Corvette Racing Wins Inaugural ALMS Green Challenge at Petit Le Mans;
O'Connell and Magnussen Clinch GT1 Drivers Championship with Eighth Win in
2008
BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 4, 2008 – A race that began with Johnny
O'Connell's daughter singing the national anthem on the starting grid at
Road Atlanta ended 9 hours and 41 minutes later with a victory in the
1,000-mile Petit Le Mans for O'Connell and his teammates Jan Magnussen
and Ron Fellows. O'Connell and Magnussen clinched the American Le Mans
Series GT1 drivers championship with their eighth win of the season in
the No. 3 Compuware with one race still to run.
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R completed 365 laps on the 2.54-mile road course,
finishing six laps ahead of the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by
Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Max Papis. The two Corvettes exchanged
the lead in the GT1 class twice on pit stops in the first half of the
race, but a malfunctioning throttle linkage at the 5:43 mark put the No.
4 Corvette six laps down to its sister car. The Corvettes finished 10th
and 11th overall in the 37-car field.
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R also had the best score in the inaugural Green
Challenge, securing the team award in the GT class for Corvette Racing
and the manufacturer award for General Motors. Powered by cellulosic E85R
ethanol made from waste wood, the winning Corvette had a score of 20.391,
the best overall score in the competition based on based on performance,
fuel efficiency and environmental impact.
"Going into the second half of the season, Corvette Racing's goal was to
win the first Green Challenge," said Steve Wesoloski, GM Racing Road
Racing Group manager. "Winning the Green Challenge with the best score
among both GT cars and Prototypes was a team effort that combined the
expertise of GM Powertrain, our engine supplier Katech, and Pratt &
Miller Engineering.
"It's not just about making the engine more efficient and more
environmentally friendly," Wesoloski explained. "We looked at things like
reducing wheel bearing friction and aerodynamic drag to win the Green
Challenge. Alternative renewable fuels are an important part of GM's
gas-friendly to gas-free program, and GM already has more E85-compatible
vehicles on the road than any other manufacturer. Green Racing ties in
with what the corporation is doing in production vehicles. We're
developing the technology to improve both efficiency and performance, and
we're proving it on the race track."
The win was the 36th of O'Connell's career, the 27th ALMS victory for
Fellows, and the 22nd for Magnussen. Fellows and O'Connell last won Petit
Le Mans in 2002, while Magnussen posted victories in 2003, 2004, and
2005.
"It's huge to win the championship here," said O'Connell, a resident of
nearby Flowery Branch. "My goal this season was to win the championship.
I was excited to go into this year with Jan and improve on what we'd
built in 2007. To share this win with Ron is very special. We've shared
cars for eight years, and to win Petit Le Mans together is great."
Fellows teamed with O'Connell and Magnussen for three endurance races in
2008, winning two of them. He was driving the No. 3 Corvette when it
completed 70 percent of the race distance, mathematically clinching the
GT1 title for his teammates.
"I'm happy for Johnny and Jan, they've had a great season," said the
Canadian. "I've enjoyed the races we've run together, and we've done very
well with a win at Sebring, a close second at Le Mans, and now a win at
Petit Le Mans."
Magnussen drove the final stint in the endurance race, which was
interrupted by 11 full-course caution periods.
"In my last stint I was just cruising and trying to bring it home," said
Magnussen. "There was a lot on the line here with the championship and a
win at Petit Le Mans, so I didn't want to make any mistakes.
"It's fantastic to win the championship with Johnny," said the Dane.
"Last year we found how it feels when you don't win the championship, so
be able to win it in the way we've done it, with eight wins, is just
fantastic. Now we can go to Laguna Seca and have fun."
Beretta was able to nurse the No. 4 Corvette C6.R back to the pits at an
idle after the throttle linkage malfunctioned coming out of Turn 7. The
crew made repairs and got the car back on track nine minutes later.
"The fact that the Corvette C6.R engine has so much torque enabled me to
get back to the pits," said Gavin. "Otherwise the hills here at Road
Atlanta would have left me stuck out on the track. It was dicey because I
had to drive the entire length of the straight with the engine on idle. I
was staring in the mirror to make sure I wouldn't get in anyone's way
– I was going about 25 mph, and they were passing me at 180!"
-credit: gm racing
