Chevy Notes for the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
Corvette C5-R racing team prepares for the GTS Class battle royale
LE MANS, France - The General Motors Chevrolet Corvette Racing team has arrived in Le Mans, site of the 72nd annual 24-hour race in the French countryside. The Corvette C5-R, considered by many to be one of the finest GT sports racing cars of all time, is preparing for a third GTS Class victory in five years of competition. The team has begun a weeklong set of activities in and around the 8.46-mile Sarthe circuit, while on-track qualifying sessions begin on Wednesday evening. The 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin at 4:00 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 12.
Five Years
Names such as
Fellows, O'Connell, Papis, Gavin, Beretta and Magnussen
comprise the Corvette driver lineup for the team's fifth
appearance at Le Mans, but the name Corvette has a history of
racing at Le Mans which dates back to 1960, when American
entrepreneur Briggs Cunningham entered a Corvette and netted an
impressive eighth place overall finish. The marque came
regularly to Le Mans until 1982 and later returned in the
mid-90s when regulations allowed GT cars back into the race.
For three decades, Corvette's famous engine also powered cars
from other brands such as Bizzarini, Callaway, Chaparral,
Courage, Iso-Rivolta, Lola, Lotus, Marcos and March. 2004 marks
Corvette's 18th year at the race. This year's driver lineup for
Le Mans is:
| #63 Corvette C5-R: | Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell, Max Papis |
| #64 Corvette C5-R: | Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, Jan Magnussen |
The six drivers have nearly 30 years of Le Mans race experience between them.
15,000 Miles and Counting
With close to 10 seconds
of improvement over 2003 practice times, the C5-R Corvettes
have been put through a vigorous development program - more
aggressive than ever before with over 13,000 test miles logged
between November of 2003 and March 2004. Even more miles were
logged after the team's successful run at Sebring, wherein
drivers Fellows, O'Connell and Papis notched the Corvette
C5-R's third consecutive GTS Class win. In total, some 15,000
test miles have prepared the program for this legendary race.
While a switch to new tire manufacturer Michelin has proven to
be a great partnership on the race track and in testing, team
engineers are quick to point out that the entire car has been
improved. "You don't just bolt on new tires and go out and run
blistering lap times," said Steve Wesoloski, lead chassis
engineer for the Corvette C5-R. "We had to learn how the
Corvette C5-R was going to react to the level of forward and
lateral grip that the Michelins provide. After hours of track
testing, tire testing and simulation work, we were able to
develop a chassis set-up that would allow us to take advantage
of the performance of the tires."
Light, Fast,
Strong
The Corvette Racing program has been fully
developed for 2004 and the results have been well documented,
with a decisive third consecutive GTS Class victory at the 12
Hours of Sebring in March, including record-setting qualifying
times for both cars. Specifically for Le Mans, the team has
developed a new aerodynamic package. "With the long
straightaways, reducing drag can be very important," said
Wesoloski. "But you can't give up too much downforce because of
the high corner entry speeds. For Le Mans, we were able to
develop a package that provides significantly lower drag
without reducing the total downforce." Fans will notice the
cars' new side windows, front fascia fairings and a different
rear wing angle.
The team also made a concerted effort to reduce overall weight in the car. For the first time, the Corvettes will run with a total weight of 1100 kg (2425 lbs), versus 1150 kg as in years past. Details like a new polycarbonate windshield (some 14 lbs lighter than glass), lower-weight batteries (6 lbs lighter) and a combination of lighter body panels all contribute to the weight savings. Rules require a smaller engine intake restrictor at the lower weight, but the trade-off from horsepower is worth the improved performance involved with better braking and turning, highly favored at Le Mans.
Engine Upgrades
The team
has carefully assembled eight engines for this week's
qualifying sessions and race. A total of 96 hours (four 24-hour
sessions) have been logged, to prepare for this year's Le Mans
race: two 24-hour dyno sessions were performed before March's
Sebring race, one 24-hour session was completed during the
Sebring weekend (12 hours of racing plus 12 hours of successful
testing immediately thereafter), and a fourth session was run
after April's Open Test session. Team engineers noted that, for
the first time, this year's engines blocks run without cylinder
liners. The Nicom (nickel and silicon) coating, electroplated
into the cylinder walls by U.S. Chrome, creates a structurally
stronger engine block. This is just one of the many
improvements the team has made to the legendary small-block
Chevy V-8 engine in preparation for this year's race.
Numerical Entry List - Gran Tourisme (GTS) Class
General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle
manufacturer, employs about 325,000 people globally. Founded in
1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since
1931. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and
its vehicles are sold in 192 countries. In 2003, GM sold nearly
8.6 million cars and trucks, about 15 percent of the global
vehicle market. GM's global headquarters are at the GM
Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its
products can be found on the company's corporate website at www.gm.com.
No. Car Team
Drivers 61 Ferrari 575 GTC
Barron
Connor Barron Connor Bosch, Sullivan, Biagi
62 Ferrari 575 GTC Barron Connor Barron Connor Hezemans,
Barde, Deletraz 63 Corvette
C5-R Chevrolet Fellows O'Connell,
Papis 64 Corvette C5-R Chevrolet
Gavin Beretta, Magnussen
65 Ferrari 550
M Prodrive Racing Enge, Kox, Menu 66 Ferrari 550 M Prodrive Racing Rydell, Turner,
McCrae 69 Ferrari 550 M Larbre Competition
Bouchut, Goueslard