GM Racing

Corvette Racing to Rock Toronto Financial District

Pit Stop Demonstration at Brookfield Place Will Showcase American Le Mans Series in Downtown Toronto

TORONTO - Corvette Racing will bring the sound and fury of international road racing to Canada's financial center as a prelude to the Grand Prix of Mosport, the eighth round of the American Le Mans Series to be held at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ont., on Sunday, August 30. The clatter of air guns will echo through Brookfield Place, the heart of Toronto's financial district, when the Corvette Racing crew stages a pit stop demonstration at midday on Wednesday, August 26.

The steel and glass towers of Canada's "Wall Street" are a stark contrast to the rolling green hills of Mosport, the fastest track on the ALMS circuit. The Corvette team's pit stop demonstration will showcase ALMS road racing in front of a blue chip list of tenants and more than 100,000 visitors who pass through the Brookfield Place complex daily. Canadian ace Ron Fellows will attend the event in his role as Corvette Racing ambassador.

"The people who work at Brookfield Place understand the importance of return on investment, and a special event such as this one is an example of the tremendous return on investment that Corvette Racing delivers to GM," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Many of the men and women who work in the financial district are influential decision makers who make things happen, and they are all potential Corvette and GM customers. It will be a newsworthy promotion that increases awareness of the Mobil 1-sponsored Grand Prix of Mosport. We take the business of racing very seriously at Corvette Racing, and it always pays dividends for us to participate in these activities both on and off the race track."

After back-to-back podium finishes in the two ALMS races contested since the debut of the GT2 version of the Corvette C6.R, Corvette Racing will continue its testing and development program with the new production-based race cars on the high-speed Mosport circuit. Johnny O'Connell, who has six previous victories at the Canadian track with teammates Ron Fellows and Jan Magnussen, is scheduled to make his milestone 100th start in ALMS competition on Sunday in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.

"Mosport doesn’t have long straights like Road America, but the corners are very fast and flow together very well to keep the average speed high," said Magnussen, who won with O'Connell at Mosport in a prototype in 1999 and with Corvettes in 2007-08. "Although we haven't tested the new cars at Mosport, I think the GT2 Corvette C6.R is going to suit any track."

Oliver Gavin, driver of the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R that he shares with Olivier Beretta, foresees another hard-fought race at Mosport. "The GT2 Corvette C6.R is very stable at high speed, which is what a driver wants at a track like Mosport," said the Briton. "We saw at Road America that the competition among the auto manufacturers and the tire companies is intense. It's been a battle at every race, and it's going to be more of the same when we get to Mosport."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ont., on August 28-30. The two-hour, 45-minute race is scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 30. SPEED will televise the race live at 3 p.m. EDT.

Release Date: August 25, 2009