Corvette Racing Team Takes First & Second at Lime Rock
Nows it's a couple of days later, but the headline is the same: Corvette takes Lime Rock GT1 Class.
Corvette Racing spent the weekend after the Fourth of July on the roller coaster 1.54-mile Lime Rock Park circuit. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta avoided the heavy holiday traffic on the congested road course, and scored a .384-second victory in their No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R over Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.
Gavin and Beretta completed 165 laps and finished eighth overall. It was the pair's fifth win in six American LeMans Series races contested this season.
"This is the smallest, narrowest, bumpiest, and craziest track we race on," said Gavin after notching his 25th career ALMS victory. "When you have the prototypes driving up behind you with a lot of pace on the straights and GT2 cars with great speed in the corners, you have to keep your wits about you all the time. It's very satisfying to come back to America and get a victory in our first race after Le Mans."
Gavin and Beretta led from flag to flag as the two Corvettes were never separated by more than a few seconds throughout the two-hour, 45-minute race. The grid was set by practice times after rain cancelled qualifying. Beretta and O'Connell drove the first stint, and were replaced by Gavin and Magnussen respectively in the first round of pit stops at 1:21 into the race. Both drivers then made routine pit stops under caution at 2:05 for fuel and tires to take them to the finish. The race was interrupted by three full-course caution periods, and both Corvettes showed the scars of close-quarter combat after the race.
Beretta extended his record for career ALMS victories with his 33rd win. The "two Ollies" now unofficially lead the GT1 drivers championship by 32 points. Observed O'Connell: "Any time you leave Lime Rock with both cars intact it's been a successful weekend".
Corvette Racing's next event is the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 21.