CORVETTE 2017
WILL CORVETTE DEFEND THE CROWN? CORVETTE RACING CHASING ANOTHER TITLE
CORVETTE C7.R CORVETTE RACING’S WINNING WAYS
The Champs If you must beat the champ to become the new champ, then the car and team for BMW, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche to beat in international sports car competition is the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and Corvette Racing. Corvette Racing scored five IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class wins (Daytona, Sebring, Lime Rock, Road America and VIR) in 11 races in 2016 to claim the series’ manufacturer, team and driver championships in the third year of the car’s competition cycle. Through its first three seasons, the Velocity Yellow pair of Corvette Racing C7.R entries has combined for 12 wins in 35 races, while taking a championship at Le Mans and a sweep of the 2016 GTLM titles in North America. That is a 36 percent strike rate in the fiercest class in international competition. The Three Phases of GT The 2017 season marks the fourth year in competition for the Corvette C7.R, the latest in a series of championship-winning Corvettes.
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“The nature of GT is that there are always three phases,” said Corvette Racing driver Antonio Garcia. “You have a new car, then you reach a peak where you have developed the car, and then you try to keep the car competitive as other new cars arrive. “Corvette Racing has run over several versions of the cars before and been competitive in later stages in the past in the last years of car. We just keep rolling.” The record certainly backs him up as Garcia, co-driver Jan Magnussen and Corvette claimed the series titles in 2013, the final year of the predecessor, Corvette C6.R. “We just keep working. We know what we have developed and do as much as we can,” said Garcia. “The curve we go through with this car gets more difficult later in the cycle.” Tracking the Corvette C7.R In 2014, Corvette introduced the C7.R the hard way, making its debut at the two longest races in North America, the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“Rolling out a new car at the two longest and toughest races here is a very tall order,” said Chris Baker, director of motorsport, Michelin North America. After disappointments in the first two races, Garcia and co-driver Jan Magnussen scored the first victory for the Corvette C7.R in the next stop at Long Beach, and immediately built a streak of four consecutive wins with victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park before falling to Balance of Performance adjustments. They then opened the 2015 season with wins at Daytona and Sebring. Midway through 2015, momentum shifted to the other half of the Corvette Racing tent as teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner (joined by Jordan Taylor) took an inspired victory at Le Mans. The 2016 season saw the arrival of the new Ford GT, Ferrari 488s and the BMW M6 GTLMs but Gavin and Milner, joined by Marcel Fässler, nipped their teammates for the win at Daytona and went on to claim Sebring to start a run that carried them to the 2016 championships.
Broad Performance Bandwidth features and any updates in the class technical rules While some cars seem to be stronger at certain tracks and less so into the newest cars. at others, the Corvette C7.R has demonstrated a wide performance Manufacturers will typically have spent six to ten bandwidth with wins on the big, fast Daytona International months and several thousand miles in track testing and Speedway, the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, the fast development before their first race. and bumpy Sebring circuit, the shortest circuit on the series - Lime Given the extensive experience of the GTLM teams Rock Park - and on the streets of Long Beach. and the use of increasingly sophisticated simulators it The C7.R begins 2017 competition having already claimed doesn’t take long for new cars to debut already on the pairs of wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve pace. Hours of Sebring iced by a victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours race. The X Factors In its first three seasons, the C7.Rs have taken wins at a “The advantage of the established car is that the reliability is total of 10 different circuits; Le Mans, Daytona (2), Sebring pretty well sorted,” said Corvette Racing program manager Doug (2), Long Beach, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Fehan. Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock, Road “Our team has a very thick book on its nuances and chassis America and VIRginia International Raceway. setups for all of the tracks on the WeatherTech Championship trail,” said Gary Pratt of Pratt & Miller Engineering, which runs the Corvette New Challengers Racing program for Chevrolet. With Ford, Ferrari and BMW entering new “The flip side is that after a year or two, the big gains are pretty models in 2016 GTLM class competition, and much gone and you are looking at smaller and smaller increments.” Porsche debuting the new Porsche 911 RSR in “Top teams like Corvette Racing are very good at understanding the 2017, the Corvette C7.R, now in its fourth season strengths and weaknesses of their cars, teams and drivers, and assessing the of competition, is the oldest car competing in competition” said Baker. the factory dominated GTLM class. “They play to their strengths. One of those strengths is that they have “Race cars have an accelerated life cycle, developed the C7.Rs to be remarkably consistent, lap after lap. especially in a class like GTLM where the big “The Corvette drivers are all multiple-time champions and the team has a factory teams are constantly testing, and tremendous amount of experience and a winning culture. refining,” said Chris Baker. “Their race strategies and pit work allow them to create or take advantage of The newest cars have the benefit of every opportunity and to apply relentless pressure to the competition. seeing any innovations that others have “The combination of the Corvette Racing team and the C7.R is very difficult to or the trends and incorporating those beat.”
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MILNER & GAVIN’S PATH TO VICTORY Main Street with Corvette Racing One of the most important moments of Tommy Milner’s racing career came not at a race track, but literally on Main Street in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. It was there in September 2010, signing autographs in a BMW race car display at a daylong Michelin fan event called “Motorsports on Main” that Milner’s career path was forever changed. “Michelin put together a great, really wellpromoted event for the Friday before the Petit Le Mans race week and they invited all of the teams, including the (then) non-Michelin teams like BMW,” recalled Doug Fehan, program manager Corvette Racing. “BMW has a big presence in the area, but Tommy was the only BMW Team RLL factory driver there, and he was doing a great job signing autographs, talking with fans, doing interviews and promoting the brand all day long,” said Fehan. The Corvette Way “The Corvette Racing philosophy is a little different than most,” said Fehan. “Our Corvette drivers are not only expected to win races, but also to be great ambassadors for the brand. We were looking for an American driver and from the outside it looked like Tommy was kind of low man on the driver totem-pole at BMW.” “We knew that Tommy had talent and was still growing as a driver, but we hadn’t been able to see if he was the kind of driver that would understand and buy into the Corvette Racing program,” said Fehan. “That day at Motorsports on Main gave me that opportunity.” When the season ended, Corvette Racing invited the 24-year-old Virginian to test with the team at Sebring.
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“Tommy did well at the test, and Gary Pratt, Doug Louth, and I all felt that he would be a good fit with the team,” said Fehan. The First Season and the breakthrough Getting started, the 2011 season was a mixed bag for Milner. He struggled with consistency and the early season results were disappointing. Milner’s defining moment came at the biggest race of all: Le Mans. When Jan Magnussen’s class leading Corvette crashed out of the race shortly after dawn on Sunday morning, Milner and co-driver Antonio Garcia became the team’s only remaining hope, and they were a full, 8.5-mile lap down to the class-leading Ferrari. Adding to the challenge, their veteran codriver, Olivier Beretta, had become ill driving during an extended caution period, leaving Garcia and Milner to handle the last 14 hours of the race. After Garcia wrapped up an outstanding triple-stint to slice the gap to the lead Ferrari, Milner would be on the spot to continue the march. Awaiting the driver change, team boss Gary Pratt could see the tension in his young driver. He put an arm on his shoulder: “Tommy, you’ll be fine. Just drive the car like always and you will do fine.” Milner picked up where Garcia had left off, relentlessly slicing away at the Ferrari margin. Then it began to rain.
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had gambled and lost with an aggressive restart. This time, rather than risk contact in the dicey first turn on the restart, he wisely consolidated his position and used the second place points to move he and Gavin into a commanding lead in the drivers’ championship. At VIR, Milner’s home track, they took their fourth win of the season and locked up the 2012 ALMS Manufacturer, team, and driver championships. In his first two seasons with Corvette Racing, Milner had a victory at Le Mans, four IMSA wins and a series championship on his Corvette Racing scorecard.
Milner seized the opportunity to carve away chunks of time on a circuit where dry conditions on one side of the track can quickly betray a driver when he arrives on the opposite side, or returns nearly four minutes later to what had been a dry section. By noon-time, Garcia and Milner had taken the lead and Corvette Racing claimed another victory at Le Mans. Gavin Shows the Way When testing got underway for the 2012 season, Fehan and Pratt delivered a surprise by changing up the driver pairings. Garcia was replacing Beretta as a full-season driver and would be paired with Magnussen. The veteran Gavin would now be teamed with Milner. Gavin’s initial response to the switch was mixed. A five-time Le Mans winner and four-time IMSA series champion, he had enjoyed great success with Magnussen and before that with Beretta.
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Now, Gavin was being asked to help this young American grow to the next level. His continued success and, in some ways the balance of his Corvette Racing career, would be determined in no small part by Milner’s progress. “Oliver has a legacy with Corvette Racing,” said Milner. “He had done a lot with the team. He’s been with the team almost since the start and has been so successful. It is great to have him as a teammate and co-driver.” It didn’t take long for the new combination to pay off. Gavin and Milner won at Long Beach, in just their second start together. It was Milner’s’ first win in IMSA (ALMS) competition. The confidence from a first win often leads to another, and, indeed, Gavin and Milner immediately won again at Monterey. A third win arrived at MidOhio.
A Championship Fight “We led the (2012) championship for several races, but Oliver didn’t say much about the championship, until about the race before VIR (Baltimore), then he found a casual time to talk about our position,” recalls Milner. “He asked how I felt and told me his thoughts.” “He didn’t challenge me,” said Milner. “He wasn’t talking down to me. He had won a bunch of championships and this was my first championship fight. Oliver found the perfect way to provide me with extra motivation. “I felt his confidence and reassurance. I understood that it was a team effort. He had put in a lot of work and together we were going to succeed or fail, but we were going to do it together.” In the Baltimore race, Milner was closing on the race leading Porsche when a late race caution appeared. In a similar situation the previous year he
The Magic Stalls Their momentum continued into 2013. At Sebring, following a strong, late race stint by Gavin, Milner tracked down and passed the class-leading Ferrari for the win. In Canada, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Milner defended against a fierce two-pronged Viper attack over the entire final stint to claim the win. Having won both as the attacker at Sebring and the defender in Canada, Milner’s growth, and Gavin and Pratt’s influence was becoming more obvious. Then something strange happened. Gavin and Milner suddenly stopped winning. It was Garcia and Magnussen taking the championships for Corvette Racing in 2013. When the new Corvette C7.R debuted in 2014, it was Garcia and Magnussen rolling off four consecutive wins, before the dreaded Balance of Performance tables were adjusted mid-season to slow the Corvettes. Gavin and Milner ended the 2014 season with just a single podium finish and placed a miserable 10th in the driver championship.
wedged into the throttle linkage of the Magnussen/Garcia/Ryan Briscoe car during Thursday night qualifying. The car was heavily damaged in a crash and could not be repaired in time for the race. For the first time in its proud Le Mans history, Corvette Racing would have only one car on the Le Mans starting grid. There would be no options of splitting race strategies, no sharing set-ups, data, or Michelin tire strategies. The team had just one bullet. And Gavin and Milner, joined there by Jordan Taylor, had not won in their last 21 starts, dating back to CTMP 2013. Yet, there was a quiet confidence as the team rolled the remaining car to the starting grid. The entire Corvette Racing team; all of the engineers, mechanics and drivers had come together to support Gavin, Milner and Taylor. Gavin opened the race with a strong stint and soon thereafter Milner put the Corvette in front and they remained in the battle for the lead with Ferrari and Aston Martin until, once again, Corvette Racing was atop the podium at Le Mans. Back to the Front The 2016 season opened with Gavin and Garcia locked in a stirring battle at Daytona, with Gavin prevailing by a mere 34 thousandths of a second at the finish. The pair, (with an assist from Marcel Fässler) won again at Sebring as Gavin and Milner shot to the championship lead. The season opening wins put Gavin and Milner atop the championship
rankings and they stayed there fighting back a mid-season run by Ford GT’s Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. Gavin and Milner scored Corvette Racing’s 100th win at Lime Rock Park and with Milner’s stunning fifth-to-first dash in the final five minutes at Road America, subsequent control of the championship. “Last year (2016) we didn’t have that same stress as we did in 2012,” said Milner. “We had been there together before. Our personalities match well. We strive to be successful.” Now, entering his seventh season with Corvette Racing at age 30, Milner has a pair of wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, and a pair of championships in what many regard as the toughest class in international endurance racing. His once blank IMSA slate now shows 10 wins including Daytona, Sebring, (2) Long Beach, Monterey, CTMP, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, VIR, and Road America. “It has been fun to watch how Tommy has grown,” said Gavin, who, with a hearty laugh concludes, “I’m beginning to think that he may have a future at Corvette Racing!”
Finest (24) Hour Milner and Gavin continued to struggle in early 2015 competition. At the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour race, Corvette Racing faced a new challenge. A stone had somehow
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THE BEST PARTNERSHIPS ARE CHOSEN Michelin is proud to partner with Corvette for both motorsport and original equipment
One of the secrets to success in international sports car racing is in the driver pairings. Pairing championship winning drivers on a big factory team is not the work of a moment. Everything from driver size, to driving styles, personalities, and experience can all come into play. In the factory dominated GT category, Corvette Racing’s combination of Denmark’s Jan Magnussen and Spain’s Antonio Garcia, the 2013 American Le Mans Series GT champions, have continued to set the standard, leading all GT Le Mans class duos with seven wins in the first three years of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The secret to their success is simple in concept and incredibly difficult in application: “Jan and Antonio both get the most of the car every time,” said their No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R crew chief, Dan Binks. Those seven victories have come at Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and VIRginia International Raceway, a list that includes both the longest race, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and the shortest, 100 minutes through the streets of Long Beach.
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Start to Finish Under IMSA rules, the driver who qualifies must also start the race. Corvette Racing typically alternates qualifying, so both Magnussen and Garcia qualify well to gain valuable starting positions and are equally adept
THE MAGS & ANTONIO SHOW
at fighting early race traffic and closing out a finish. “Obviously we’ve formed into a really good partnership over the years, but it is not just Antonio and myself – the secret to success is how the entire team works together so it’s about how we interact with Dan, Kyle and all the guys on the crew,” Magnussen said. “All egos are parked at the door and it really doesn’t matter who might be faster on any particular day. It is all about the end result. “Antonio and I have slightly different driving styles but that can sometimes be an advantage because we are prepared to try different solutions which we might not have done otherwise if we liked everything the same. “We finished the ALMS in the best possible way with a championship and lead the new series with wins, but we’d love to get another championship. “It is all about momentum. Last year we finished second at Daytona by inches and took the lead at Sebring only to be crashed out almost instantly after we made the pass. “If either of those situations had been different – who knows what would have happened. “The important thing is that Corvette Racing got the championship victories and that is what we’re here for and what both cars strive for.”
IMSA’S WINNING GTLM COMBO
IMSA VICTORIES Through the first three post-merger seasons of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (32 races), Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia lead all GTLM class driver duos with seven wins: PAIRING Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia
WINS
TEAM
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Corvette Racing
Patrick Pilet/Nick Tandy
6
Porsche N.A.
Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner
4
Corvette Racing
Giancarlo Fisichella*
3
Risi Competizione Ferrari
Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook
3
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing
Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner
2
BMW Team RLL
Kuno Wittmer/Jonathan Bomarito
2
SRT Viper
Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers
2
Walker Racing Porsche
John Edwards/Lucas Luhr
1
BMW Team RLL
Patrick Long/Michael Christensen
1
Porsche N.A.
Earl Bamber/Frederic Makowiecki
1
Porsche N.A.
* Co-drivers Pierre Kaffer (2); Toni Vilander (1)
Hammer Meets Scalpel Now in their sixth season as co-drivers on the No. 3 Corvette, Magnussen and Garcia have proven to be a formidable combination. “Both Jan and Antonio are super easy to work with,” said Binks. “They get along really well and work very well with our engineer, Kyle Millay.” As they climb the racing ladder, drivers often enter single seater formulas where the driver is the center of the team’s universe. Some teams attempt to boost a new driver’s confidence and comfort level by making seemingly endless adjustments to the car, the crew roster, team processes and even the catering menu. Sports car drivers live in a different world. Drivers in a factory team know that the team structure, processes and culture come first.
They must share a car with another, equally quick driver whose style and set-up preferences may differ. They must trust to put their results in the hands of another driver with no second guessing allowed. Both Magnussen and Garcia are very quick and consistent, but part of their success is based on their mutual pace, persistence and focus. In his open wheel days, Magnussen was described as the fearless hammer, driving the wheels off a car regardless of its handling. Garcia is considered to be the surgeon; smooth, precise, calm, consistent and equally relentless. “Neither is on the radio very much. If Antonio is saying much on the radio it means something is going on,” said a veteran team member. “They are a little different in their driving styles,” acknowledges Binks. “Jan prefers the car a bit looser. Earlier in his career, Jan would manhandle the car, but he’s calmed down a little bit since those days.”
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FIND THE RIGHT TIRES FOR YOUR CORVETTE Vehicle Model
Tire Sizes
MICHELIN® Tire Fitments and Part Numbers Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Super
Pilot® Super
Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Sport
Pilot® Alpin
4S
Sport
Sport ZP
PS2™
PS2™ ZP
Cup 2 ZP
A/S 3+
A/S 3+ ZP
PA4
Generation
Model Year
Option
Front
Rear
C5
1997-2004
Standard
P245/45ZR17 LL 89Y
P275/40ZR18 LL 94Y
2001-2004
Z06
P265/40ZR17 LL 91Y
P295/35ZR18 LL 91Y
2005-2013
Standard
P245/40ZR18 LL (88Y)
P285/35ZR19 LL (90Y)
2006-2013
Z06
P275/35ZR18 LL (87Y)
P325/30ZR19 LL (94Y)
2009-2013
ZR1
P285/30ZR19 LL (87Y)
P335/25ZR20 LL (94Y)
2010-2013
Grand Sport
P275/35ZR18 LL (87Y)
P325/30ZR19 LL (94Y)
2011
Z06 w/Z07 Performance Package
P285/30ZR19 LL (87Y)
P335/25ZR20 LL (94Y)
05916
02430
08704
2013
427 Convertible
P285/30ZR19 LL (87Y)
P335/25ZR20 LL (94Y)
05916
02430
08704
2014+
Standard
P245/40ZR18 (93Y)
P285/35ZR19 (99Y)
2014+
Z51
P245/35ZR19 (89Y)
P285/30ZR20 (95Y)
2015+
Z06
P285/30ZR19 (94Y)
2015+
Z07
P285/30ZR19 (94Y)
C6
C7
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Front
Rear
Front
Rear
24186
02344
Front
Rear
Front
44359 37666
44057
03264
29422
99872
14566
69693
37666
44057
Front
Rear
Front
Rear
Front
Rear
12852
35211
71621
06609
51138
71621
06609
51138
71621
06609
10332
Rear
Front
Rear
02824
19056
95937
98631
02550
90342
25155
32831
90037
80254
15925
02430
14566
Front
05271
43657 05916
99872
Rear
08704 43657
51138
15925
90037
80254
03264
29422
69693
10332
02550
90342
25155
32831
12852
35211
15466
61244
25687
11313
06553
05258
19713
05262
03949
10712
P335/25ZR20 (99Y)
05916
02430
08704
51138
71621
06609
P335/25ZR20 (99Y)
05916
02430
08704
51138
71621
06609
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BACK TO SCHOOL
CHECK OUT THE Ron Fellows Performance Driving SCHOOL IN LAS VEGAS
ON TRACK IN KENTUCKY
The National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park opened in August 2014 and has proven to be a highly popular venue for Corvette owners and performance enthusiasts from around the country. The vision was to create a safe and challenging environment where drivers of all ages, interests and skill levels can become more proficient behind the wheel with a top priority of education and safety. Located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on approximately 184 acres of land with 1.5 miles of frontage on I-65 and directly across the interstate from the National Corvette Museum, the
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Park consists of a twin circuit arrangement of a two-mile / 13turn West course and a one-mile / 10-turn East course which can be combined into multiple configurations. The Park is one of the most centrally located and easily accessible driving facilities in the country. Both circuits feature technical turns, straights and elevation changes. These two courses can be used independently for multiple events, or connected together into a unique large course. Michelin is proud to be the official tire of the NCM Motorsports Park.
The only thing better than owning a Chevrolet Corvette is being able to maximize the performance and exhilaration that it can provide. That is where the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School shines. Set against a stunning mountain backdrop just 55 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip, the Driving School is located within the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club, Pahrump, Nevada. The Ron Fellows Performance Driving School offers highperformance driver training to improve driving technique, provide professional racing instruction, or simply enjoy the opportunity to drive one of America’s fastest production cars. Paticipants are trained to test driver and vehicle limits on an exhilarating, purpose-built road course in a safe, controlled environment. As the Official High Performance Driving School of Corvette, the Driving School uses current model Corvette C7 Stingray and ZR1 models on MICHELIN® tires. The race track offers an exciting combination of fast sweeping corners, quick esses, off-camber turns, over 125 feet of elevation change and four high-speed straights, with replicas of some of racing’s most famous corners including Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s 5a and 5b, the Watkins Glen “Bus Stop”, Road Atlanta’s Turn 1 and Laguna Seca’s “Corkscrew.”
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Last July, Corvette Racing driver’s Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner scored the GTLM class victory at Lime Rock Park in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This was not only a key win toward their championship-winning season; it was in fact Corvette Racing’s 100th career race victory – a first for any team in major North American sports car racing. In addition, teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen finished second to score the teams 60th 1-2 class finish. “It was amazing to get the 100th win,” said Gavin. “I’ve been part of the Corvette Racing team for a long time, and this team has done an amazing job throughout my career.” Corvette Racing’s record is staggering and includes 10 manufacturer and team championships, eight class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours, three wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona (including an overall win) and 10 class wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. In 2015, the team won all three major endurance races – Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans – to complete endurance racing’s Triple Crown. “Achieving 100 victories is a tremendous accomplishment for Corvette Racing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It’s a testament to the dedication of all the crew members, engineers, drivers and our engine team members over the past 17 years. We certainly couldn’t have achieved this milestone without the support of our partners at Pratt & Miller, Mobil 1 and Michelin.” Corvette Racing’s 100 wins spans a number of different racing series including Le Mans, American Le Mans Series, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Corvette Racing made its first start in January 1999 at Daytona and scored its first win in 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team claimed two more wins in 2016 pushing their win total to 102 and now sets their sights on more wins in 2017.
Michelin North America, Inc • One Parkway South, • Greenville, SC 29615 • TEL: 1-800-458-5000 • www.michelin.com Copyright © 2017 Michelin North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved • Printed in USA, March 15, 2017 • Volume 11, Issue Corvette No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the publisher.
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