NEWS RELEASE: Le Mans Cadillac and Corvette Open Test Results

> TEAM CADILLAC AND CORVETTE RACING 
> START COUNTDOWN TO 69th LE MANS 24 HOURS
> 
> 
> LE MANS, May 6, 2001 - Team Cadillac and Corvette Racing gathered lots
> of valuable data for next month's 24-hour race during the one-day Open
> Test in Le Mans, France today. For Corvette Racing, the test was the
> last step of the team's preparation for the June sportscar classic,
> while for Cadillac it was the beginning of what will be a very busy
> five-week testing program which will see the Northstar LMP being
> further
> developed on both sides of the Atlantic. Le Mans today was the first
> time the revised Cadillac Northstar LMP ran in Europe.
> 
> "Everything really went well for Corvette Racing," said Doug Fehan,
> Corvette Program Manager. "The new wing tested out very well and we're
> really excited about some new aero tweaks that worked out well and
> we've
> got great power. Between now and the race in June, we've got to solve
> an
> electric problem that we've chased all day. We've also had a
> suspension
> problem on the #64 car which we remedied immediately. Both of these
> are
> probably the result of some shipping damage incurred on the way over
> from the US. We'll really go through this car and make sure there
> isn't
> anything else that might have been damaged then. Other than that, we
> had
> a pretty good test and we're looking forward to coming back next
> month."
> 
> For Team Cadillac, today was a day of many firsts, as Joe Negri, GM
> Racing Group Manager, explained: "As far as our test for the Cadillac
> went, this is the first time we've had these extensively redesigned
> cars
> on a high-speed course. We've been doing a lot of in-and-out laps to
> gather as much data as we could in a short time. We've been going
> through the various set-ups for the race. We have done reasonably well
> but obviously the competition continues to raise the bar so we've got
> a
> lot of work to do between now and the race. We should be able to sort
> out all of the teething problems in the next coming weeks. The next
> test
> is already the day after tomorrow, and a 24-hour simulation is also
> scheduled, so neither drivers nor engineers will have much time off
> between now and when we come back in June. " 
> 
> Le Mans Open Test - Unofficial times
> 
> 1. Capello/Kristensen			Audi R8  3m32s742
> 2. Theys/Kelleners/Herbert		Audi R8  3m33s205
> 3. Brundle/Smith/Ortelli			Bentley EXP Speed 8
> 3m34s050
> 4. Lammers/Crevels/Hillebrand		Dome-Judd S101  3m34s883
> 5. Biela/Pirro				Audi R8 3m34s915
> 16. Bernard/Collard/Goossens		Cadillac Northstar LMP 3m42s252
> 19. Taylor/Angelelli/Tinseau		Cadillac Northstar LMP  3m42s984
> 31. Fellows/O'Connell/Pruett		Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 3m57s077
> 33. Pilgrim/Collins/Freon		Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
> 3m57s870
> 
> 
> Photos of both the Cadillac Northstar LMP and the Corvette C5-R are
> available.
> Contact:
> 
> Michael M. Scholl
> G-2 Communications
> 70 East Long Lake Road
> Bloomfield Hills, Michigan  48304
> (248) 341-1041
> (248) 341-1004 fax
> mscholl@G-2Com.com