Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Strong ALMS Race for Corvette Racing
- 24 Mar 2009
No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R finished 6th overall in the GT1 Class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Corvette Racing No. 3 C6.R Drivers Antonio Garcia, Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen
No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R completes 349 laps in the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R finished 7th overall in the GT1 Class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Corvette Racing No.4 C6.R Drivers Olivier Beretta, Marcel Fassler and Oliver Gavin
No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R was never more than 30 seconds behind the No. 3 Corvette during Sebring
The 57th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring also was a history-making event for Corvette Racing. Driver Johnny O’Connell had a record-setting eighth Sebring class victory. Jan Magnussen set his milestone 100th career victory in the ALMS landmark 100th race and Antonio Garcia had his first win for his team.
O’Connell, Magnussen and Garcia completed 349 laps in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The three drivers took a one-lap victory in the GT1 Class over Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Marcel Fassler in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.
Gavin started on the GT1 pole with Magnussen in pursuit. Magnussen pitted first and handed off to O’Connell. One lap later, Gavin pitted and was replaced by Beretta. The two cars emerged from their stops side-by-side with O’Connell taking the lead in Turn 10. The No. 3 Corvette C6.R kept its lead through 11 more pit stops in 11 more hours of racing.
“I had the advantage of a killer lap going out of the pits,” said O’Connell. “Maybe our car was in a little better. I came by as Olivier was coming out of the pits on cold tires, so he had a knife for a gunfight on that first lap.”
The Corvette’s finished sixth and seventh overall in America’s most demanding endurance race. The gap between the two Corvettes was never more than 30 seconds through the race. Gavin and Magnussen started and finished the race, while their teammates each completed four stints.
Corvette Racing runs a special K&N air filter. “Dirt is a huge problem in endurance racing,” said Crew Chief Dan Binks. “K&N protects our engines from the debris we encounter during the long stints.”
“It was a good race,” said Beretta. “We just had some little issues and some bad luck on the pace car. We left Sebring with two cars in perfect condition and that is the most important thing.”
Corvette Racing’s next event is the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach in Long Beach, California on April 18.
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