Tom Wallace to lead performance car team DETROIT – General Motors Corp. announced today that David Hill, currently GM vehicle chief engineer (VCE) for Corvette and vehicle line executive (VLE) for performance cars, will retire effective Jan. 1, 2006 after more than 41 years of dedicated service. Tom Wallace will replace Hill as vehicle line executive – performance cars and vehicle chief engineer for the Corvette. Additionally, he will assume responsibilities for compact rear-wheel-drive performance cars including Pontiac Solstice and …
Laguna Seca Victory Seals GT1 Championship for Gavin and Beretta MONTEREY, Calif. – Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta won the battle and won the war today as Corvette Racing won it all in the American Le Mans Series. Gavin and Beretta scored their seventh win in eight races in their No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R and claimed the GT1 championship in today’s four-hour season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Corvette Racing notched its 45th victory and 31st 1-2 finish …
O’Connell and Beretta Break Track Record; Corvette Racing Wins Pit Crew Challenge MONTEREY, Calif. – The stage is set for Saturday’s season finale of the American Le Mans Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the key players in the GT1 championship drama will start second and third. Title contender Johnny O’Connell qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette second in the GT1 class at 1:20.719, and points leader Olivier Beretta put the No. 4 Compuware Corvette third on the GT1 …
Corvette Racing’s “Two Ollies” Aim for ALMS Championship in Season Finale MONTEREY, Calif. – Two years ago, they were strangers. Today Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta are the best of friends – and potential American Le Mans Series champions. They come from different worlds. Gavin, 33, is a fair-haired Englishman, living in a restored Tudor-style home in a picturesque village northwest of London. Beretta, 35, is a swarthy Monegasque who lives alongside the sun-drenched Mediterranean in an apartment in Monte …
Corvette Racing Notebook for the Monterey Sports Car Championships, Oct. 13-15 MONTEREY, Calif. – While there are few certainties in motorsports, the math says that two of Corvette Racing’s four full-season drivers will be crowned as GT1 champions at the conclusion of the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Oct. 15. The four-hour season finale of the American Le Mans Series will decide the title in favor of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta, co-drivers of the …
Quarterback, Coach and Cheerleader for the Championship-Winning No. 3 Corvette NEW HUDSON, Mich. – It’s 5:15 a.m., and Dan Binks is already on the job. He’s been up since 4:30, and he can’t wait to get to the office. His “office” is the headquarters of Corvette Racing, the command center where Chevrolet’s championship-winning race cars are designed, constructed and maintained. It’s said that races are won and lost in the pits. Binks, the crew chief for the No. 3 Compuware …
01Oct2005
Corvette Racing Wins Petit Le Mans
Gavin and Beretta Extend GT1 Points Lead with Second Straight Petit Le Mans Victory BRASELTON, Ga. – Corvette Racing beat the heat, beat the clock and beat its rivals to win today’s 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta. Corvette Racing teammates Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen duplicated their earlier win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with their No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The trio completed 379 laps, finishing one lap ahead of the …
Beretta Wins GT1 Pole for Record 17th Time, Sets Road Atlanta Qualifying Mark BRASELTON, Ga. – Corvette Racing won the first skirmish in the battle of Atlanta as the twin Corvette C6.Rs qualified first and second in the GT1 class ahead of the British Aston Martin team for Saturday’s Petit Le Mans. Olivier Beretta won the pole for a series-leading 17th time, lapping the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit with a record-setting time of 1:16.627 (119.331 mph) in the No. 4 …
26Sep2005
Papis’ Passion: A Little Red Corvette
Max Papis Drives the American Dream Behind the Wheel of His 1958 Corvette MIAMI – Growing up in Italy, young Max Papis dreamed that one day he would be a successful race car driver and own a blood-red sports car. It would have a powerful V-8 engine and a proud racing heritage. It would have style and timeless design. And it would wear a red Bowtie from Michigan, not a prancing horse from Maranello. Papis achieved his dream. He has …
Translating Success on the Track into Success in the Showroom DETROIT – Life on the mean streets of New York prepared Gary Claudio for life in the fast lane of auto racing. The former street cop may have traded his bulletproof vest and pistol for a polo shirt and a cell phone, but Claudio has lost none of his street smarts. “Five years as a New York policeman taught me how to deal with all aspects of society,” Claudio said. …