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Here's the story...
lIlustrated Corvette Series No. 114 - 2001 Le Mans-Winning C5-R Corvette
"Victory at le Mans"
Had it not been for Zora
Arkus-Duntov, there never would have been a C5-R. The
Corvette’s first chief of engineering knew firsthand the
value of racing. In 1952 and ‘53 he co-drove an Allard sports
car at Le Mans. Then, in ‘54 and ’55, he drove a
1,000cc Porsche Spyder to a class win. While Duntov never got to see
all-out factory support for a Corvette racing team, his passion for
motorsports lived on in the hearts of the C5 design team. With the car
having proved more successful than anyone in GM’s upper
management could have imagined, 1999 seemed like the perfect year to
introduce a factory-supported Corvette racing program.
GT endurance competition is arguably
one of the most difficult forms of auto racing. Cars have to be fast,
powerful, and durable. Drivers must have stamina, and teams need to
work together perfectly. And, of course, there’s always the
luck factor. Fortunately, the C5 came with all the basic elements a
racing engineer could want, giving the ‘99 C5-R a great
platform from which to start.
The ‘99 C5-R made a great
showing in its first five races, even taking Second at Laguna Seca. The
‘00 season got off to a great start, with the Vettes taking
Second place at Daytona. The year ended with two wins, three seconds,
and a creditable Third place in the GTS class at Le Mans. 2001 proved
to be the best year yet, bringing the Corvette’s first-ever
overall win at the 24 Hours at Daytona. The stage was set for Le Mans.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the
pinnacle of modern endurance racing, and the ultimate feather in any
sports-car manufacturer’s cap. The 8.45-mile course is mostly
made up of two-lane country roads. By the third season the cars were
well sorted out, and the team was primed for victory. The ‘01
C5-Rs were called the “wide body” cars because they
had been built to the maximum allowable width for the GTS class. A
little-known fact is that the GTS cars actually had to be crash-tested
as part of the certification process.
As noted, luck can play an important
part in endurance racing. The 2001 Le Mans race was one of the wettest
in memory, with vicious rain starting just 10 minutes after the green
flag. Most cars had to quickly pit to exchange their racing slicks for
rain tires. Rain caused two of the four Vipers to crash, and a third
had to drop out of the race due to electrical problems. The three
controversial S7R Saleen cars all broke. For decades the Corvettes had
borne the brunt of the bad luck and durability problems. This race was
C5-R’s time to shine.
Through the night the No. 63 and No.
64 C5-Rs swapped the lead several times. At one point, the No. 64 car
made a 15-minute pit stop to fix a broken starter. Then, the car spun
out two times in as many laps, putting it far back from the leaders.
One hour before the end of the race, it poured again, and the pace car
had to come out. When this happens, hard-fought leads shrink, as cars
can catch up with—but not pass—one another. When
the checkered flag came down, C5-R No. 63 crossed the finish line with
C5-R No. 64 slightly behind.
The C5-R team finished First
and Second in the GTS class and Eighth place overall. The 63
car—driven by Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, and
Scott Pruett—ran 278 laps totaling 2,349 miles. The 64
car—driven by Frank Feron, Andy Pilgrim, and Kelly
Collins—ran 271 laps totaling 2,289 miles. Speedvision (now
the SPEED Channel) said, “Nobody at Le Mans knows the
Corvettes won at Daytona, but everyone at Daytona knows that Corvettes
won at Le Mans!” Thanks, Zora.
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