Pratt & Miller's Corvette Racing team put on a marvelous display ofstrategy, expertise, and preparedness during the final race of the '05American Le Mans Series (ALMS), held late last fall at Mazda RacewayLaguna Seca. As usual, the C6.Rs sprang out of the trailer ready to takeon their season-long nemeses from the Aston Martin racing program. Butwhile the Corvette-versus-DBR9 showdown promised to becharacteristically fierce, lower-profile entries from teams such asSaleen and Maserati were also keen to derail the Chevrolets' dominance.
Qualifying for the race was headed up by the Saleen S7R. It seems theC6.Rs were playing a bit of "cat and mouse," however, as their truepotential quickly became evident on race day. From the get-go, RonFellows put on a truly inspired driving display, making short work ofthe leading GT1-class cars. His opportunistic pass of the Saleen in Turn10 gave him the class lead when the S7R faltered slightly exiting thesweeping, downhill Turn 9.
Each driver put in two shifts over the course of the four-hour race.Johnny O'Connell was paired with Fellows in the team's No. 3 car, whileOliver Gavin was teamed with Olivier Beretta in the Pratt & Miller No.4.
Corvette C6.R pilot Ron Fellows...
Corvette C6.R pilot Ron Fellows (left) performs a last-minute check ofhis safety gear, while co-driver Johnny O'Connell (center) and aMichelin tire official look on.
The Laguna Seca track has been reconfigured over the last year toaccommodate the demands of Moto GP racing. The switch involved changesto the location of various bridges and walls, as well as to the size andinescapability of the gravel traps. Once in these vast pea-gravel"no-man's lands," the heavier cars sink to their wheel hubs and areabsolutely unmovable under their own power. (The flyweight GP bikes aremuch easier to dislodge.) The result was no fewer than five full-courseyellow flags over the length of the race while officials extracted thestranded cars.
These delays bunched up the field and also made for interesting calls inpit-stop strategy. On more than one occasion, teams lining the hot-pitlane were prepared for a tire change and refueling, only to be postponedby the intrusive full-course yellow. All of this kept the drivers andteams of GT1 battling back and forth throughout the race. Tellingly, theGT1-class lead was held by every car on the grid, making this anespecially exciting race to behold.
A lucky National Corvette...
A lucky National Corvette Museum supporter (left) was chosen to handlethe team's flag-holding duties during pre-grid. Afterward, she posedwith Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill.
In the end, however, the Corvettes were the class of the field--notbecause of sheer mechanical dominance, but thanks to excellent pit work,driver talent, and informed strategy. Fellows was on a tear throughoutthe evening, employing a set of ingenious and aggressive passingmaneuvers to put the No. 3 car back in the lead during his seconddriving stint. Starting with a series of sweeping moves through LagunaSeca's famous corkscrew, Fellows darted in and out of traffic throughTurns 9 and 10, grabbing first place before entering the tight,left-hand Turn 11 that leads onto the front straight. Watching thatsequence made it clear we were experiencing sports-car racing at itsfinest.
Although Fellows and O'Connell put in a spectacular performance, the No.4 car was also driven exceedingly well by Gavin (who set the fastest laptime in the GT1 class) and Beretta. The last pit stop of the night foundthe two C6.Rs battling it out for the lead and the pit crews challengingeach other for bragging rights. The No. 4 car, in Second place at thetime, was first in and out ahead of the No. 3, but the chase was stillon as a freshly installed O'Connell prepared to blast out of the pits.However, after the tire change, a loose right-rear-wheel nut delayed theNo. 3 car on its pit-out run. This meant that the other Corvette, withGavin driving superbly, was able to pass into GT1's first place whileO'Connell struggled to get back on track and up to speed.
In the end, the gap was just too much for O'Connell to make up. Thewheel-nut problem cost the No. 3-car team the drivers' championship andwas a rare hiccup from Danny Bink's well-oiled pit-crew machine (seesidebar, "Corvette Racing Wins ALMS Pit-Stop Competition"). It was a crushing turn of events for the No. 3-car crew, but the cushion they had built over the Astons and the Saleen meant it had no bearing on the Corvettes' 1-2 finish. Gavin and Beretta took the win in the No. 4 car, while Fellows and O'Connell placed Second in the No. 3.