field was set for the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing's Compuware Corvette C6.Rs will start third and fifth in the GTE Pro field in the classic endurance race. A pair of two-hour qualifying sessions that ended at midnight determined the final qualifying order, but the Corvette Racing crew concentrated on preparations for the upcoming 24-hour test of endurance.



Both Compuware Corvette C6.Rs stood on their qualifying times set on Wednesday night. The No. 59 Ferrari turned the fastest lap in today's first session at 3:55.393, followed by the No. 97 Aston Martin at 3:55.870, knocking the No. 74 Corvette C6.R off the GTE Pro pole that it had held provisionally at the end of yesterday's session. Oliver Gavin turned a lap in 3:55.910 on Wednesday night, and that time held for the third spot in GTE Pro.



"Track conditions were different tonight and that seemed to affect us more than the others," Gavin said. "I just couldn't generate the same cornering force that I could yesterday, and couldn't attack the corners like I did yesterday. It was very close with the Aston Martin getting ahead of us by only a few hundredths of a second on an 8.5-mile circuit. So we'll go with what we've got – third is quite good. I'm looking forward to the race now."



Jan Magnussen's 3:57.181 in the No. 73 Corvette C6.R on Wednesday was the fifth quickest in the GTE Pro category.



"In the first session tonight we gave Jordan (Taylor) as much track time as we could to make sure he’s comfortable with the car and the track," Magnussen said. "As for a fast lap, we decided not to go for that since Antonio (Garcia) still had to get his night time laps in and we were still working on finding the right setup. The good news is that we've saved an extra set of soft tires for Saturday and Sunday."



Garcia agreed with his Danish co-driver: "The car is good but we’re still trying different setups and ideas to make sure we have the best possible package," he said. "All three of us put in a good number of laps at night to get used to the darkness and the traffic, which is a good practice for Saturday night. All in all we’re ready to go."



Long runs in the No. 73 Corvette C6.R bolstered the confidence of the team's youngest driver, 21-year-old Jordan Taylor. "Today was definitely an improvement over yesterday," he noted. "I felt more confident and my lap times were a lot more consistent, which was exactly what I wanted to accomplish. I still keep learning the track over the course of each session, and will continue to do so throughout the weekend."



Tommy Milner opened today's first session with a solid one-hour stint in the No. 74 Corvette C6.R, setting the early pace with a 3:58.214 time that stood as the fastest lap for the first hour.



"I had relatively little traffic tonight, a stark contrast to last night," Milner reported. "We worked through several setup options and made improvements. Ultimately the race is the most important thing, so we're working on making the car comfortable. This is a great test for us, with conditions that are comparable to what we'll see in the race.



"Comparing to last year's car, I'm much happier with the new wide-body C6.R," Milner noted. "Speeds are definitely faster, although some that has to do with the track resurfacing. I would say that all of the computer simulations and technology have paid off."



Richard Westbrook ran nearly an hour in the first session in the No. 74 Corvette C6.R and then completed his mandatory laps in darkness in the second session.



"The car feels good, the lap times are very good, but we don't know what the competition is doing," Westbrook said. "Everyone is on a different program. Some are using qualifying as a race setup simulation like us, some are going for a qualifying lap. It's very difficult to judge where you are. All we can do is our own thing; the Corvette C6.R feels great. It would be nice to know for sure that we are as competitive as it feels we are, but we'll all know for certain on Saturday afternoon."



Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 16-17. The race will start Saturday at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). SPEED and SPEED.com will provide continuous coverage in the U.S. starting at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 16; see local listings for program times.



24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro Qualifying Times

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 59 Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher, Ferrari 458 Italia, 3:55.393

2. 97 Mucke/Turner/Fernandez, Aston Martin Vantage V8, 3:55.870

3. 74 Gavin/Milner/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 3:55.910

4. 71 Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci, Ferrari 458 Italia, 3:56.484

5. 73 Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor, Corvette C6.R, 3:57.181

6. 77 Lietz/Lieb/Henzler, Porsche 911 RSR, 3:57.606

7. 80 Bergmeister/Long/Holzer, Porsche 911 RSR, 3:58.717

8. 66 Cocker/Walker/Wills, Ferrari 458 Italia, 3:59.638

9. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander, Ferrari 458 Italia, no time

Episode 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVmyNXWaiMA

Are you on Twitter? If not, sign up for a free account and follow the Corvette Racing Le Mans pit notes. Let's help Corvette Racing build it's Twitter followers! https://twitter.com/#!/CorvetteRacing



LE MANS MEDIA SCHEDULE:

***********************************************

Speed TV Schedule & live streaming:

24 Hours of Le Mans Live Coverage Schedule
(All times Eastern; schedule subject to change)

Saturday, June 16
Le Mans 24 Hours (The Start) 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Live)
Le Mans 24 Hours 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Live; SPEED.com)
Le Mans 24 Hours 2:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Live)
Le Mans 24 Hours 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Live; SPEED.com)
Le Mans 24 Hours 7:30 p.m. – Midnight (Live)

Sunday, June 17
Le Mans 24 Hours (The Finish) Midnight – 9:30 a.m. (Live)

STREAMING: SPEED.com: SUPLEMENT: live video streaming online at
www.speed.com/corvette

Justin TV online: http://www.justin.tv/rampageturke2#/w/3243417376

********************************************
Schedule of events:
http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers/1 ... ule-24-heures-du-mans.pdf

Live Timing & pit notes:
http://live.lemans-tv.com/en/

http://thomasbaekdal.com/mini-sites/lemans2012/

Radio Le Mans:
http://radiolemans.com/

Track Map:
http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers/1 ... u_mans_plan_situation.pdf

Le Mans Entry List:
http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers/1 ... 4_heures_du_mans_2012.pdf

News & Info & links:
http://corvettemotorsport.com/Multimedia

Weather:
http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/FRXX0048

Spotters Guide:
http://blog.simraceway.com/2012/06/do ... e-mans-spotter-guide-now/

Race fans still have only a few days to enter for a chance to win a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible and a trip to Le Mans, France, for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans by entering the “Race to Win Corvette promotion at www.racetowincorvette by June 20, 2012.

Corvette Racing on Provisional Pole for 24 Hours of Le Mans



Gavin Quickest in GTE Pro in First Qualifying Session in No. 74 Corvette C6.R, Magnussen Third in No. 73 Corvette C6.R



LE MANS, France, June 13, 2012 – Preparations for this weekend's 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans began today with four hours of free practice followed by the first of three two-hour qualifying sessions. Oliver Gavin qualified the No. 74 Corvette C6.R on the provisional pole in GTE Pro with a lap at 3:55.910 in the opening minutes of the qualifying session. Jan Magnussen provisionally qualified the No. 73 Corvette C6.R third at 3:57.181.



"I never thought we would get down to such quick lap times in a GT car," Gavin said. "It's amazing to run 3.55s with the regulations in this class. It shows what Corvette Racing can do. The car was really fantastic, one of the best I've ever driven at Le Mans."



Gavin's time was quicker than his class-leading lap in the second session on Test Day, and quicker than last year's pole-winning time in GTE Pro.



"I was helped hugely on the lap by Jan," Gavin explained. "He was just in front of me on the Mulsanne Straight. I started to tow up behind him, and as we came out of the second chicane he let me by – it was just perfect. I know that I left something on the table on that lap. I might have gone quicker on the next one, but a Prototype passed me in the Porsche Curves and held me up just that little bit. Who knows?"



Corvette Racing's twin Compuware Corvette C6.Rs were third and eighth in the opening practice session. Then after a two-hour break, the initial qualifying session ran from 10 p.m. to midnight on the imposing 8.5-mile circuit.



“My qualifying lap was quite decent," Magnussen said. "The balance of the car has improved a lot since this afternoon’s free practice session. Straight after I set my time the car developed a power steering problem which the team resolved so Jordan could get in his night laps.”



Jordan Taylor was back on track in the No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R after an encounter with a tire wall during the Test Day on June 3. The 21-year-old Le Mans rookie was quickly up to speed.



"I just wanted to get used to the car again and gain confidence," Taylor said. "It was a little intimidating going back out there after the test, but I was happy to get in some laps and I'm looking forward to doing more laps to gain experience. The track is a little greener and a little cooler than it was during the test, but it's always changing here on the public roads."



Richard Westbrook was unable to participate in the Test Day due to a schedule conflict, so the third driver of the No. 74 Corvette C6.R was eager to get reacquainted with the car that he last raced in March in Sebring, Fla.



"It's always nice driving a C6.R here at Le Mans," Westbrook said. "We were expecting the track to have changed quite a bit from the test, but it doesn't seem to have done that. We have a good baseline and we're feeling confident."



Antonio Garcia turned his quickest time in the No. 73 Corvette C6.R in the four-hour practice at 3:59.480. “The car feels good, and we were just getting reacquainted with the track so we ran the entire session on old tires" said the Spaniard. "We know we can go a long distance on the same set of tires, so that’s good news. We also know we’ll be right there once we put on a set of new tires. The track is slowly improving as the competitors are putting in more laps in longer runs, so they’re putting down more rubber."



Qualifying will continue on Thursday with a second session from 7 to 9 p.m., and conclude with the final session from 10 p.m. to midnight. With the possibility of rain tomorrow, the team has already posted competitive qualifying times with both Corvettes and four of the six drivers have completed their required laps in darkness.



Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 16-17. Practice and qualifying continues on Thursday, June 14 with two two-hour sessions. The race will start Saturday at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). SPEED and SPEED.com will provide continuous coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 16; see local listings for program times.



24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro Provisional Qualifying Times

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 74 Gavin/Milner/Westbrook, Corvette C6.R, 3:55.910

2. 59 Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher, Ferrari 458 Italia, 3:56.076

3. 73 Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor, Corvette C6.R, 3:57.181

4. 97 Mucke/Turner/Fernandez, Aston Martin Vantage V8, 3:57.466

5. 71 Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci, Ferrari 458 Italia, 3:57.509

6. 77 Lietz/Lieb/Henzler, Porsche 911 RSR, 3:57.648

7. 80 Bergmeister/Long/Holzer, Porsche 911 RSR, 3:58.717

8. 66 Cocker/Walker/Wills, Ferrari 458 Italia, 4:00.883

9. 51 Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander, Ferrari 458 Italia, no time

EPISODE 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ALZFG2ZD6M&feature=youtu.be

Corvette Racing - Flat Out - 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans "The Prep" (Episode 1 of 5) - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?gl=FR ... &v=WgmuknJuwgk&nomobile=1

Corvette Racing to Give SPEED Viewers the Ride of a Lifetime at Le Mans



Online Video Streams from Two Corvette C6.Rs and Corvette Racing Garage to Enhance Live Coverage of 24 Hours of Le Mans



LE MANS, France, June 12, 2012 – Race fans in the U.S. will be able to ride along with Corvette Racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second consecutive year. SPEED's coverage of the classic endurance race will include live video streams from the two Compuware Corvette C6.Rs as they navigate the immense 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe on June 16-17. A third camera in the Corvette Racing garage will take viewers inside the world's most prestigious sports car race.



This online coverage can be viewed exclusively by at www.speed.com/corvette. This website will also be the only place for fans in the U.S. to watch live coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans while SPEED broadcasts other programming from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET and 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 16.



Race fans can also follow the team with real-time updates on Twitter @CorvetteRacing.



One year ago the No. 73 Compuware Corvette took SPEED viewers from the green flag to the checkered flag and a victory in the GTE Pro category. With cameras mounted in both Corvettes this year, viewers will be able to watch the action from two perspectives.



"Last year Corvette Racing gave fans the ride of a lifetime," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "They were in the cockpit through twilight and darkness, the early-morning rain showers that made the track so difficult, Tommy Milner's thrilling pass for the lead, and Antonio Garcia bringing home Corvette Racing's seventh win at Le Mans. Now we are very proud to provide fans with even more opportunities to experience the magic of Le Mans and to see Corvette take on a field of world-class competitors in the most demanding sports car race on the planet."



SPEED and SPEED.com will provide 25 total hours of continuous broadcast coverage starting on Saturday, June 15, at 8:30 a.m. ET, including pre- and post-race activities.



24 Hours of Le Mans Live Coverage Schedule
(All times Eastern; schedule subject to change)



Saturday, June 16
Le Mans 24 Hours (The Start) 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Live)

Le Mans 24 Hours 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Live; SPEED.com)

Le Mans 24 Hours 2:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Live)

Le Mans 24 Hours 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Live; SPEED.com)

Le Mans 24 Hours 7:30 p.m. – Midnight (Live)



Sunday, June 17
Le Mans 24 Hours (The Finish) Midnight – 9:30 a.m. (Live)

Corvette Racing Primed for the Challenge of Le Mans



Chevrolet Team Aims for Eighth Victory in 24 Hours of Le Mans



LE MANS, France, June 11, 2012 – Corvette Racing comes into the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the defending champion in the GTE Pro category. Last year the No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Tommy Milner, Antonio Garcia, and Olivier Beretta scored a come-from-behind victory to capture Corvette Racing's seventh class title in the world's biggest sports car race.



Ranked by National Geographic as the world's top sporting event (http://on.natgeo.com/Mn2hyg), the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a contest of skill, speed, and stamina that overshadows the Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer, and the Super Bowl according to this prestigious publication. Now Corvette Racing, the most successful team in the history of the American Le Mans Series, is ready to take on the challenge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 13th consecutive year. With updated Corvette C6.R race cars and a revised driver roster, Corvette Racing is primed for the long-running battle at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The competition will again be formidable in the GTE Pro category with factory-supported teams representing Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin.



The twin Corvette C6.Rs have been updated in accordance with the ACO rulebook since the team's last appearance at Le Mans. They are two inches wider than the preceding version, with corresponding changes in bodywork and suspension to complement the increased track width. The rear wing is mounted 75mm higher than last year and the Michelin tires have been optimized for the Corvette chassis. The 5.5-liter Chevrolet small-block V-8s are equipped with intake air restrictors that are .4mm larger than in 2011.



"The engineering team ran extensive computer simulations to evaluate the effects of a wider body," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. "There is a fine balance between the aerodynamic drag produced by a larger frontal area and the handling improvements that come with a wider track. We expected that the wider body would be better at many of the circuits in the U.S., and the simulations indicated that it would be an improvement at Le Mans as well.



"Although Le Mans is a big, high-speed track, a significant percentage of the lap is spent cornering and braking," Pratt explained. "With the chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight and fast corners like the Porsche Curves, the wide-body design is beneficial."



The driver lineup has been shuffled as well. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen are teamed with third driver Jordan Taylor in the No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Tommy Milner has moved to the No. 74 Compuware Corvette C6.R alongside Oliver Gavin and Richard Westbrook. These six drivers have a combined total of 12 class victories at Le Mans.



"I'm really looking forward to this year's Le Mans with all of the new developments on the car," said Magnussen, a four-time Le Mans winner. "I think we have a better understanding and feel for the car than last year, and it seems to be more stable. Le Mans is about a lot of things – top speed is only one of them. I'm confident that we will be able to go to the front again."



"I think we are in a really good position," said Garcia, who notched his third Le Mans win last year. "I'm happy to be back with Jan because we won together in 2009, and it will be good to have Jordan in the car. From what we have seen in testing, the car is more predictable and that should give us the opportunity to be a touch more relaxed – although at Le Mans, 'relaxed' is not the word!"



The race is not always to the swift, as was proven again last year. The No. 73 Corvette was one lap down when an accident sidelined the class-leading No. 74 Corvette in the early morning hours, but endurance and an error-free run carried the day for Chevrolet. Milner made the pass for the lead with two hours to go, and Garcia brought the Corvette home in first place.



"Being consistent and not making mistakes are crucial at Le Mans," said Milner, who scored his breakthrough first victory with Corvette Racing at Le Mans. "Last year we didn't have the fastest car in the class, but it was consistent. The team didn't make any errors, and when our competition had just one small issue, it put them on the back foot. If the speed is there, that's great – but the way to win it is to stop only for fuel, tires and driver changes. That will put you in the best position at the end of the race."



Oliver Gavin has competed 11 times at Le Mans, winning four times. After a streak of three straight wins with Magnussen and Beretta in 2004-06, he's been denied another victory by accidents and mechanical problems that were beyond his control. The Englishman's experience has given him perspective on the race.



"This race is like no other," Gavin said. "It's exceptionally long, exceptionally tough, and high pressure for everybody in the team. It's a highly charged atmosphere in that pit box for the entire 24 hours. You just cannot let up, take your eye off the ball for a single moment, or the 24 Hours of Le Mans will bite you. You must be smart, be consistent, and use your head."



As the 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrates its milestone 80th running and Chevrolet celebrates 60 years of Corvette production, the stage is set for another classic race in the French countryside.



Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 16-17. The race will start Saturday at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). SPEED and SPEED.com will provide 25 hours of continuous coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 16.

Jerome Charles Bench Memorial Fund

Shortly before this year’s Bash at the National Corvette Museum, the Corvette family lost an important team member. Jerome Charles, Harlan’s father, passed away suddenly. Jerry was cremated immediately with no funeral or memorial service to mark his passing. The family has had no closure nor have the people who love Harlan had a way to support him in his grief.

The Corvette program team, Bowling Green Assembly Plant and the National Corvette Museum want to change that. The Corvette Design studio is creating a graphic for the bench in dedication of Harlan and his father's shared love of Corvettes. In this way, the Charles family will have an appropriate memorial for Jerry.

Harlan has dedicated his life to the Corvette community. No individual has put more of his heart and soul into the car, the hobby and the people. We all saw him at this year’s Bash despite his father’s death. It is our turn to support him.

Please help make this idea a reality by making your tax-deductible contribution to the Jerome Charles memorial bench fund.

Sincerely,

Tadge Juechter
Corvette Chief Engineer and Vehicle Line Director

Please contact Megan Meredith to contribute at 270-467-8836.