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Racing Report on the 2010 Petit Le Mans Race
Matt Parker III [C5R# X2200], La Grange,
GA
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Continuous preparation in the paddock |
Corvette Racing – GT2
The
atmosphere for the 13th ALMS Petit Le Mans at
Road Atlanta was thick with competition for the GT2
Class: BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar, Panoz and
Porsche. 17 GT2 cars were registered to battle around
the twisty and hilly 2.54 mile Road Atlanta for 1,000
miles or 10 hours, whichever comes first. To add to the
drama, no brand or team had a lock on winning – Petit Le
Mans, Driver’s or Manufacturer’s Championship and the
Michelin® Green X® Challenge.
Accordingly, this last race in the nine race series
would be the BIG one. With everything at stake, there
was a lot more secrecy in the paddock – fewer
photographers, limited access, and “drawn curtains”
surrounded each team’s place of business; secrecy was in
vogue.
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Gavin and Collard ready for driver
change drill |
Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday practices were rigorous and mostly
in the dry. The two ZR1 based C6.R Corvette’s
meticulously prepared by Pratt & Miller worked their way
around Road Atlanta getting the drivers ready for the
most important race of their winless year. Yes, it was
time to win and Corvette Racing was ready to win!
Qualification was held on Friday and Corvette Racing
qualified 6th and 7th.
6.
Gavin/Magnussen/Collard, #4 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R,
1:20:598
7.
Beretta/O’Connell/Garcia, #3 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R,
1:20.675.
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Jan Magnussen ready for Saturday
morning practice1-7 |
Ferrari
occupied the first four positions and BMW fifth. The
top ten positions were separated by only 0.923 seconds,
not much for a 1000 mile race.
Saturday
morning practice was different; Corvette Racing was in
“Real Racing Mode.” You could feel the excitement in
the air, the crews were smooth as glass and Jan
Magnussen in the #4 Corvette posted the fastest time in
the GT2 Class, giving Ferrari something to pontificate.
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Curtains drawn in the paddock |
At 11:30 am
Race Start/Green Flag and the 13th ALMS Petit
Le Mans was underway. It was one of the most beautiful
fall days you could wish for a car race, bright and
sunny, no clouds and in the 70’s – the antithesis of the
torrential rains that Red Flagged the 2009 Petit Le
Mans. For the most part the top runners BMW, Corvette,
Ferrari and Porsche stayed together during the race.
Ferrari, BMW and Porsche all had the lead until the 4th
lead change at 1:24 pm when Jan Magnuessen #4 Corvette
took the lead from Mika Salo #61 Ferrari. From that
point on, the lead was only exchanged between Corvette
and Ferrari.
Pit stops,
which occurred about every 30 minutes, were responsible
for many lead changes as well as the seven yellow
caution periods which caused the cars to bunch up as
well make pit stops.
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Approaching turn #6 in the lead |
Slowly but
surely the shadows began to grow and for many laps in
the late afternoon Corvette and Ferrari were almost one,
separated by about 100-200 feet. It became a war of
conservatism of fuel and tires which turned out to be a
misnomer considering the blistering pace of the cars.
With only seconds, and frequently less than a second,
separating 1st from 2nd place, an
extra lap or two on tires and fuel could spell victory
or defeat.
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Cresting the hill under Suzuki
bridge |
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Lead changes #5-#21 Corvette & Ferrari only |
As the sun
settled below the horizon, the race became a real nail
bitter:
8:00 pm (8
hr 30 m running) the #62 Ferrari was in 1st
with only an 11.063 second lead over the #4 Corvette in
2nd, #01 Ferrari 3rd and #3
Corvette 4th.
8:30 pm (9
hr 0 m running) #4 Corvette pitted for fuel only and
dropped to 3rd.
8:31 pm (9
hr 1 m running) #3 Corvette pitted for fuel and tires.
8:35 pm (9
hr 5 m running) #62 Ferrari pitted for fuel only and
retains 1st.
8:42 pm (9
hr 12 m running) #62 Ferrari ran out of gas and
stops on course and #4 Corvette, Oliver Gavin, takes
the win in class at lead change #21.
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8:31 pm Olivier Beretta comes for
fuel and tires |
The Corvette
pits exploded in joy and happiness and the Ferrari pits,
awash in red, were dead silent in disbelief.
In Gavin’s
exciting words: “After our last fuel stop (lap 347),
I hoped I’d have enough to get to the end. Then the fuel
alarm came on with a lap and a half to go. My engineer
(Chuck Houghton) was telling me to save fuel, save fuel.
As I came on to the back straight on the last lap, I
could see a Ferrari weaving, and as I went by, I thought
it was the leader! I came across the line and Chuck
said, Yeah, we won!”
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8:30 pm Oliver Gavin comes in for a splash
of fuel |
Wining the
2010 Petit Le Mans was the most significant win in many
years. Corvette Racing had become accustomed to
winning, but this year had been the most difficult
because it had been winless. The pits, the podium, and
the paddock were all overflowing with extreme excitement
and happiness. You could see it and feel it and that was
the best part. Victory was sweet! Corvette Racing was
standing tall again!
Final Top 10
GT2 Results
(Position/Drivers/Car/Laps Completed)
1. Gavin/Magnussen/Collard - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
- 355
2. Sharp/van Overbeek/Farnbacher - Ferrari 430 GT - 355
3.
Vilander/Bruni - Ferrari 430 GT - 354
4. Auberlen/Milner/Werner - BMW M3 GT - 354
5. Bergmeister/Long/Lieb - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 354
6. Beretta/O'Connell/Garcia - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
- 354
7. Fisichella/Melo/Salo - Ferrari 430 GT - 353
8.
Murry/Bell/Lazzaro - Ford GT - 349
9. Law/Neiman/Holzer - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 348
10. Sellers/Ragginger - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 347
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Victory ceremony Gavin, Magnussen & Collard
C6.R#4 |
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Jan & Ollie with trophy and #4 |
13th Petit Le Mans
Race Photos:
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Pit work during practice |
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C6.R #3 Ready to Race |
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Ready to start the 13th Petit Le
Mans |
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Olivier Beretta between turns 10A&B |
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Antonio Garcia pulling G’s at turn 6 |
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Johnny O’Connell leading during a caution
period |
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Robin Pratt celebrates with smiles & tears
& cheers |
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Dave Barefield: Before Winning |
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Dave Barefield: After Winning
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Corvette Racing Driving Team
C6.R #3 –
Johnny O’Connell, 2001, Georgia. Résumé: Three-time
ALMS GT1 Champion, 38 career ALMS wins, record eight
Sebring 12-hour class victories, holds ALMS records for
most starts (102), most podium finishes (80), most
top-five finishes (93) and most top-ten finishes (100),
first American driver to win 24 Hours of Le Mans four
times. ALMS record for career starts.
C6.R #3 –
Olivier Beretta, 2004, Monaco. Résumé: Five-time
ALMS GTS/GT1 Champion, five class wins in 24 Hours of Le
Mans, holds ALMS records for most career wins (41) and
most career poles (23), two FIA championships, overall
victory in 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona. ALMS records for
victories and poles.
C6.R #3 –
Antonio Garcia, 2009, Spain. Résumé: Won four major
endurance races including 2008 & 2009 24 Hours of Le
Mans (GT1), 2009 Daytona 24-hour (overall), 2009 Sebring
12-hour (GT1).
C6.R #4 –
Oliver Gavin, 2002, England. Résumé: Three-time
ALMS GT1 Champion, 31 career ALMS class victories, four
class wins in 24 Hours of Le Mans.
C6.R #4 –
Jan Magnussen, 2004, Denmark. Résumé: 2008 ALMS GT1
co-Champion, four class wins in 24 Hours of Le Mans, 22
career ALMS wins, former Formula 1 driver, twice voted
"Most Popular Driver" in ALMS.
C6.R #4 –
Emmanuel Collard, 2010, France. Resume: Overall
winner of Sebring 12-hour, Daytona 24-hour, Spa 24-hour
and Petit Le Mans races; multiple class victories in Le
Mans 24 Hours and Nürburgring 24 Hours; two-time Le Mans
Series Champion.
Johnny O’Connell’s Auction Supporting Alzheimer’s
Research
Johnny’s
Auction has been a major Friday event at Petit Le Mans
since 2001 as a tribute to his dad who suffered from
Alzheimer’s. We all know families that deal with
Alzheimer’s, a dreadful disease. Johnny was the Grand
Master of Ceremonies which was most entertaining in
itself. He made his Auction singing debut accompanied by
two Corvette Racing crew members, Mike West and Dan
Fastuca. Johnny’s daughter Kelly was the featured singer
and her voice was beautiful as always. Many racing and
race-related memorabilia were auctioned, including
driving suits and gloves, Michelin tires, C6.R body
components, drivers helmets, paintings, photographs and
clothing, all for a great cause. All thanks to Johnny
O’Connell and his troop of volunteers.
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Johnny O’Connell’s Auction at Petit Le Mans,
Road Atlanta |
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Johnny singing with Mike West and Dan
Fastuca on guitar |
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Johnny’s daughter Kelly singing like a pro |
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Johnny’s friends and fans have a great time
raising money for a great cause |
Corvette Corral
The Corvette
Corral was sponsored by the National Corvette Museum and
was full of new Corvette’s – ZR1’s, Z06’s, and Grand
Sports all in the newest colors. The surrounding field
was full of Corvette’s from all over the country. If you
were interested in a particular model, color, or
modification, they were all there for your inspection.
As usual, the Corvette Corral was the most populated at
Petit Le Mans.
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The Corvette Corral featured many ZR1’s |
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America’s Greatest Sports Cars! |
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