Corvette and SPEED Take Fans Inside the 24 Hours of Le Mans



Extensive Live TV Coverage Bolstered by Online Video Stream from Inside Corvette C6.R



LE MANS, France, June 6, 2011 – Race fans will have an all-access view of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with exclusive features that include “riding along” with Corvette Racing for the entire race. SPEED will televise 17 hours of live coverage on June 11-12, and via a partnership with Corvette Racing, fans can go to www.speedtv.com/corvette to view the hours not televised. Online coverage will include a special live video stream providing a constant look from inside one of the two Corvette C6.Rs that will be seeking a seventh class win at Le Mans.



The 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, will start at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) on Saturday, June 11. The live web stream of the race on www.speedtv.com/corvette will air coverage without commercial interruption for hours of the race not carried on television.



“The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most prestigious and demanding events in all of racing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We jumped at the opportunity to work with SPEED to provide fans expanded coverage from Le Mans, with an inside view of how Corvette will battle its peers, the world’s best sports cars.”



The live streaming video feed will be from the cockpit of the No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R piloted by Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia. The special web coverage will also include links to an in-depth video tour of the legendary Le Mans circuit in the No. 74 Compuware Corvette C6.R with commentary from Oliver Gavin, who will be seeking his fifth class win for Corvette at Le Mans this weekend.



“It’s not often you can work with a partner that has the ability to also create and offer a better viewing experience for our audience,” said Bobby Akin, SPEED Vice President of Advertising Sales. “SPEED and Chevrolet have been working together on Le Mans on air and online enhancements for many years, and to actually be able to reach out to our audience through a multi-platform online package is amazing.”



Corvette will compete in the renamed GTE Pro (formerly GT2) class this year at Le Mans, facing fierce competition with entries representing Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, Lotus, and Aston Martin.



The No. 73 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Beretta, Milner and Garcia finished third in the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Gavin will be teamed with Jan Magnussen in the No. 74 Compuware Corvette C6.R at Le Mans, a pairing that won the GT1 title three consecutive years in 2004-06. Richard Westbrook will be the third driver.

Great! Thanks for the link.

The NCM has a trip to France this week which includes dinners with Corvette Friends, ALMS personalities and all kinds of sightseeing and activities that revolve around the Corvette and Le Mans. A very good friend of mine and our club newsletter editor just flew out today to join the NCM folks to take part in the festivities and watch the race. Jon is going to try to send back Facebook Feeds and other photos as he can and gets breaks from the fun! (yeah right).

Anyhow, I'll be watching on Speed rather than in person!