Corvette wants to celebrate 50 years with dignity

Present in Sarthe since 2000, the Pratt & Miller team is starting to feel at home on the Le Mans route. After having triumphed six times in GT1, the staff of Corvette Racing made the decision to move to GT2, a category much more contested than GT1, deserted by competitors over the years. This time, besides Aston Martin, we will have to come to terms with Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, and to a lesser extent Jaguar and Spyker. A dream platter.

Last year, for his debut in American Le Mans Series, the C6.R ZR1 surprised everyone by even obtaining a victory. In 2010, the yellows have not yet managed to climb to the top of the podium across the Atlantic, but they have shown that they are in the running. This week, on the 24 Hours circuit, the drivers of the American team were constantly at the forefront, the two Corvettes even monopolizing the first row of the GT2 starting grid. Thanks to a best timed lap in 3:58:906 by Jan Magnussen, the 63 will start in second position.

“At Le Mans we face the toughest competition since the start of the Corvette GT2 program, says the Dane. We prepared well and everything we did with the new car was done with the 24 Hours as our objective. We will do what we have always done: go all out and try to win.”

The ex-pilot of Formula 1 will share the seat of the number 63 Corvette with the Spaniard Antonio Garcia and the American Johnny O'Connell, the winning trio last year in GT1.

The sister car, bearing the number 64, will see in turn the newcomer to the team, the Frenchman Emmanuel Collard (winner in GT2 in 2003 at the wheel of a Porsche), the Monegasque Olivier Beretta, and the Briton Oliver Gavin, who placed the car on pole in GT2.

“Le Mans will be very competitive this year, and we know it’s not going to be easy, declares the Briton. I know that we have the car to do well and that the team will support us until the end so that we can fight for victory.

We will have understood, even if it is a first in GT2, the two Corvette crews are determined to seek victory. But could it be otherwise, with 2010 marking the fiftieth anniversary of Corvette's first participation in the Le Mans?

Don't miss our 2010 Guide to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so you don't miss anything from the 78th edition of the Le Mans classic.