gaijin
11-02-2005, 11:05 AM
NEW CARS, NEW CHAMPIONS AND NEW COMPETITION HIGHLIGHT CORVETTE RACING'S FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Detroit - Corvette Racing dominated the American Le Mans Series for the fifth straight year in 2005, but it wasn't as easy as it looked. The introduction of the new Corvette C6.R race cars, the emergence of powerful new rivals and the impact of new rules shaped the season for Chevrolet's two-car factory team.
The yellow Corvettes raced to 10 victories in 11 starts, including the team's fourth win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chevrolet won the ALMS GT1 manufacturers championship for the fifth consecutive year, and Corvette Racing swept the drivers, team and pit crew championships. When the checkered flag fell on the victorious Corvette C6.R of newly crowned GT1 champions Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta at the ALMS season finale in Monterey, Calif., it marked Corvette Racing's 45th victory in international endurance racing and the team's 31st 1-2 finish.
A Year to Remember
"I would say it is my best season as a professional race car driver," said Gavin as he reflected on the previous eight months.
Gavin and Beretta had a slow start in their run for the title as victory eluded them in the first three events, but they gained momentum as the season continued. They first stood in the winner's circle in June, when they shared the limelight with Jan Magnussen in Le Mans. When the ALMS resumed in North America, Gavin and Beretta were on a roll. By the end of the season, they won seven times, captured five poles and recorded the fastest lap in eight races.
"Olivier and I had been threatening to get a run of wins together last year, but things just hadn't gelled," Gavin recalled. "All of a sudden things just started falling into place for us and it looked like it was going to be our year. We got some breaks, and luck has an awful lot to do with winning any championship. Yes, the car was fast and the engineering staff, Doug Louth and Joe Kiefer have done a brilliant job. Winning the championship and the final race at Laguna Seca was a very, very satisfying end to the year."
Gavin and Beretta's chief competition came from within Corvette Racing as defending champions Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell scored three wins in 2005, captured two poles and finished as runners-up in the title chase.
"I think we have a lot to be proud of on Corvette Racing," said O'Connell. "After a season like this one, Ron and I will train hard and come back hungry."
So close was the competition between the two Corvettes that the team scored nine 1-2 finishes. Five times the twin Corvettes finished on the same lap.
"You're splitting hairs when you look at the difference between the two cars," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "It comes down to a pit stop or traffic in a single corner. The amazing thing is that those cars run nose-to-tail in race after race."
"There is no question that we had a steep development curve with C6.R," said Fehan. "We developed this car for a year before it appeared in public, so it had many miles of testing before its first race at Sebring. You only have to look at the differences between the C5-R and the C6.R - a 1-inch shorter wheelbase and 5-inch shorter body - to appreciate how much work had to be done. You can't just reskin an old car and expect it to win."
The changes in the sixth-generation Corvette's exterior were striking: a single, large grille opening for the engine air intake, radiator, and brake cooling; flush headlights for better aerodynamics; and a smaller, sleeker shape that reduced drag. But there were invisible changes as well.
"Both the chassis and the aerodynamic package changed considerably," explained Steve Wesoloski, GM Racing road racing group manager. "The new regulations required more extensive use of the production car's chassis structure, retaining items such as the central drivetrain tunnel, the windshield frame and the rear bumper. These requirements affected the C6.R's weight distribution, and we had to understand how that change influenced its on-track performance. We also introduced new low-friction suspension attachments that made the car quicker to react, and that required the engineering team to make corresponding changes in the setup throughout the season.
"When you introduce a car with shorter front and rear overhangs, you have to understand what that means for the aerodynamics," Wesoloski continued. "We did a lot of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis before the start of the season, but until the car is actually running on the race track, you can't accurately determine the effects of changes in ride height on the aero balance of the car. There were adjustments made throughout the season as we learned more about the characteristics of the C6.R in actual race conditions."
There were also new horses under the hood as well. The 2005 season saw the introduction of the LS7.R racing engine, a further refinement of the GM small-block V-8 that has been the world's most successful production-based racing engine during a span of 50 years. Lighter and more powerful than previous Corvette powerplants, the LS7.R shares technology with the production 505 hp LS7 the powers the 2006 Corvette Z06 supercar.
"While the small-block V-8's fundamentals and configuration remained unchanged, the LS7.R's internal components were designed to reduce horsepower losses due to internal friction and to reduce rotating mass," Wesoloski revealed. "We took a considerable amount of weight out of the engine, helping the balance of the car while also improving performance. Comparing the lap times at Road Atlanta from the race in April to Petit Le Mans in October, much of the improvement in lap times was the result of six months of engine development."
(Continued next page)
Detroit - Corvette Racing dominated the American Le Mans Series for the fifth straight year in 2005, but it wasn't as easy as it looked. The introduction of the new Corvette C6.R race cars, the emergence of powerful new rivals and the impact of new rules shaped the season for Chevrolet's two-car factory team.
The yellow Corvettes raced to 10 victories in 11 starts, including the team's fourth win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chevrolet won the ALMS GT1 manufacturers championship for the fifth consecutive year, and Corvette Racing swept the drivers, team and pit crew championships. When the checkered flag fell on the victorious Corvette C6.R of newly crowned GT1 champions Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta at the ALMS season finale in Monterey, Calif., it marked Corvette Racing's 45th victory in international endurance racing and the team's 31st 1-2 finish.
A Year to Remember
"I would say it is my best season as a professional race car driver," said Gavin as he reflected on the previous eight months.
Gavin and Beretta had a slow start in their run for the title as victory eluded them in the first three events, but they gained momentum as the season continued. They first stood in the winner's circle in June, when they shared the limelight with Jan Magnussen in Le Mans. When the ALMS resumed in North America, Gavin and Beretta were on a roll. By the end of the season, they won seven times, captured five poles and recorded the fastest lap in eight races.
"Olivier and I had been threatening to get a run of wins together last year, but things just hadn't gelled," Gavin recalled. "All of a sudden things just started falling into place for us and it looked like it was going to be our year. We got some breaks, and luck has an awful lot to do with winning any championship. Yes, the car was fast and the engineering staff, Doug Louth and Joe Kiefer have done a brilliant job. Winning the championship and the final race at Laguna Seca was a very, very satisfying end to the year."
Gavin and Beretta's chief competition came from within Corvette Racing as defending champions Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell scored three wins in 2005, captured two poles and finished as runners-up in the title chase.
"I think we have a lot to be proud of on Corvette Racing," said O'Connell. "After a season like this one, Ron and I will train hard and come back hungry."
So close was the competition between the two Corvettes that the team scored nine 1-2 finishes. Five times the twin Corvettes finished on the same lap.
"You're splitting hairs when you look at the difference between the two cars," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "It comes down to a pit stop or traffic in a single corner. The amazing thing is that those cars run nose-to-tail in race after race."
"There is no question that we had a steep development curve with C6.R," said Fehan. "We developed this car for a year before it appeared in public, so it had many miles of testing before its first race at Sebring. You only have to look at the differences between the C5-R and the C6.R - a 1-inch shorter wheelbase and 5-inch shorter body - to appreciate how much work had to be done. You can't just reskin an old car and expect it to win."
The changes in the sixth-generation Corvette's exterior were striking: a single, large grille opening for the engine air intake, radiator, and brake cooling; flush headlights for better aerodynamics; and a smaller, sleeker shape that reduced drag. But there were invisible changes as well.
"Both the chassis and the aerodynamic package changed considerably," explained Steve Wesoloski, GM Racing road racing group manager. "The new regulations required more extensive use of the production car's chassis structure, retaining items such as the central drivetrain tunnel, the windshield frame and the rear bumper. These requirements affected the C6.R's weight distribution, and we had to understand how that change influenced its on-track performance. We also introduced new low-friction suspension attachments that made the car quicker to react, and that required the engineering team to make corresponding changes in the setup throughout the season.
"When you introduce a car with shorter front and rear overhangs, you have to understand what that means for the aerodynamics," Wesoloski continued. "We did a lot of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis before the start of the season, but until the car is actually running on the race track, you can't accurately determine the effects of changes in ride height on the aero balance of the car. There were adjustments made throughout the season as we learned more about the characteristics of the C6.R in actual race conditions."
There were also new horses under the hood as well. The 2005 season saw the introduction of the LS7.R racing engine, a further refinement of the GM small-block V-8 that has been the world's most successful production-based racing engine during a span of 50 years. Lighter and more powerful than previous Corvette powerplants, the LS7.R shares technology with the production 505 hp LS7 the powers the 2006 Corvette Z06 supercar.
"While the small-block V-8's fundamentals and configuration remained unchanged, the LS7.R's internal components were designed to reduce horsepower losses due to internal friction and to reduce rotating mass," Wesoloski revealed. "We took a considerable amount of weight out of the engine, helping the balance of the car while also improving performance. Comparing the lap times at Road Atlanta from the race in April to Petit Le Mans in October, much of the improvement in lap times was the result of six months of engine development."
(Continued next page)