20.7.2006
Corvette Racing celebrates fifth Le Mans victory

Corvette Racing celebrated the fifth victory in the GT1 class at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with a parade through the streets of Detroit yesterday. The celebration began with the presentation of the 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy at Compuware Corporation, the primary sponsor of the championship-winning Corvette C6.R race cars, and concluded at GM World Headquarters at the Renaissance Center after a parade through Detroit's downtown business district.

The roar of the No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R's 7-liter GM small-block V-8 racing engine reverberated through the skyscrapers as the caravan motored from Woodward Ave. to Jefferson Ave. The parade featured Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, Jan Magnussen, Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis in Corvette convertibles, the Corvette Indianapolis 500 pace car, and dozens of Corvettes from local clubs. When the caravan arrived at its destination, crew chief Ray Gongla demonstrated the race car's power with a tire-smoking burnout. Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper and Compuware chairman and CEO Peter Karmanos Jr. then thanked and congratulated the Corvette Racing team in front of an enthusiastic crowd of fans and supporters.

"This is a big day for all of us because we're celebrating another huge win for the Corvette Racing team - their fifth victory in the biggest, most prestigious and most important road racing event in the world," said Peper. "We're very proud that Corvette competes and wins on that global stage. We believe a great race car begins with a great production car. One look at the Corvette Z06 and the Corvette C6.R race car shows the two-way transfer of technology between racing and production that benefits our customers. There's no better way to celebrate Corvette's 50th anniversary in international road racing than with this win at Le Mans."

On June 18, 2006, drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen scored Corvette Racing's fifth GT1 victory in the past six last years in the 24-hour endurance race contested in Le Mans, France, since 1923. It was the trio's third consecutive class victory at the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, the site of the twice-around-the-clock race.