'Practice Pays Off' - Corvette Racing

Corvette Racing etched a good name series. This isready to go to the big one now."
because of one thing - PRACTICE. Rigorous practice"It was a perfectly executed race and we learned a
makes the team one of the most sought-after intremendous amount. I think we've made a very good
today's time. Despite little outside competition for thetire selection for Le Mans. The last compound we had
team, Corvette Racing has taken the early portion ofon looked really good, so we're excited about that.
this year's season to test every aspect of the cars inWe'll be as prepared as possible," said Doug Fehan,
preparation for the Le Mans, France race as well asthe Corvette Racing program manager. With engines
the world's premier endurance race.roaring, headlights shining bright, and hood left widely
The most famous car race in the world will includeopen, the pool of engineers significantly made
highly-sophisticated sports cars with the 15 competitorsimprovements.
in GT1, including five Corvettes. The 2007 Le Mans"Corvette has made a lot of improvements to the cars
race entertained both an upgrade in quality and anas far as driver cooling and driver comfort with the
increase in quantity. "We think we'll win for the fourthnew cooling system and that should pay dividends in a
time at Le Mans because we have the best team.24-hour race," said Johnny O'Connell. The
They know the car inside and out," said Oliver Gavinimprovements and the consistent testing have paid
of Corvette Racing. "The crew will be well-drilled."dividends for the team. Those efforts were apparent
Corvette Racing has known all along that thein the first test session at the Circuit des 24 Heures du
upcoming race will be stiff with rivals from AstonMans.
Martin, Saleen and other Corvettes. Preparation is"Some people wondered why we were racing in the
paramount and the team has taken the five races inAmerican Le Mans Series even though we had little
the American Le Mans Series season to fine tune thecompetition, and I think the test day result provides a
elements of the team.clear answer," said Fehan. "We've done a tremendous
"Aston Martin will be there and we beat them lastamount of work over the winter and early this season,
year. Everyone is waiting for that," said Olivier Beretta.and the testing that we've done with Michelin has been
"It's difficult to know what the other competition is likeoutstanding. The drivers, engineers and mechanics did
at Le Mans. We have very good preparation andanother exceptional job, and that's one of the reasons
have a very good team with Michelin."why Corvette Racing is successful."
From the beginning of the season, the drivers of the"When we look at things, this will probably be our most
Corvettes have flaunted their excellence as the twodifficult Le Mans. Every year our cars have finished
C6.Rs fought for the top spot in every race. "It was athe race and finished on the podium. We won't be the
very important day for us because it was the lastfastest but we'll be the toughest," concluded O'Connell.
practice before Le Mans," said Beretta. "We had toThe 75th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is
finish with the car in one piece. We went through threescheduled for three in the afternoon CET on Saturday,
street races without any accidents and now we'veJune 16 from the Circuit de la Sarthe.
completed a successful Michelin tire test. We are