[1]It has been a long, rough season for Corvette Racing. 2010 was the first year Corvette Racing would compete in the GT2 class, and there have been a number of hiccups along the way. This includes a heart-wrenching malfunction at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, plenty of crashes, and a number of runner-up finishes.
Finally however, Corvette Racing [2] has managed to finish a race in first place, and on the very last lap of the last race of the 2010 ALMS season no less!
This weekend’s final race for the 2010 ALMS was the Petit Le Mans, a 902 mile, 9-hour and ten-minute race that pushed both cars and drivers to their competitive limit. It also demanded superb fuel control and pit lane management, which in the end would serve Corvette Racing well.
It was the No. 4 car that would win the race, piloted by Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and a third driver Emmanuel Collard. Magnussen started the race in sixth place, and managed to move up to second. Oliver Gavin took the car to first place before handing the keys over to Collard, who fell back to fifth. Magnussen then took the car to the eight hour mark, handing it off to Gavin in second place. Gavin was trailing Toni Vilander in the No. 62 Ferrari when the race leader started to weave and bob. He was running out of fuel.
Gavin had stopped a few laps before to top off his fuel tank, and with a lap and a half to go, his low-fuel light went on. But he hand enough fuel to make across the finish line, while the Ferrari did not, sputtering out not far from the finish empty of fuel. It is the first first-place finish for Corvette Racing since its inaugural debut in the GT2 class at last year’s race in Monterey. It was a strong finish to a rocky season, and we know Corvette Racing will bring the ruckus in the 2011 season.