Everyone knew that ALMS racing was going to get a lot more interesting when Corvette Racing entered the GT2 picture but few expected it to come to blows the way it did in the last race of the year at Laguna Seca on October 10, 2009. A collision between the No. 45 Porsche and the No. 3 Corvette C6.R sent the Corvette and driver Jan Magnussen head on into a concrete barrier at nearly 200 mph. In the end, Corvette Racing earned their fifth podium finish in five races since moving to the GT2 category.This April, race fans will get the unique opportunity to lunch with Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan and C6.R No. 3 driver Johnny O’Connell, hearing “behind the scenes” stories and getting a preview of what to expect this season.
Fehan recently shared details with the National Corvette Museum about how Corvette Racing works with the Corvette Design team to develop a better race car, and how that technology is transferred into Corvettes built for consumers.
“Our guys do the driving at the test tracks and have input into the cars, looking at shock balance on the car, over-all handling and performance. GM takes what we learn in racing and they put it into play for you,” said Fehan.
As part of the National Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Bash April 29 through May 1, 2010, Fehan and O’Connell will share information about why they made the move to the GT2 race program, and provide insight to the all new car for 2010.
“For GT2, we obviously wanted to come out strong and prove that we could be competitive, but only looked at the five-race schedule [in 2009] as a testing program for the car and the team,” said Fehan. 2010 will be the first time the team has competed in GT2 at Le Mans. “If you come out you won’t be disappointed as we wave the Corvette flag, taking on BMW, Porsche and Ferrari. We won’t let you down,” he added.
The luncheon and private autograph session is on Thursday, April 29 from 11am to 1pm. The fee is $18 for National Corvette Museum members and $25 for non-members. More information and an online registration form are available at http://www.corvettemuseum.com/registration/c5_bash/info.shtml. An autograph session is also scheduled to be held in the Corvette Store immediately following the luncheon and is open to all event participants.
High res Corvette Racing images can be obtained from Richard Prince Photography at http://www.rprincephoto.com/. The Museum also has a small selection of images available for media use.
